"MASERU MONA” A GETTY SONG

Hip hop, especially local hip hop, is undoubtedly the most youth surrounded form of expression. Either one expresses his/her sad, excited or angry feelings, however, in the process , one tends to estrange his/herself from the rap mates which results in a train of beefs. Many a rapper in the L isolate themselves from other rappers and that slows down the growth and progress of our Industry. We’ve seen most rappers beef, and its no hidden fact that L tweety and Robocop also had their own share of the beef.

Having realised the effect that has made, Hlompho ‘MOZUZU’ Malefane, a sedulous rapper living at Qoaling decided to release a track titled ‘maseru mona’ produced by T2, alongside the above mentioned magnates and rivals. The track is explained to be the one that reunites these rivals and also a track that manifests Mozuzu and Tweety’s success thirst. In addition, the two rappers expresses that it is now their time to shine, and equally important, their turn to do something great for Lesotho’s hip hop industry.

When asked about his beef with Robo, L Tweety revealed that he had long ago buried the hatchet and even made a couple of calls to Robo to prove that he had forgiven him.  On the contrary, Robocop refused to say his views regarding this matter which leaves us and the fans in suspense. Did they really make up, or is this  just a publicity stunt?

Challenge IGI Materialises

Moddaw Presents "Kea Kena - Lemekoane ft T-Mech"

Earlier this year we announced that we were working on a music compilation called #ChallengeIGI. We called all local hiphop artists to be part of this great initiative, in which they would all be approaching one theme "I'm getting in/Kea Kena" each from an individual perspective and create songs each based on this individualistic understanding of the theme. Though many artists seemed anxious and eager to be part of this movement. A bigger percentage started making excuses as the submission deadlines neared. It went to as far as others asking to be excused. Realising that timing couldn't have been bad for them, a chance was given again and the deadlines postmoned. Others made submissions and others still didnt comform to this new arrangement. Yet another chance was given, the deadlines were postponed for the second time.
Until for some a minute it was all a stinging dream as many artists initially mentioned as participants of Lesotho's compilation #ChallengeIGI failed to make submission. Amongst those who did a timely submission was Maseru East based Lemekoane aka T-Mech of Lesotho music power house M.I.P. His submission was made way back before the winter just when the idea was fresh and life promising. After his submission, the former MIP manager and EconetLesotho brand Ambassador did not sit back and relax. Instead he kept on pushing to see that dream cones to life and it is only befitting that his submission was the released as the first from this wonderfully compilation.

Kea kena metadata contains the tag by Lemekoane ft T-Mech, which can be quite confusing since Lemekoane and T-Mech are different alter egos of one man. But really, thats just it, they are alter egos. Listening to the song will make you meet the same man twice and get to feel the difference.

Following the release of Kea Kena will come two more singles to be announced later, thereafter the full compilation will be released.

Listen to the song here now.

Basotho, Let's Sell Our Music

Recently I have seen a few Basotho artists having this tag "now available on iTunes, I say a few because truly it is a chosen few, not that local artists do not wish to or are not ready to sell music. In fact, if there is anything local artist wish they could do to sell their music I bet they would have long done it, so what is the problem? The problem is we don't know how. This article is about how we can best optimize music sales online, especially on apple stores.

Selling you music is not an easy. Every day, new albums and songs are released. This large competition can pose a challenge to upcoming musicians because they are not established in the music industry. However, with today's technology, more digital platforms to help indie musicians sell music have become readily available. iTunes, for example, has become an amazing platform to better your music sales and increase exposure. The best way to sell music globally would be digital distribution, sounds interesting? Well, follow these tips on how to sell your music on iTunes.

Using an Aggregator

There are two ways to sell your music on iTunes. You can sell them directly through the store or you can sell them through an aggregator. Locally we have very few aggregators but online aggregators such as SongCast, CDBaby, Afrobreakers can ease the work.

 An aggregator handles the business dealings with Apple–and other digital platforms–on your behalf for a commission (a cut of your earnings). Aggregators take all the distribution stress while you relax in the studio with nice shawties like King Solomoni, or Jiji F oa Ledimo a jang bana, however, keep in mind that your overall income will be lower than it would be if you dealt with everything on your own.

Search Engine Optimization

Once you have made your mind on the content (music) you want to sell, you need to make sure that the digital files are encoded with optimized metadata so they can easily be found on search engines. Many local arts don't understand the importance of this, but it is quiete crucial to ensure that your album is listed in the correct categories and that it can be easily found when searched for in a search engine. The following should be considered when encoding digital files:

Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation: This is as important in the music industry as it would be in any other industry, large or small. Making sure your digital files are written correctly is key to optimizing them for a search engine.

Spacing: Pay attention to spaces. If say for example one space is accidentally placed before your song or album title, eg. If "Basali Basali" is written as " Basali Basali", it could make it difficult for people to find the song through a Google or Yahoo..

Genre: By popular demand, iTunes focuses on main music genres rather than niche sub-genres. Encoding your digital music files with an overall genre is key to sell your music on iTunes. Instead of Stlofa listing his genre as Mokorotlo which no one outside would relate to, it would be best for him to select whether he lists his music as hiphop or kwaito, this are widely spread genres that can help him sell more music.

Album Cover: All digital tracks should be encoded with the album’s cover artwork. As a graphic designer, i have with a few artists that wanted to put music on iTunes, one of them being MoNitta, of many problems that Mo' faced when he was getting jis music on international digital platforms, the album cover was one of the simple looking yet trickiest things to do, the size of the album cover picture is very important, I don't know why but I recommend 3000pixels by 3000pixels, it seemed to work for us. Keep in mind that people are visual and by doing this you can improve your overall sales.

$Money Money Money

Coming up with a price for your work can be challenging. We understand that your music holds a lot of value to you because of all the hard work you have invested, but, believe me you, overcharging for your tracks and albums can have a negative impact on how your music sells. As an indie (unsigned) artist looking to get established in the music market, it is essential to follow the industry’s standard digital album and track pricing.

• Album: $9.99
• Tracks: $0.99 or $1.29

Please Understand that we recommend the pricing in USD because many digital platforms prefer monies written in American Currency. 

How many music stores are available in your home town, I'm from Leribe, I can tell you there is not more than five. And all of them sell Famo and Gospel Music, AfroJazz, but these are sadly not the only genres wdo in Lesotho, we have C-Jo, Zhaza Manga, MegaHertz, D2amajoe and many others who do urban genres. Fans or the possible market of these four mention artists hardly ever enter a music store today. I have seen some artists sell no copy in a month. Don't just take music to a music store  and relax, selling music in a physical store today is the hardest thing ever, but with these few tips it can be optimised. First you need to have advertising material at all major stores, for example, a framed A2 poster at Lesotho Music Centre reading, 24; Vector's New Album Available here, some stores even have plasma screens set up for such works, find a profession video maker to make you a clearly effective 30 seconds video that says, "hey, buy my album in here now" or anything really, as long as the message is clear, so clear that you would understand the message in the video just viewing it without hearing anything. Have a strong social media presence, a facebook fan page is the closest of examples, make posts station where exactly your music could be found in each districts, sponsor such posts, did you know you could reach 5000 people on facebook for just $6? Evidently not all the 5000 will buy the CD, but a single post could help you sell at least over 20 copies a day,  Now imagine daily attractive facebook posts, it's not bad, is it?

