WIZARDS RELEASE SIMCARD

Wizards started off as a hip hop group in 1995 with about six members who were cut down to four.

They were part of the initial P-Side crew, a movement which shaped the hip hop scene in Botswana to what it is today. The group consisted of founding members Lloyd (Ayalah), Kaylo, Gobe and Oscar. After the first album, Gobe left for England where he still is currently and Oscar also left to pursue other interests. After the 2nd album, Wizards had to make a choice between doing Gospel or House kwasa.

These two genres were the most selling at the time with Alfredo Mos, Nata Carpricon and Phempherethle topping the sales list. Skwi and Kevin replaced Gobe and Oscar but also left the group because they couldn’t handle the switch from hip hop to house kwasa. Kaylo and Lloyd master minded the re-invention of the group and that is what has kept wizards abreast to this day. The group has won several awards and released 10 albums to date and the latest is a cheeky house single, Simcard, which has raised some dance floor temperatures already!

DJ GEE SPOT SPEAKS

RB2 hip hop mix show Dj, recently started a group of Urban music Djs and artists in a bid to make them aware of the ins and outs of Botswana music industry.

Monnamogolo asked DJ Gees pot to write a short piece about what he has found out already and this is what he wrote:  A lot of artists in Botswana act as their own managers. The downside of this is, one is not always

Gees-pot

able to negotiate well. On the flipside, artists are underpaid, and thus they can’t afford managers. International practice dictates that local artists should be paid at least 30% of what foreign acts are getting. However, this is not practiced in Botswana, local artists still get peanuts, even from wholly sponsored gigs.

Monthly meetings with BOMU, COSBOTS & BEPA have revealed that although there are not enough laws in place, most artists are not aware of the few available.  Measures like Botswana music week and greening grass period (where only Botswana artists will be booked to perform in November and December) can be employed. It is thus imperative for all the active artists to meet and map a way forward, or else COSBOTS will be exporting 80% of royalties and artists will never afford anything let alone managers.

ROBBIE ROB IN BBA7

Mr O did it in 2010, O’neal, last year, and this year it is Robbie Rob’s chance to play in the Big Brother house.

Looks like Multichoice chooses only radio Djs to represent at the Big Brother House. However, I have a suggestion for tsala yame Billy for next year. It will be very cool if Multichoice Botswana ran a Dj competition with a minimum quota of 50% Botswana music.

It’s high time Africa really gets to hear Botswana music on a powerful platform like Big Brother. That will go a long way in encouraging Botswana club Djs to start playing BW music in their sets. There were also lots of murmurs and complaints from Batswana Djs at the choice of Robin to represent Botswana with most telling Monnamogolo that a Motswana born and bred Dj should have been sent instead!

ICE LOVE RELEASES AFRO DANCE HALL ALBUM
Ice Love, a two man group has brought a new twist to the local music scene with their latest Afro dance hall album Genesis. 

The album which has a Nigerian touch was released last week in Selibe Phikwe at Ntwalo studios.The two men, Daniel Diamond, 37 and Boitumelo Bonolo 35 said they hope that their debut album will do well in the

Ice Love

market to help cement their place in the music industry.

“Our aim is not only to target the local but penetrate into the international market as well,” said Daniel.The manager of the group Opeyemi Adebola Dave Ajayi of Ajayi Legal Chambers said that the group has a binding contract. “They must release at least two albums in two years,” he said.

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