The Humble Thabo
He is a young upcoming gospel singer and the founder of a group called Bafana Bah Diharepa. The young artist who hails from Molaladau but grew up in Serowe is currently doing his studies in the city where he also got to take up and pursue his singing career. He went on to work on an Ep titled ‘Letsogo la Morena’ in 2019, recorded and mastered by Shathiso Aaron at Soundhub Records. They also went on to complete a full album project in 2020.
As a gospel singer when was your talent discovered?
I discovered my talent in 2016, when I was about to go for high school. I believe it was a calling and God knew the right time to answer it because it happened in the blink of an eye. At that time I felt a powerful deep voice just coming out of me whenever I sang. I loved gospel music so much and guess what I’m from a Christian family.
Why did you choose this genre?
Honestly there were no options to choose from, ‘ne ele thato ya modimo, go hlolegile go nna ka mokgoa oo ka baka la thato ya modimo fela, a se ka boikgethelo’. I am a singer because I preach the Christian message which sends light into the darkness of people’s hearts and connects them with God to heal souls. My music is just the traditional gospel and I have two years singing it.
How many songs have you managed to release?
I released my first album of 8 tracks last year.
As the founder of Bafana Ba Diharepa, may you kindly tell us more about this group?
I founded the group (gospel choir) with only one aim, which is to produce recorded acapella music in a traditional Zion style. It has 12 members and is about to drop its first album very soon.
When you started your music how did you get through?
Firstly I met Tefo Phiri, a local gospel artist who then recommended my current producer at Soundhub Records. I found it suited to have a promoter, I met Gaone Selebo of Lady G Promotions after I dropped my album so that I could learn the ropes of the industry faster and speed up the distribution of my product. We went through interview sessions at radio stations, newspapers and I even saw myself on stage immediately after the album release.
You are pursuing what can be justified as one of the struggling genres in Botswana, how are you making it through in that area?
Honestly it’s not easy, but I believe in myself that with God I’m going to make it one day. It requires courage, compassion, a proactive attitude and a spiritual wisdom.
Don’t you ever feel like giving up?
No one in the music industry has ever achieved greatness without struggle, when challenges arise I look up to God, who grants me power & strength. Botshabelo ke ena, thuso e gaufi ke ena, tsohle tse nhlagelang tseleng ke di beela ena ka thapelo tsohle tsa loka bofelong.
What do you think needs to be done to improve gospel genre in Botswana?
In my humble opinion, I think it’s very clear that the Gospel industry needs to be propelled even further. Pardon me for the lengthy reply, there are a number of relative reasons:
*It would take initially collective team effort to propel this genre even further. For illustration, look at how commercial house artists have come together and offer help to one another with some even going as far as offering free features to upcoming artists so as to engage them more and at the end pushing the industry. If those same principles or something similar can be enacted in the Gospel industry then we would go far.
*We would need high quality digital media as well as the equivalent expertise to utilise it i.e. producers. Speaking for myself most producers are not yet confident with my type of Gospel and as such leading to partially produced songs that could still use some work but if they were skilled enough with the tech behind production then producing and mastering my type of beats would not only be world class but prove to be effective and efficient as well.
*The fourth industrial revolution is upon us and with that said we lastly need lots of online promotions. The social media is taking over the world day by day and gone are the days when people sit in front of their television sets in search of entertainment. People turn to the social media for that kind of satisfaction. We need Gospel shows hosted online for people to stream and that is how we will boost our popularity as artists and that of our beloved genre.
Who do you look up to in the Gospel industry?
Well, in Botswana unfortunately there is no gospel artist who inspires me. I only look up to the late Oleseng Shuping, all the way from South Africa. The legend is gone but his music still touches many souls.
What do you want to achieve through your music?
Honestly I want to achieve many things in the industry but most importantly I want to be a successful recording artist.
Duncan Sebeso