Are you getting bookings? Paying bookings? Always ask the promoter if he of she would allow you to sell your music at their events, if they do, this is great, they even hook you up with a stall, if they don't, you still carry 10-15 CDs for the "where do I find your music" potential fans, you just be like; here bro, right now, boom, a copy sold. 

Was this helpful? Please share with your friends, tell them also that my Album King Solomoni is dropping on September 29th 2017. The Launch event will be held at Szah "Se-Zah" Restaurant and Launge in Katlehong Maseru Lesotho just next to Maseru Mall shoprite exit circle, just attending the event gets you a free CD of this new Album. Africa's next Big Kid could be from Lesotho, come hear for yourself.

Mr Vrr Pha Hustles Jozi

Reckzen aka Mr Vrr Pha

Many a rapper in the mainstream are there because they had a dream, was it to be famous and have all the pretty girls? Not from what we have learned, a lot of rappers that we hear on our radios and see on our screens are actually there trying to get some green. Money, to feed our families, some to pay for our college tuitions. Everybody has a reason why they need money. Though is the case, this is yet a Far fetched dream. The music is good yes, the videos too, but the pay is disappointing. This past week we found one local rapper doing very well from a distance to get the "insides". 

On a quest to find our locally produced dope rappers, we found a 28 year old Qoaling born artist, Rorisang Khumalo, popularly known as ’RECKZEN’. Reckzen is currently based in South Africa, where he first moved to study. He nonetheless shifted his focus to music after realising  the star that was in him. He is not only a vibrant person but also a goal-orientated person who believes that without a direction, one has no destination. He revealed that he only does simple and non-complicated music that everyone regardless of age can relate to and enjoy, hence distinguishing himself from many local artists.

The Qoaling based artist told us that with his life, he wants to prove that there is no dream too big for a well-focused mind and a determined heart. He is allegedly penetrating through the SA music industry, recently he released a single titled ‘VRR PHAA’ and shot its video which opened doors for him. The middle aged rapper points out that he submitted the video to MNET in success and is hopeful that we will see the video playing on all Mnet channels, with renowned South African Music Television Channel O included. Currently an independent artist, he continued to mention that some major record labels in South Africa have recently been on his tail trying to score a deal with him. He told us that he and his team are still looking for a better deal for him to sign.

On his team he has the likes of Pearl Modiadie from SA, a Mozambique born beat producer Fort Simons, King Joo an executive producer also from Mozambique and a Nigerian sound engineer DJ Peet. Reckzen has two albums that he shared with us; Fatherless and Who I Be, and he is currently working on his mixtape titled ‘Naked Truth’. The ambitious rapper further disclosed that he’s willing to help any rapper in the L only if they stop beefing and being serious about their music. When sharing his experience in the SA music industry, Reckzen said ‘Penetrating through SA industry is a very tough nut to crack that is why when you made it one sings Mama I made it like Cassper Nyovest.

To get hold of him and his music, like his page on facebook ‘RECKZEN’ or his personal account ‘RORISANG RECKZEN KHUMALO, or you can check him out on YOUTUBE

By Lebohang Sefalane

Nthaby & L-Tore; 3 Nights no Sleep

Who does not enjoy the city at night? Or chilled weekend afternoons? Reading this makes it clear you are not one of such, Maseru based rapper L-Tore and radio personality Nthaby Terah of Mxxl have are having fired weekend outings this very weekend, 7-9th July 2017. 

A three day double birthday celebration is what the duo has set up. It all started at Dona@balos last night where a quite tempting line up had been announced, initially having the likes of Mozuzu, CJo, Lereng, Yung Moses and a gifted handful others as performing artists while the DJ table was expecting to be graced Wickz, Zipper, Dallas T, Essh Africa and many others. But it's not over yet, in fact it is only beginning. Today it goes on at the same venue, early bird gate takings will go out as M40 and the later up to M60. It is an action packed show you don't want to miss if you are around Maseru or within easy reach, imagine Juvenile, DJ Tseko, Selimo Thabane, Selector Tesfah, Khebzah, Nuch, Nirex, KTA Kings, Bootz, Thizozo all under one roof! A definite cluster party, bound to be double heated.

Learning about the celebration we had no other choice but to contact the birthday people. Doing this we were only fortunate to find L-tore and Less fortunate when Nthaby was concerned. Speaking to L-Tore, he revealed to us that this is his first public birthday celebration though he is looking forward to many more to come should this one prove successful. He further disclosed that the thought was actually many years old, "We've actually been talking about it for a few years. So this time around we just went ahead and did it." the rapper said. Out of many attendees expected, L-Tore mentioned the media people, bloggers, magazine people, radio stations and everyone else involved be it directly or indirectly involved with the media.

The final question we asked was about things between this vodacom superstars winner, L-Tore, and Nthaby, this was after we had learned from the streets that it wasn't really a a smooth patch between the two. Easily he said; "Well in any working relationship there will be misunderstanding.  None the less, the show will still continue." What more could one ask for? Be sure to show up at Dona@Balos tonight and have a good time, or you can attend the final chapter of the party at The White House next to Litaleng on Sunday where washing your car will get you a free beer!
Enjoy Responsibly
By; Moddaw Oa Mochini

From Zimbabwe with a Dream | KD Summerz

They say music is an international language, it doesn't really matter where you're from, if music in your language the world will hear you out. In the hood streets of Thabong, about eight kilometres from Maseru City Centre dwells a young and vibrant producer and rapper known to his fans as KD Summerz. He was born Kudakwashe Mukuzunga back in Zimbabwe some time in the early 90s, though not specified when, Summerz moved to Lesotho where he now makes his music from. This past weekend we came uninvited to his hood and shared a few laughs, this is how it went down.

Blogger; Yaw Summerz, I hope you're good my brother, today we're on record.

KD Summerz; Oh yeah? Alright bro, bring it on.

Blogger; Yeah King, do you mind telling my readers who really KD-Summerz is?

KD Summerz; Kd Summerz is an artist and producer from Zimbabwe with a diverse approach to music he mainly focuses on putting an African Element to all his work.

Blogger; and when did you start doing Music?

KD Summerz; I started doing music at a very early age. My family is musical so I've had a musical background from as long as I remember. I was already doing TV shows and performing by the age of 7 so I've been in the game for more than 15 years.

Blogger; Nice, and growing up until today, who could say are your musical influences?

KD Summerz; Well my music influences include Jay Z, J. Cole, Lol Wayne, Wizkid, Fela Kuti, Asa, Da Truth, Lira, Michael Jackson,  the list is long

Blogger; Do you have a formal music education?

KD Summerz; Yes I studied songwriting and production with the Beclee School of music. I was a member of Chipawo a performance arts initiative back in Zim, I have attained a certificate of performance arts with the British council and I keep furthering my studies in the field.

