“Our Country Does Not Help Make And Empower Upcoming Artists,” Kid-Hollit
I am formally named Ted Atlasaone Tihelo but well known as KID-Hollit. I was born in Maun and grew up in Gaborone. I’m a hip-hop artist, actor, fashion genius who is the founder of IED DET Clothing Brand, CEO at Five Stars Model Agency and the guy behind Ikemele Monana Foundation. I have been in the music industry since 2017 but by then I was still learning the ups and downs of the industry then I dropped my first single “Trap Queen” in 2018 produced by Lif Aman the Executive Producer of ATI’s second Album “Envelope”.
My love for music started when I was young. I remember back at school I would join some talent shows and people loved me but I thank my former music teacher at high school, he played a huge role in my career. Without music, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish many things that I am very proud of, music is a huge part of my life and it helps define who I am. In this industry it is difficult to always get what you want because not everything is always as you want it to be. Some people will treat you the way you expect them to but some will never accept you so it is always best to stretch out to reach out to those who do not like you as well and that is the main goal for every artist, for every content creator and for every developer. Everyone is always targeting to reach out to many people because that is just how it goes. Music is a business so when you’re selling you want to make as high sales as possible.
As an artist I have had some decent achievements but there is that one song of course that stands out from the rest. It’s “Expensive Attributes” this song gave me a big recognition from the biggest artists and record labels, it got nominated twice in the South Africa awards and got played in different radio stations. In 2020 I received an email from one of the filmmakers from USA (Miami, Florida) and they wanted to use the song as a background music in one of their films but unfortunately it did not work out. I haven’t released an album yet however, but I’m still working on that.
One thing I can admit as a musician is that it has never been easy for most people in this industry. It is full of competition which put all including me on the negative side. The government and corporates as well do not really do much in helping out in this industry. I always hear them saying they do help us but when we talk to them it’s a different story and you know what’s funny they promote established artists who have money and good fan base for free and charge upcoming artists who are struggling to find money and shows. Promoters are also the same, they do not really help the growing of upcoming artists. They only book the same artists always and I always hear people complaining about that. They should give young artists a chance to market themselves in those big shows.
Local promoters are only focusing on the same artists and they don’t support young artists. Since 2018 I have been trying to market my music here, even in radio stations, only Yarona FM played my music. In 2019 I decided to market my music internationally. I submitted my music in South African radio stations and they played it. The thing about South Africa is that they help young artists to grow and you will always see them in big events. People really loved “Expensive Attributes” which was played almost every day in radio stations there. I even saw a lot of videos about the song that were trending in South Africa on social media and I guess that’s how I got nominated.
However here in Botswana they only support you when you have a good fan base unlike in South Africa where they support you from the bottom. If you are good they will make you big, which is why each and every year there is a new artist trending in South Africa. You remember that time people were fighting for William Last KRM Batswana said, “That’s our very own he was born and raised here” and in South Africa they were like “We made him so he is representing South Africa”. This will continue to happen to many artists including myself because I’m going big this year. As you grow as an artist sometimes you need professionalism, you need privacy and to maintain your image and such staff. So for a one man band it feels like overload until you have someone to put weight on. That’s when the major labels come in because they experience a proper platform meant to handle such issues.
The relationship between us as artists should be about working together and support each other. On that note, I would like to say a big shout out to my guy “Dramaboi” may his Soul Rest in Peace, he made me feel like a big artist. I’m planning to host a ONE MAN SHOW at which young upcoming artists will showcase their talents.
Duncan Sebeso