History of Hip Hop in Botswana

JERRY KAI-LEWIS
Correspondent | Thursday November 12, 2009 00:00

 

But were you to ask a lot of young'uns today about the big names in hip hop they'll undoubtedly mention Zeus, HT, K-Bos, Stagga, Qbio, Apollo Diablo, Scar and Tha Orakle. But long before these young word alchemists dreamt of holding a mic, B-Boys were all the rave.

A diamond fuelled economy that was well managed by shrewd political leaders saw Botswana being the world's fastest growing economy between 1977 and 1999. With the money came the cravings for all things foreign, especially music and fashion. For young and hip Batswana, hip hop and its associated lifestyles held sway. The mid-80s saw a lot of b-boy battles at English medium schools and malls in the country's two major city centres, the capital city Gaborone and the second city Francistown.

'There used to be battles at MAP (Maru-a-Pula school), GSS (Gaborone Secondary School), at the Main Mall and anywhere they could do battle. It was intense,' said deejay-cum producer DJ Sid. Although a lot of names were dropped, honorable mention went to Skizo (then, Dave-ski) and Thabo 'Shakes the Mix' Matthews. According to Sid It was Shakes' show, Rap Blast, on Radio Botswana 2 (RB2) in the early-90s that saw the emcee emerged from under the shadows of the b-boy. Coupled with the Variety Shows (V-Shows) at secondary schools in Gaborone the radio show saw the emergence of emcees like Pongo Rista, the guys of 3rd Mind and Wizards of the Desert.

It will take three years after Shakes' show for 3rd Mind to release Player For Life. Maybe owing to the fact that kwaito was taking a firm grip on the hearts and minds of Batswana, the ensuing battle for supremacy between the genres, and the fact that local clubs, people and promoters sidelined hip hop, Player For Life didn't do well. Regardless, it was the official start of the emceeing phase of hip hop in Botswana. The years between 1996 and 1999 were quiet. The only important development of note in those years saw Skizo and Solo B forming and releasing Tribal Monks (TMO), a super group that made the first attempt at unifying all the genres loved in the region under one group. This group also featured a young emcee named Dolio.

The year 2000 will see DJ Sid and Prez Beatz (Presley and Double D of 3rd Mind) produce the P-Side Compilation featuring emcees such as Mista Doe, Nomadic/Mr T, Scar and Desma/Ice Queen. That same year saw Dolio making a comeback as Draztik with the Botwana-South Africa group Cashless Society. Draztik's Strictly Hip Hop Live on RB2 and Yarona FM's Sprite Rap Activity would see rappers like Tha Orakle, Apollo Diablo, Zeus, Scar and Stagga becoming household names.

Scar will go on to release the first solo LP by a Motswana, Illegal Act. Stagga followed with an EP, Staggalicious. The guys of Sinewave Productions, brothers AK and Qbio (who also produced the first two track's on Pitch Black Afro's Styling Gel and was a part of DJ Cleo's now defunct group Amakoporosh) released the Fullclip under the name Ignition.

Mista Doe's Ke Fitlhile won a Channel-O Award and Nomadic/Mr T's Soul Aqua was critically acclaimed. But the two albums that'll standout in the early 2000s are Orakle's Sex (produced by Prez Beatz) and Apollo Diablo's The Meaning Of Life (combinations of producers including Draztik and Qbio).

A lot has happened over the years. Loyalists are predicting that the region is finally taking notice of Batswana emcees with the release of Scar's sophomore LP Happy Hour and releases of completed albums from Stagga, Zeus, K-Bos, Eureka and HT. The likes of Zeus and Mr Doe winning the prestigious Channel O Awards has also gone a long way in that regard. What has become very clear over the years is that with producers like Skizo, Earth, Man-E, Grand Pa, Favi, B-Note and Qbio, the hip hop that is now coming out of Botswana has a true regional feel to it and is a far cry from the days of trying to sound American. The general consensus among Batswana emcees is that the genre has to reflect the language, music and culture of the region - a true testament to the influence of one pioneering head and producer, Daddy Skizo.