Blogger; I see, that makes you a music guru mos, tell me though, what would you say is the difference between you and the next rapper i could meet in the streets of Maseru?

KD Summerz; The difference between me and the next rapper is that I'm diverse and my lyrics are well crafted to fit the target audience. In terms of the sound it's more articulate and different. I'm a voice of the youth you can say.

Blogger; Many a time I have seen performers flop on stage and ruin a beautifully begun performance, what's your secret, how do you handle a mistake on stage

KD Summerz; Mistakes during a performance happen all the time, to the best of us, but all I do in such a situation is to not show it keep going and make it part of the act.

Blogger; Do you think male and female rappers generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?

KD Summerz; Male and female rappers these days get the same opportunities these days although it  has been a male dominated game. But now it's 50/50 the more work you put in the more you get paid and get people to listen to you I mean look at Nikki Minaj, Steflondon, Iggy Azelia to name a few they are making it out there.

Blogger; Which is a good thing i think, but what is the potential income for this career?

KD Summerz; This career has so much to offer, potential income varies with your target audience it's a business. And just like any business it can range from 0 to millions of dollars.

Blogger; looking at African urban music as a whole, and then back to Lesotho, what say you; Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field.

KD Summerz; The field is growing definitely African artists are going global considering now we getting a fair amount of airplay and attention as the urban culture compared to ten years ago.

Blogger; With my years in music I've learned every musicians believes in something, what do you consider your greatest asset as a musician?

KD Summerz; My greatest asset is my mind. That's where my ideas come from, the bars, the rhythms the music... everything.

Blpgger; Could you say you could make it in industries as huge as that of South Africa or Nigeria.

KD Summerz; Yes I will make it in those industries I've been working on my craft to sound as international as possible (giggles), so now I'm tapping into the market with the right strategy for marketing and the sound. I will make it

Blogger; Awesome, given the chance would you work with anyone from South Africa or Nigeria? If yes who in particular?

KD Summerz; I have been working with emerging artists from Nigeria namely Day One, Jiggaman, Mc Femm but on a more brad tip I would love to work with Wizkid, Ten no and Davido. From SA I want the big shots AKA, Casper Nyovest, Nasty C, Dj Maphorisa & Kwesta.

Blogger; What's your take on beef in general?

KD Summerz; I think beef is getting old people should focus more on getting paid than beef (giggles)

Blogger; Don't you think beef could create gang wars such as those of the famous blanket gangs ?

KD Summerz; Yes! Definitely beef can start gang wars we've seen that from time people kill each other and all that buy hey I'm not e beef guy I see it as unnecessary really.

Blogger; Who do you have beef with, and which other local artist would you like to work with in the future?

KD Summerz; No beef on my side fam but locally I wanna work with the best uNeja, Moddaw...

Blogger; Myself?

KD Summerz; ...yes you, (giggles) and Katz, I'm still meeting up with artist from here.

Blogger;What can you say about our music as local artistes, are we there yet, if not, what's missing? 

KD Summerz; Locally we are not yet but almost there. We need to expand and reach other places like SA, the sound quality also needs to improve and meet international standards there's a lot of talent here.

Blogger; Whats the worst that's ever happened to you on stage?

KD Summerz; Haha the worst was getting dissed with a hectic punchline in a rap battle in Cyprus if I ddnt win that battle i wasnt gona get over it (giggles).

Blogger; Whats the craziest stunt you ever did on stage?

KD Summerz; The craziest stunt haha well when I was much younger I would spin of the stage to the crowd not sure I i can still pull that one out haha.

Blogger; What can we expect the next time you release music?

KD Summerz; My next release this month will be my debut album Summerz Eve Its sounding good so far with a lot of collabos with artists from different parts of Africa. 

Blogger;Gig updates?

KD Summerz; Yes I will have a couple shows starting in August to be announced on my Facebook page Kd Summerz, Instagram @kdsummerz twitter @kdsummerz and I'm very excited that I will also do shows outside in Zim, SA, Cyprus and Nigeria and other places in the world hopefully.

Blogger; One word for yourself as an artiste?

KD Summerz; One word is to keep it moving... Music is a difficult industry sometime especially when starting out but never give up and let the music play!

Blogger; Nice, well thank you for your time bro, all the best in your music life and other adventures;

KD Summerz; Thanks Mochini

I have known Summerz for almost half a year now, a humble brother that is, he characterises himself as an afrocentric artist and finds more pleasure in songs with a definitive African Sound, Summerz Eve is surely an album to watch for in the market this coming festive season. To tune to h latest music go to his Soundcloud

LILAPHALAPHA; A RAP SONG

RoboCop

The name Lilapha-lapha is not a new name in The kingdom of Lesotho's entertainment circles, similarlyh applies to the name RoboCop. But as broad as the industry can get, these names are found in two very different though not rival forms of entertainment. Lilapha-lapha, born Bo fihla 'Neko is a Lesotho born comedian who without doubt is one of the most famous comedians this country has ever had, Robocop on the other hand is known for his hard stinging rap punchlines that have over the years led to him beinknown as Lesotho's Punchline king.
Hell broke loose when rapper Robocop announced on his facebook account that he’ll be releasing a single in which he featured a comedian,  LILAPHALAPHA. The HH26 crew did not waste any time, we went into talks with the rapper; Sello ’ROBOCOP’ Molibeli regarding his track with the comedian.
The track itself is named after the character ’lilaphalapha’. When asked why he made such a song he, Robo, told the crew that he believed the song is going to be a key to many doors in his career, he also added, ’Laphisto inspired me to write the song coz we’ve been working closely, that’s how the track came about.’ He further mentioned to us that  with this song, he hopes to explore different  styles of rap, laughingly saying he wants to  switch from the ‘bitter Robo’ to a ‘better Robo’.
In response to why he chose to work with a comedian in an industry full of rappers, he responded, "Music isn’t just about working with rappers, it’s about being versatile. There are so many examples I can make where comedians work with rappers’. The Motleheloa based rapper also emphasised how he is different from any other local rappers, He described himself as a ’go getter’ and unique. Lilaphalapha was produce, mixed a mastered by Carbon Beats and it was co-written by the two stars.
Robocop promised that this is going to be the dopest track of all the tracks he released. His favourite lines  on the track is ‘bare rhyme lia ba fahla (TOALA!) ekare nthoa kobotata’.  The relationship between Robocop and Lilaphalapha seems to have a prospectively bright future as they are already planning high school tours together.  The HH266 crew also found out that Robocop has ended one of the biggest rivalries in our local hiphop circles and has made peace with Megahertz. When asked about it, Robocop showed how it’s only a rumour and he can’t comment on that.`


By LEBOHANG SEFALANE

MAPANAKI, FAKED OR MADE?

One of the profile pictures from the fake accounts named: 

Charley Falimehang

What's the difference between real street love and faked hype? With latter day technology and digital PR, buying facebook likes has been accepted in the hiphop industry as a marketing strategy, so far I have learned that one can't buy comments. So what do you do, you ask your friends secretly to comment and show love, but fake facebook accounts???

