Acappella music group pleads for support

MOGOMOTSI MOLOI
Correspondent | Wednesday December 19, 2007 00:00

To mention a few, Lady Smith Black Mambazo of South Africa, Black Rhinos of Zimbabwe and local men Black Zebras come to mind when one thinks in music terms. 

Recently to emerge on the local scene are the Ramokgwebena Black Boys. As their name suggests, the 10-member group originates from Ramokgwebana, a village at the end of A1 Highway to Zimbabwe in the northeastern part of Botswana. Despite being formed some years back, the group is not well known and its music is yet to reach many ears. The group has two albums to its credit, with the first one released last December.

Director Isaac Mogwe explains that since the music is African, he preferred, like other acappella music groups elsewhere, to name his group Black Boys because, like the late James Brwon said in one of his top hits, they are 'Black proud'. 'The word black has something to do with Africanism,' says the Ramokgwebana Black Boys' talented lead singer.

He says he got the inspiration from Lady Smith Black Mambazo. When his father worked in South African mines back in the early days, the old man used to bring a collection of Black Mambazo records. Mogwe loved mostly Momathemba.

Mogwe (not related to the famous Kabelo Mogwe of Culture Spears) recalls that sometimes in 1995 he told his late wife that he had interest in forming acappella music group but his wife dismissed the idea.

Also his friends discouraged him. However, it was in 2004, after the death of his wife, that he had a calling to sing. He wrote a song relating his experiences as a widower.

'From there I started compiling songs, which were later released in my first album,' he says. Black Boys' debut album was titled Ndasiwa Ne Nkadzi Wangu, literally meaning that he lost his wife to death.

He says by then he was working with five church boys. He concedes that the going was tough because many people or producers did not understand the kind of music. He luckily got assistance from Moon Light Music Studios in Zimbabwe. Now Mogwe is oozing with happiness to have released his second album titled Inolema Zila. The 12-track album, which is yet to hit the market, talks about the hardships of modern life. 

The former army sergeant acknowledges that his first album was a flop. But he attributes the failure to lack of funds for aggressive marketing and promotions.

Furthermore, he says a majority of his group members are students, which makes it hard for the group during exam time. He laments that acappella music is not common in Botswana whereas it is an African and traditional genre.

'It appears that we are being sidelined by Radio Botswana and Botswana Television (Btv).

There is no day that our music is played on the national radio but other genres like Kwasa Kwasa, reggae and gospel have their slots,' cries the singer. He plans to shoot DVDs that he would use to market his music internationally.

A hardworking Mower, who is also a successful taxi operator, feels that scapula music is under threat of extinction in Botswana due to the fact that it is unknown by the new generation. He says this is because Batswana are not giving the music a chance.

An unfazed Mogwe recommends that acappella music groups should follow the likes of Black Mambazo, who have revived the South African culture through music.

Ramokgwebana Black Boys need only financial support for them to survive and take the music to another level.

'We need people who can help us. We want to develop acappella but we can only succeed if we get maximum support from the public,' Mogwe points out.

He does not agree that by singing in Kalanga, he sidelines other people's language wise. He says it is impossible to cater for everybody but he always tries hard to mix languages including Portuguese. Mogwe says to bring competition in local music shores, there must be variety.

The 43-year-old father of three says Batswana should desist from being biased to particular genres only and ignoring others. If things go well, Ramokwebana Black Boys would be staging a very big show during Christmas holidays at their home village to launch their new release.

They chose to start their campaign in Ramokgwebana because it is where they originate.