Kast�s quest: The 1,000km ahead
Dumisani Ncube | Friday February 17, 2017 11:13
His walking mates are ahead of him but pass the motorist with little interaction. After a period, Kast finally sidles up to the vehicle and warmly greets the passenger, before striking his now trademark pose for the camera.
Kast’s first manager and prominent producer Massie Hule understands the rapper more than most.
“Kast is a stubborn and determined person who makes sure he completes what he has started,” Hule says in an interview in Gaborone. “I picked up that when I signed him. After he was told that he couldn’t rap by some record company, he went on to be one of the best rappers in the country.”
Stubbornness and determination will certainly help Kast some of the way in his epic mission. Last Sunday, the rapper began walking 1,000 kilometres from Maun to Francistown to Gaborone as part of a well-publicised campaign to garner support for his Tlatsa Lebala dream.
Tlatsa Lebala is a planned show to highlight local musical talent and Kast has set a goal of filling the national stadium, with Batswana showing their support for homegrown musos. The Mmadinare native says he needs P1.8 million for Tlatsa Lebala to be a success. The show should have been held last year, but Kast cancelled at the last minute citing weather, a development he says cost him close to P300,000 and left him in debts.
But stubbornness and determination will not help Kast the whole way. The searing sun, winds and even the threat of Cyclone Dineo are just some of the challenges he has along the way. He will walk through lion-infested territory and traverse the hunting grounds of all sorts of other predators and reptiles in summer, their favourite hunting time of the year.
All this pales however, when compared to the biggest challenge he faces. His own strength and endurance and the timeline he has given himself to complete the walk – 28 days at an average of 40 kilometres per day. “My body is not adjusting in the way that I expected it to do,” Kast says by phone on Day 4 of the walk.
“I am still in a lot of pain. I am now in Makgadikgadi at the park. I have covered approximately 110km.”
This park is among areas that many had warned would yield predators to potentially turn Kast’s walk into a sprint for life. “I haven’t seen any wild animals yet. We just passed through a place, which showed that elephants had just passed through. Tree branches were broken and the long grass was broken.” The walk has captivated Batswana of all ages across all media. It is however on social media where attention has been highest, with commentators sharply divided on whether Kast will succeed, whether Tlatsa Lebala will happen and why the whole walk is even necessary.
The rapper has his supporters. Prior to the walk he received valuable support from various corporates for the walk as well as for the show. Along the way, motorists and other benefactors are stopping to offer the rapper and his team supplies, refreshments and encouragement.
Loapi Events, a company owned by fellow rappers Scar and Trauma, has scheduled an event dubbed “Tlatsa Komana 4 Kast 1000km” this Sunday where all gate takings will be given to Kast. The rapper does have his critics though and in certain corners of social media, he has become a laughing stock. “Why didn’t he start with Gabane at least? Kana by the time he gets to Francistown, we’ll already be preparing for Christmas,” one comment on Facebook reads.
“Too bad Cyclone Dineo will blow him back to the starting point after all the hard work. He needs to just catch a bus and give up,” says another.
Memes have sprung up on social media, one of them a caricature of Kast repairing his shoes after a “puncture”.
The rapper appears to be taking the criticism in his stride, even retweeting and reposting the jibes.
There are those, however, who are mounting serious questions about the legitimacy of Kast’s quest. Recently it was revealed that the Botswana National Sports Commission had offered the rapper the stadium free of charge, removing one of the motivations he had cited for the walk.
The Commission says the rapper just has to pay for certain expenses such as power supply and turf covers and this deal was on the table before Kast left for Maun. Other critics say the circumstances behind the failure of last year’s event suggest the whole Tlatsa Lebala campaign is a ruse to leverage patriotism for funds. ast is resolute however.
“I am logging this campaign to draw attention from different stakeholders such as government, ministries, corporates and individuals.
With this walk I hope they will start considering arts seriously in the country and give it more support. I want to get people aware and raise funds.
I am not only doing this for Tlatsa Lebala,” he says.
The rapper hopes to emulate South African icon, HHP who walked from South Africa to Kenya in a campaign known as the Daraja Walk in 2013. HHP’s efforts were designed to unite African nations. Kast’s efforts, he says, are designed to unite Batswana around their music.