Shocking ain't it? Yes, Mapanaki's PR decided to create fake accounts and show love in forms of facebook comments. A few days after their release of LALA Mapanaki released yet another song, "Problems" which I thought was a good song, in fact I was personally impresed by the second verse. I even commented on the official release post of their official facebook page MAPANAKI. It was only a day or two when a close friend asked me,

    "Moddaw are you aware you are the only one who commented on the Mapanaki post? All those accounts are fake and lifeless."

Knowing which post i had commented on, in disbelief I rushed to facebook and checked it out. And with all disappointment I discovered it was true, I followed each of my fellow commentators to their personal accounts and boom!! All the people that showed positive feed back on the comments on the post were all fake accounts. Going to their walls one learns that all of them have no sign of life, yes, fake facebook accounts with one or two profile pictures and no or one post. Now what do you call this? Faked street acceptance, in simple words, fake love. As it remains Mapanaki couldn't get love from the streets so they faked it.

For your own convenience, check those comments on this OFFICIAL RELEASE POST or go directly to those accounts as listed below.
MOSUOE DLAMINI
MOSUOE MPOPO
CHARLEY FALIMEHANG
BICKS TAOLANA
TUMELO LEBAKAE
BRIAN SUPING
And PULE LESHOELA whose fakeness remains unconfirmed but verysuspiciouss, as it remains, Mapanaki could make the streets love 'em so the faked it!!!

Mapanaki or Rhythm Child?

With so much growth in our small hiphop industry, it is not a rare thing to find crews breaking, either from jealousy, misunderstandings, propaganda and basically anything that would make other crew members feel un-easy around others.

Mapanaki with their manager 

Motheea Mpharoane in the centre.

A few years back a small rap crew made it's name in the streets of Maseru, this streetwise rap crew was called Mapanaki, long before the Mapanaki that you know today, though we cannot state for sure, rumour is; Mapanaki was founded by 24 years old rapper and graphic designer Rethabile Kelane aka Brutal Saint, it was quite a large group of more than five and yet less than 10 rappers. They built a name for themselves to some extend it can be said, with songs like "Buka Le pene" and "Chelete" just to mention a few, but it wasn't long before the crew's foundations and were shaken to the core. In 2016 the crew was rewired thereby giving birth to a new hiphop trio Rhythm Child and leaving behind a weakened Mapanaki. For over two months after the split sparks were seen between the patriotic Mapanaki and "the sell outs", it even went to as far as songs being released to address the matter. As we get it from the streets, the problem came with their then manager Motheea Mpharoane (Still manager of the new Mapanaki) who imposed a new way of running which the alleged founder of the rap group did not approve. It boiled down to a harsh split and ever since then the two teams have not seen eye to eye, while Kelane's hands were full with him tryna run and organise the newly found Rhythm child, Motheea was out working day and night with the remaining Mapanaki to create a better group with or without "The Saint" and his disciples. Today Rhythm Child has become one of the best groups in the country musically, that being said however does not mean we should sleep on Mapanaki, truth be told, they are bringing the best project this year when visuals are concerned, with Motheea being creator of the newly launched LNBS soap "Our Times" you know they have a professional on their side when videos are concerned. 

Rhythm Child: 

Brutal Saint on the far Left

Now here is something amazing, this coming weekend, 16th to 18th June 2017, both crews will  release new songs. Mapanaki are finally releasing their long awaited "Lala" and Rhythm Child is bringing in "New Levels" following their most recent release "Do the Wine". Some say Mapanaki will beat Rhythm Child 10/nil because of their organisation and strong held management, yet; others say Mapanaki is no match for Rhythm Child. You find one crew that has become two crews going on a weighing pan a year later and still people are not sure who has the upper hand. I say all we can do now is wait, not for too long though, tomorrow, we will know once and for all who comes in the hardest. Mapanaki or Rhythm Child??? you will decide. 

I am personally a fan of both squads and no matter the reactions of the society on Friday after hearing the two songs, it's nothing but love from me Moddaw oa Mochini and the rest of The DoubleH266 team. We know where hiphop lives

Pusha Nthoena - PENYA PLAY

Without doubt currently running as Lesotho's most followed hiphop family, Penya Play is home of Malome Vector, Mega Hertz, Kopper waleh and Irysh Da princess. It is also confirmed that Ltweety has become the newest member of this hiphop clique. Speak of the most loved local entertainers and you will be amazed how many people are fans of the Penyaplay King MHz who has made a name for himself with hit singles like Mookho, Dineo Mathaba, and his verses on Malome Vector's song called "khosi" meaning "King" .This time around he brings his whole army and he is taking no prisoners, you have the whole four earlier mentioned members of Penya Play in a beautiful afrocentric rhythm which is a song called "Pusha Nthoena".

Who ever made that beat has my respect, that's not something your everyday producers make, a well mastered beat that sets you right in the middle of jungle Africa, a beautiful piece of art right there. The chorus tells you about how long they have been hustling going place to place "pushing this thing" as the name of the song makes evident, you know it's Vector. Then you have these three "maskateers" exchanging verses on the beat without second thought. The verses then bring you to urban ghetto latter day Africa struggles of tryna make money. Koppah Waleh takes the first blow, it's beautiful, you find a better and improved Koppah, then Irysh Da princess, who I have personally just been aware of, comes in and it's bad, she's truly a natural, what do you say? she's got that Penya Play flavour bad. And then she comes back with a twelve bars long bridge just to make way for the King, Mega Stunna himself.

His first line, "Never re hloloa lekhale" translated as "we will never ever loose" truly shows you how Bosses get in.
And he lands so smoothly on the beat as if it was with so much ease, he even goes back to "Khosi" and rebreaths lines like "Tlama thoto e tiie, ke Maseru mona" which means "Bugle up, this is the city", what more can we ask for? Truth is, it's going to be a while before we find another one like Mega Hertz.

You can download PUSHA NTHOEN

A weekend that set new bars

For almost a month the Lesotho hiphop scene went silent, I remember reading tweets and facebook posts about how the industry had gotten boring. Anticipations were however raised when Snurd, formerly retired Axo-Mind, the long disbanded hiphop crew Mechini announced that they were releasing new music soon. In the begining not all the release dates were set, it only got denser when it got clear that all songs were set to be released on one weekend, 21-23 April 2017.

And yes, this has been one of the most fired weekends in our small industry, bars were set, high bars for that matter. We have come to a time when we can now proudly say we produce world class music.

Wave by Snurd feat T-Mech

This passed weekend Snurd sure took his home city by a WAVE with a song called wave, coproduced by him and Slick. Here is what Snurd had to say about the song,

" This Song was co-produced by myself and Slick. Slick sent the original beat but it was too similar to what I was doing for my later projects,so we tossed the beat around between us to make the sound a bit different. It was ambient at first as opposed to the later trappy sound... The post production was tricky cause I was introducing a different vocal range that required some tug and pull on the vocals (mine). So I handled the overall vocal mixing and arrangement cause I don't trust too many people with my voice and Mech was busy with clients. The beat mix was a joint venture 4 ways, between myself, Mech, RMC, and Slick. Mastering was Mech and RMC, it was also tricky because the mix was hollow and needed warmth and saturation in the mids. So yeah, they handled that quite well... The song moved between 3 engineers, 2 producers, and a listening audit who choose to remain anonymous..."

This song is one dime of a song that features, MIP's number T-Mech who as usual did not disappoint.

Turn You On by Mechini

Of many good songs that hit the fans this past weekend was "Turn You On", produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Nejah, "Turn you on" is Mechini's first single since they announced their reunion in mid March. An international sound this song is, Listening to it takes you strake into the world class music realm while at the same time keeps you grounded in Lesotho. It was Moddaw oa Mochini we spoke to about he song since he works with us and as a result is easy to contact, here his say about their new music.

"You understand that Mechini has not been in action for the past 3 years right? Two of these brothers being Palvo and Lemeke were musically inactive for all these years with the other three pushing solo hustles, I was out making rap songs all this time, Nejah was busy with college work and L-tweety was not even a member of the movement then. So here you have a group of musicians who haven't worked together for a long time. So we had come up with something great, and we had to also challenge ourselves, and only a pretty unusual topic would challenge us, so we went for a sex song, and I think it was the greatest choice we ever made, in what better way can an artist express themselves better than in a love or sex song? We nailed it.

Oouu Yeye by Axo-mind ft L-tweety

In the same weekend but on a Sunday, more worm was put out by our stars, Axomind of KOL productions released song called "OOUU YEYE", produced by Skreambeats an mastered by take Beats, this song is one of the game changing songs from last weekend, it is also an uncountable proof that our game has upped a whole lot since last year, asked about OOUU YEYE
" 'ouu yeye' is a complimentary song like "Oh my god" like the chorus as it says, i'm counting up this money like Oouu yeye, so i'm counting this money like oh my God, now they wannna ride with me, oh my God, substitute Oh my God for Oouu yeye, that's what it is, aint nothing more to it, like you get surprised that people been watching me from the start, they ain't even supported me, people that ain't even been around me, now they wanna be around me because i'm with people that are actually helping me elevate people that are motivating me and directing me into some proper positions, now they wanna ride with me, these girls wanna ride with me, oh my God, you know what i'm saying? That's the whole concept of the song, but then at the same time it tutors rappers that you guys are in the wrong lane, this is the right lane, you know what i'm saying? Word"

After hearing these three songs we can now proudly say, we have news bars set, we can sound as any international artist, with songs like this, one can't help it but wonder what the Ultimate Music Awards will be like.

Download all these songs herehere;

Wave by Snurd ft T-mech
Turn You On by Mechini
Oouu Yeye by Axomind

24, Malome Vector's new Album ready for Shelves

The Khosi hit maker has more to say, he is yet to show it wasn't by luck that he made hits these past years, one of our bloggers at DoubleH266 had quite a lengthy chat with Mr Skelekeqe. 

24 years old Malome Vector born Bokang 'Moleli at Mangopoeng Roma has an album coming up, a multi-genre compilation which he says tells the story of his life Journey, named after the number of the years he has lived, 24 is Malome Vector's debut studio album after multiple feature appearances and single releases including Khosi Feat. Mega Hertz and Skelekeqe. A beautiful work of art to say, holding over 12 songs, you have an album that features some of Lesotho's most talented musicians like Mega Hertz , Sadon, Stlofa, Number 35, Feb Mosotho and Arc Flow. But as any music lover or student would tell you, rhythm plays a "Major Key" in the music, and for this super work of art you find Vector having opted for Sir EDI, Stunna ( Mega Hertz) and himself as producers, yes it seems every beat on this upcoming Penya Play offer is the work of these gifted producers. Often you find many local artists just recording a song everyday and then they wake one morning and say "I'm dropping an Album in a month" by just compiling what they call the best songs from all their recordings, but Vector is not the type, he sure took his time to nurture a childhood dream, an album called 24.

From this album Vector tells us he has about 14 songs and six of them are solo singles, I have personally never heard him on a solo so you know I will be looking out for these ones. Out of these 14 songs he keeps drawing our attention to a song called "Hlugana nam" which this Roma muso says it tells the story of his life since he began until now, he says it speaks of the Ups and Downs of the journey. As it stands, 24 is destined to be published and distributed by Penya Play, however Vector is very emphatic on the point that he would appreciate finding another company to partner with Penya Play to help him rich his prime through the release of this work of art. It is for this reason that the "Khosi" (King) says his work is desitined for hard copy market distribution alone now. So when you come across 24 in a music store out there; here is one thing you need to know, the image of this album like the cover and all marketing materials and everything visual was created by the same man, multi-talented star in the making is he not? Multi talented yes, after all he has created an album that's Hiphop, RnB, Kwaito, Housetrap and DanceHall trap, what more could we ask for? Nothing really, so prepare to cop yourself a copy as soon as it's released, I advise you listen to a song called Hlugana Nam before anything else. At the end of his interview Vector sincerely displayed gratitude to DoubleH266 for writing about his album, and we are grateful to Vector and all other artists willing to talk with us and help create a better urban music industry in Lesotho.

Hymphatic Thabs at Back To The City HipHop Fest

Back To The City is known to us as the biggest hiphop festival is the whole of southern Africa, this year over 10K hiphop maniacs will gather in Newtown Johannesburg South Africa on the 27th April 2017, performing at this huge festival is almost every established South African rappers. Amongst many performing me here is our very own Hymphatic Thabs.

And here is to one of our flag hoisters, The Hymphatic Thabs -born Thabiso Mohapeloa- Thabs is a mad Giant on the mic, and a clearly cultured rap veteran whose story begins in the mid nineties. Legend says this gifted young Thabs had to move down to Johannesburg due to his activism for hiphop against the system. As if the raw talent was not enough, the Golden city equiped this then young veteran with so much for his hiphop life. I first learned of Thabs when I was in high school as a hiphop todler, i read about him in a South African hiphop magazine Hype.

Winning some awards that none from of our nation has ever won after him, the Album of the Year Hype Award 2007. It was at this time that I learned we were really getting there as Lesotho hiphop. Only in 2012 I seeked his music out and i came accross The Age Of Horus, an album produced by Kanif for Lapetus Records. Truth is there is a story behind all greatness and today we only tell of his latest honoring. This all time underground defender and lover is once again flying the Blue White Greens, this year he is at South Africa's biggest Hiphop Festival #BTTC Back to the City, Taking Place in Newtown Johannesburg South Africa on the 27th April Along side homelander and Metro Awards Nominee Kommanda Obbs, Apolo Brown and Casper Nyovest just to mention a few. Feauring with Zola 7 in The Heritage Back To The City Festival Special Performance this should tell that Thabs is really a guest of honour in this Huge festival. Thisould serve as an example that even our kind can be the my gifted anywhere we all could work on our craft, we saw Kommanda Obbs and J-Cob there last year, i personally was hoping toee morehis year but sadly that was not the case, however Thabs is like 3 rappers and a half, with him and Obbs on the BTTC stages, Lesotho will be well represented.

Green; New Single by Chocolate Soul

Hiphop has become a curse for many of our young these days, more often you find youngsters quitting school ju to try and make it as rappers. It is very rare that one finds a rapper who is a professional in another field in this time age. Yes hiphop is alive and it has never been this alive in Lesotho before, there's not a day that goes by without one seeing a facebook post about either a new song dropping or a certain rapper being "Lesotho's Dopest rapper". As a lover and student of hiphop however; one has to take each and every of these posts and try to understand the reasoning, because truly so much talent has been neglected over the years and this could be a better way of discovering such talent.

Of many of these rappers however there are O'Gs that have been here for a minute, one of this is a Maseru born Gauteng based rapper Chocolate Soul, 30. A few days ago he made a post about him dropping music. And knowing how hard this Yellow beard rapper can go there was no letting this one pass by. Produced By Taks, recorded at Codeine Cool Studios and mastered by MIP, Green is the name of Chocolate Soul's new single. 

A trap song in it's own right, soaked in nothing but bars and wells arranged rhyme. Where i'm from Green can mean three things, either weed, money or the colour Green, in this song you find Choco making reference to all three. "Bottle green sipping on Heineken/rolling green getting high again" in this lines he speaks of green as a colour and as weed selectively, then as you listen to the song he comes back to say "i got green fingers I make grow" and you're certain he is talking about money here. 

Listening carefully to the lyrics one feels reminded that we have specially gifted rappers in Lesotho and we could be against the best of any country and leave em with deep scars. It is very important mention that in 2013-2014 was in his local television prime, there was not a day when his videos didn't play on our national television. Beautiful music videos for that matter, but then snap, everybody forgot about Chocolate Soul, one can only expect bigger things from this mid aged rapper when he says " I rose and fell like a Sea tide, now i'm back to claim what should be mine". With this being said it is quite evident that the video to this beautiful trappial will be nothing but great. 

Props to Taks Beats also, the producer, There's one sweet melody that runs deep in the beat at the chorus, sounds like string to me. Good lord, it makes me one keep throng playing on the chorus part. And then the well mastered 808's and snares, what does one say about a beat like this? Dope.

Green will be available soon. Be sure to check our facebook page HipHop in Lesotho and get the link once it's been given to us.

To have your Single, EP, LP or Album Reviews by DoubleH266 call +26656647868

Moddaw

When good lyricism and understanding of the hip-hop meets trap. Over the years hiphop has evolved so much and there are a few brothers who have changed or evolved with it like this brother here, Moddaw Oa Mochini. Having done underground rap, vernecular and now trap this particular rapper has been here for a minute, being a subliminal role player in the local hiphop industry as a whole, Moddaw is a rapper, an Initiator of the #Challenge_IGI and admin and founder of this very hiphop blog. One of our bloggers talked to him in detail, read below;

Bl; Who really is Moddaw?

Moddaw for me is an alter ego, it's that someone I become when musical power or street love take over me. I become someone totally different, like i had been sleeping, i awake when Moddaw takes charge. However as a person Moddaw was born James Themba Cambule but later switched to his mother's side and became James Ts'epo Kabi. 

I work as a graphic designer, a photographer, a Chairman at Msejah Media, and a rapper for the same company.

Bl; When did you start doing Music?  

It was back in 2001 or 2000 i think, i was very young back then but i was immitating the likes of 2pac, DMX, Jarule and many more whose tapes i used to steal from my brother's collection and listen to on my "stereo", in 2003 i was writing my own raps and i aint ever looked back.

Bl; Who Are Your Musical Influences?

Understand that I have switched styles so many times, that could only mean I have had many influences, first I was influenced by the very same guys I mentioned, then later the likes of Jay Z started making presence in my music, Talib too, I used to be a number 1 fan, in 2006 I had switched from an underground English rapper to a Sesotho rapper, here I was influenced by the likes of Papa Zee, Zola 7 and many others, lately my music is very much influenced by many Atlanta trappers.

Bl; Do You Have a Formal Music Education?

Nope.

Bl; What's the difference between you and the next rapper i could meet in the streets of Maseru?

I understand the struggle, I trap and unlike many trappers I have been exposed to all hiphop being done in this country, or better yet I have done it before, so with that much knowledge of the basics, i'm not like any of these rappers, and soon this will be proven, very soon.

Bl; How Do You Handle Mistakes During a Performance?

Truth is I run by a code, if it not kill me it makes me stronger, so every flop on the stage is overlooked but sworn not to happen again. And this has helped me groom my performances over time.

Bl; Do male and female rappers generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?

No, I feel like female rappers have more privellege than any of us. It's only that their managers are sleeping, sex sells bro, sex sells more than anything, you feel.

Bl; What is the potential income for this career?

Personally I feel like there is no limit to the kind of money we can make, but locally, you see some rappers getting (bo ma) two thousand Maluti to fifteen thousand Maluti, I guess it all depends on how hard one is working.

Bl; Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field?

Yeah bro, so much growth to be precise, understand that some of us were here long before these studios and equipment we have today, we come from a time where one could perform three shows in one night without pay but just to "promote" yourself. But today we spend days in studios and can charge for our appearances, that's nothing but a sign of growth I tell you.

Bl; What do you consider your greatest asset as a musician?

My Voice, God blessed with a very beautiful voice, it switches to at least 7 sounds, if you've listened to my music you know what i'm talking about. It's a Godly voice I swear to God.

Bl; Do you think you could make it in industries as huge as that of South Africa or Nigeria?

Yeah bro, I feel like i'm ready for bigger worlds now, and hey, watch this space.

Bl; Would you work with anyone from South Africa or Nigeria? If yes who in particular?

Yes, if ever I got a chance I would work with Ricky Rick bro, or this kid, Nasty C, and in Nigeria i'd work with Yung6ix.

Bl; What's your take on beef in general?

Beef is a complete waste of time man, trust me, I know.

Bl; Don't you think beef could create gang wars such as those of the famous blanket gangs ?

More often I tell n***s not to say on records and facebook what they can't say to my face, this is because I can get very physical at times, and I will tell you here and now, there is more like me out there, that means yes we can have gangster executions.

Bl; #Challenge_IGI is meant to create unity amongst other things, do you think this will be achieved through this initiative?

#Challenge_IGI is the dawn of a new hiphop era I tell you, you can't have so many gifted and celebrated rappers on one tape and expect things to remain the same, and yes, unity, being behind it youwill understand I can see already what is coming when unity is concerned.

Bl; What can you say about our music as local artistes, are we there yet, if not, what's missing?

I think we're here now, and further tomorrow, there's not much difference between us and those South African dudes except that they get better cheques. As far as sound is concerned we have now leveled up to international sound, but understand i'm referring to the upper bound here.

Bl; Whats the worst that's ever happened to you on stage?

A DJ at one event told me my CD was not working but I had tested it over three different sets before the show, I had to get off the stage after I was announced, I ain't ever felt that embarrassment I a long time.

Bl; Whats the craziest stunt you ever did on stage?

Daaaaamn bro, you know me and stunts, French kissing a woman during the performance of a song called "Mi ah go love you", that was hella insane man. Too bad I never got he pictures.

Bl; Whats to be expected the next time you release music?

(giggles) man, I feel like i'm about to explode right now, i'm bringing out so much heat ovens won't test me, wait, just wait.

Bl; Gig updates?

Korotlane Tape Launch, 31st March, Purple Haze Maputsoe, 

Msejah Media shows

Deej Rem's Bday bash, 15th April, same place.

Bl; One word for yourself as an artiste?

Godly

I first met Moddaw in a Cypher in Butha Buthe back in 2007, We lost contact for a long time until early his year when he found me and asked me to join his team, his undying passion for hiphop has me startled, I quit rapping and took other adventures on but he has kept it locked for all these years, and now he is making more efforts to impact on and affect the local hiphop industry as whole and not on himself alone as individual. Download his latest release, a sex song called Back it Up

Waddysworth

Hiphop is one crazy school is it not, so many genres, subgenres, styles and takes. And lately everyone is a rapper here, everyone, there is just so many rappers i'm beginning to feel like there is too much, prolly one of reasons i chose to become more than just a rapper, but out of this many, there are a few exceptionals, and hailing from Leribe Peka is this one Exceptional brother called Waddysworth, an underground MC that I'll stop at nothing, when we were setting up the line for #Challenge_IGI we were unanimous that this brother has to be on it. One of our bloggers had a seat with him and they talked, here. What you didn't know about Waddy as I usually call him

Bl; Who really is Waddysworth?
Waddysworth is an underground rapper,lyrical evangelist.phenomenal lyricist. I was born and raised as Pitso Mokhoabane in Peka Leribe.

Bl; When did you start doing Music?
I fell in love with rap music back in 2007. Buh i only started doing records in 2012.  

Bl; Who Are Your Musical Influences?
Personally i am inspired greatly by many different underground rappers...but yoh, Nas and Kenn Star did influence a brother...

Bl; Do You Have a Formal Music Education?
No, i learned everything i know from the streets like many rappers around here

Bl; What's the difference between you and the next rapper i could meet in the streets of Maseru?
l'm deep rooted... I know the basics... Which very few local rappers know.

Bl; How Do You Handle Mistakes During a Performance?
communication with your crowd does it all...

Bl; Do male and female rappers generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?
All that speaks is delivery in our music so sexes say nothing...

Bl; What is the potential income for this career?
Doors are open... That is, when you're good at your thing people start to love your music... other artists start proposing features and you basically charge them for that, more features more fans and more income...they look out for you in music shelves, you could really get paid if you're good enough

Bl; Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field?
Growth is present yes. It just depends on the work or effort one applies.

Bl; What do you consider your greatest asset as a musician?
My producer and DJ bro, t could i do without them.

Bl; Do you think you could make it in industries as huge as that of South Africa or Nigeria?
Yeah bro!!! I can make it, and I'm actually trying to go international as we speak

Bl; Would you work with anyone from South Africa or Nigeria? If yes who in particular?
In SA of course, I would work with Proverb

Bl; What's your take on beef in general?
I'm down for Beef sir, long as there's healthy beef i'm good

Bl; Don't you think beef could create gang wars such as those of the famous blanket gangs ?
Nah..I think our mindset aint the same as those of men in blankets, apart from that, we walking on the footsteps of hip hop's originators, The founders of these culture ofcourse.

Bl; #Challenge_IGI is meant to create unity amongst other things, do you think this will be achieved through this initiative?

Yeah! only if we all have one vision and understanding, initiatives like #Challenge_IGI would take us really far.

Bl; What can you say about our music as local artistes, are we there yet, if not, what's missing?
We are there I think, it's just that most of our production is wack, and many brothers are concerned about parties ,girls and money they don't even have, and cars instead of talking real facts that exist in their raps..

Bl; What's the worst that's ever happened to you on stage?
(Gigles) Not knowing your lines by heart could be a hell of a disaster, you end up moving your lips for nothing while giving performance.

Bl; Whats the craziest stunt you ever did on stage?
Craziest stunt huh? Murdering all my opponents in an open mic freestyle battle. The next dude couldn't have balls to take da mic and do the do.

Bl; Whats to be expected the next time you release music?
Bars, a lot of energy, I be the inspiration with that soulful music of all time.

Bl; Gig updates?
About gigs? Well for now it's silence, just creating new vibes and new music.

Bl; One word for yourself as an artiste?
Psyched

I met Waddysworth, in High School, he wasn't a rapper then, but you could tell some how he was a Hip Hop Child already, it was only in 2013 when I heard he was working in the kitchen with one of my old friends and they were creating dope records, I checked them out and yes indeedhey were working, and them I kept re-meeting him at many of my shows in Peka, to me he is an underdog, he is not in the face of every local hiphop fan, but those who have listened to him will tell you he is different, I could not find much of his much on the internet but you can download one of his songs here

L-Tweety

Do you know what trap is? Ever heard a local trap song without a "but"? You should listen to a rapper called L-Tweety, many "hiphop heads" will many a times dismiss trap as hiphop, but should we care? They did it with every new style that came up, soon trappers will be called hiphop heads and a new style will emerge, being one of a few trappers on #Challenge_IGI L-tweety has a whole genre to fight for. Since he is currently South African based, one of our bloggers spoke with him on the phone and this is what it boiled down to.

Bl; Who really is L-tweety?
L-Tweety is a young artist from Maseru, aged 21 and working full-time on music
Bl; When did you start doing Music?  
I started doing music in the year 2011 Singing gospel music with a group called Charismatic worshipers
Bl; Who Are Your Musical Influences?
YG, YoGotti, Future and Lilwayne (all american rapper)
Bl; Do You Have a Formal Music Education?
No, I don't, but I'm a self made artist...
Bl; What's the difference between you and the next rapper i could meet in the streets of Maseru?
I do music based on my life and I do it knowing that it ain't a hobby but my daily bread. That's the difference.
Bl; How Do You Handle Mistakes During a Performance?
well I firstly apply wisdom of covering those errors with something's that would make a it look like it was part of performance or some typa style on stage.
Bl; Do male and female rappers generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?
It depends on the negotiations
Bl; What is the potential income for this career?
Well because the industry in Lesotho doesn't have much to provide, I'd say 10k-15k
Bl; Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field?
well the industry is growing, generally its hard for every artist either a new comer or those who been there, but at the end of the day, things get better when you when you move accordingly.
Bl; What do you consider your greatest asset as a musician?
My skills & My passion.
Bl; Do you think you could make it in industries as huge as that of South Africa or Nigeria.
Yes i would, actually I've already started
Bl; Would you work with anyone from South Africa or Nigeria? If yes who in particular?
Yes,GEMINI MAJOR, MARAZA, AREECE AND B3NCHMARQ
Bl; What's your take on beef in general?
Ah beef neh (gigle) I think its a waste of time and bars
Bl; Don't you think beef could create gang wars such as those of the famous blanket gangs ?
yebo
Bl; #Challenge_IGI is meant to create unity amongst other things, do you think this will be achieved through this initiative?

Yea I do. Who ever came up with the idea is a born genius!!

Bl; What can you say about our music as local artistes, are we there yet, if not, what's missing?
Well I think we are there, but all we need is money. We financially lack. Actually there is money in ourr  country but its been used on wrong places and events not in this industry as it should be.
Bl; Whats the worst that's ever happened to you on stage?
(gigles)hell, you dont wanna know my n***a, one fan pulled my dreadlocks once, Jesus!
Bl; Whats the craziest stunt you ever did on stage?
 (gigles) forgetting lines bruv iiyoh
Bl; Whats to be expected the next time you release music?
 New sounds and more crazyness in lines and hooks
Bl; Gig updates?
Well i got the Easter Turn Ups @ Bethlehem coming up that features Areece and B3NCHMARQ and then Gigs around Joburg and Durban (MUSIC FACTORY TOURS)
Bl; One word for yourself as an artiste?
21. GREATER


Personally i don't remember meeting Ltweety, it was only recently when i heard one of his songs called Ngeke Balunge that i paid attention to him, but from facebook and whatsapp it seemed i had been talking to the brother for years now, he had been slot hunting on many of my past events, so what does that say, he wanted to talk and i stopped him, but his music talked directly to me on his behalf, shouldn't that be the story of a gifted musician??? Well you decide, they do not call him the Hook Lord for nothing, trust me this brother got it coming, download his music now, the same song I spoke of earlier, Ngeke ba Lunge

T-Mech

Aka Lemekoane

Ask anyone, anyone that you know who has been here long enough and they will tell you, Lesotho's most popular hiphop song in 2013 was Basali-Basali, critics have sought to throw shade saying it's a remake or a bootleg, but this would have me asking, is not the next gospel hit a remake? So remake or no remake, that song was one of the greatest songs ever to come out of this country, and this was the man behind it, T-Mech, and believe me, we had more than a thousand reasons to put this brother on Challenge_IGI, one of our bloggers had a lengthy conversation with him and this is how it went;

Blogger;Who really is Lemekoane?

I was born Thulo Monyake on 6th Feb 1989, I am Son, brother , producer, audio engineer, Artist, Entrepreneur, brand ambassador, model, CEO and Managing Director at Basali Basali clothing and MIP.

Bl; When did you start doing Music?

I Started making music in 2001, in secondary 2 at Machabeng college

Bl; Who Are Your Musical Influences?

My influences are Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Eminem, Jus’Blaz , Swizz Beats, Bone

Thugs and Harmony, and more.

Bl; Do You Have a Formal Music Education?

Yes, I studied Audio Engineering at SAE Capetown from2008 to 2010, Guitars kills IB CAS 2006-7,

Bl;What's the difference between you and the next rapper i could meet in the streets of Maseru?

The next MSU rapper is not me..They are probably just another copycat rap artist. I'm not

Just a rapper in fact that's the last aspect of my musical structure. In short the next rapper

doesn't work half as hard as I do.

Bl; How Do You Handle Mistakes During a Performance?

 Mistakes? I don't really handle, I just make them part of the performance best I can and carry on with the show. Nothing is worse than amplifying a mishap instead of diffusing it on the go.

Bl; Do male and female rappers generally get the same opportunities and equal pay?

 Male and females are never treated the same anywhere really but in Lesotho both parties are ill-treated. The males have more presence so they essentially get better attended. Pay is always relative.

Bl;  What is the potential income for this career?

The potential income for this line of work can only be fully deteined by the work put in by the specific act in question. Eg. One can average anything from M1500 to M15000 plus in a

night/weekend of shows or performances may be more where hosting events

Bl;  Is there growth in this field? How do things generally look for new musicians entering the field?

 From experience over the years, there has been vast growth. I started in 01 Ifirst got paid 5k as al arge group in2013 12years in to my career. 2017 I'm averaging a lot more per show. There are new opportunities like brand ambassador work billboard appearances, talent searches larger scale events, willing sponsors and more. New artists on the scene still have a long way to go to earn their credits but they have it a lot

Easier than those of us with more than 10 years in this. Structures are better, sound quality has improved channels IG media access are more accessible so the new guys have it easy.

Bl;  What do you consider your greatest asset as a musician?

My greatest asset as a musician would habe to be my ear along with my patience for the job. Those two work very closely together to allow me to deliver the best work in multiple areas.

Bl; do you think you could make it in industries as huge as that of South Africa and Nigeria?

 I could make it anywhere long as I got my current gifts, abilities and access to the right tools. In fact if I can make it work in Lesotho where there is minimal infrastructure then where matters are orderly I would be much better placed.

Bl; Would you work with anyone from South Africa or Nigeria? If yes who in particular?

I have already worked with names in RSA and beyond. Ifani, Maleh, TsepoTsola, Zenzo, JWC, Kulax ,J-One ,Illskillz, DjSwitch, ThapeloTTP, and more.

Bl; What's your take on beef in general?

Beef in general? Well negativity is never a good stop however matters like beef are derived

from  once healthy competition which may get outta hand when emotions ruu  wild. I'm not a fan of emotions cause they lack logic and when we can't use beef as a constructive and safe means of progress then it's allwrong.

Bl; Don't you think beef could create gang wars such as those of the famous blanket gangs?

People create gangs and wars over oxygen and airs pace things wecan't even see so beef is like any other form of conflict can and will start a problem if and when not managed properly.

Bl; #Challenge_IGI is meant to create unity amongst other things, do you think this will be achieved through this initiative?

 IGI is a strong Initiative and a good step forward toward the goal of artist unity but that can only really be achieved by affecting the way our artists and people think collectively

Bl;  What can you say about our music as local artistes, are we there yet, if not, what's missing? 

 As local artists we still have quite a length to cover in regard to our music. There are many of us delivering some good work but we have a  lot to prove on between writing skills and quality of product as well as delivery. Very few of us are applying the required efforts in educating self and putting quality content out. We need to work a lot harder to actualize and realize our dream.

Bl; Whats the worst that's ever happened to you on stage?

The worst that has happened to me was having to leave stage 7min 23 seconds in to an hour set for a Dj to be slotted in at one of the biggest events of my career at the time.

Bl; Whats the craziest stunt you ever did on stage?

craziest stage stunt would have to be opening off my performance with a gospel hymn as a

Hip hop act at a major youth concert or performing in Sesotho to an all Indian audience in Cape Town after letting the audience know they may not hear a thing I'm saying but please enjoy yourself.

Bl; Whats to be expected the next time you release music?

My next release will be an authentic project. Something I have been patiently cooking up

Over years of work.#AvRcUsb Ep and Lp. Basically the movie into my life/T-Mech'slife.

Bl; Gig Update

Gig update:  25 March I'm in Qacha with Tlama Thata at Lenk's Night Club. 9th march I'm  at MSU Market with Count Pushkin Vodka, BornSavage and BasaliClothing,

Bl; One word for yourself as an artiste?

Enigmatic

I met T-mech many years ago, I can’t remembered the exact year but it was quite a while back, him and I have worked together on quite a number of times, we’ve had our differences also, can’t really call them beefs but yes we’ve clashed. In my eyes T-mech is one of the most hard working young musicians this country has ever had, I respect this young homie right here. Be sure to check T-mech's music on T-Mech's Soundcloud