A.T.I sets the stage ablaze at Big Brother

| Thursday July 25, 2013 00:00

 

The rapper has created a following locally and though it's a divided crowd, there is no denying the fact that he knows how to set pulses racing and get people talking. On the eviction night of the popular reality show Big Brother, A.T.I showed up on stage dressed in a white T-shirt that interestingly looked to be deliberately torn from the neck-line to chest level and on the right sleeve, replete with huge safety pins tucked in on the affected parts of the T-shirt, sagging white pants that had bands tied to the knees and his customary tattooe of a teardrop to complete his look.  Throngs of fans screamed in a frenzy when he started rapping his very popular song Ke Lekhete, and the rapper knew just which buttons to push to the crowds' delight  when he got his feet moving in a fashion not too different to the moves famed by the controversial Chris Brown.

Botswana is no stranger to talented rappers with big names who have performed on big screens like Channel O and some who have been based in neighbouring South Africa, but no one in recent memory has managed to stir as much controversy as A.T.I has, mostly with questionable stage antics, dress code and at the height of it all, the much talked about alleged Satanism, but like a true relentless artist, he has shrugged it all off and went on to be a hit with the young crowd who sing along to his every lyric. 

What was particularly impressive about his Big Brother performance is the fact that he was in tune with his crowd, he wasn't miming as seem to be customary with certain performers and he wasn't lazy either in a way that artists usually have half their songs sung by the crowd instead by thrusting the microphone in fans' faces.  A big US rapper has a song that proposes that rappers don't dance but just pull up their sagging pants and lean back. 

Obviously A.T.I doesn't agree with that seeing as he had his dance mode on full volume and towards the end of his song he dramatically set himself down on a bent knees as if in worship before the fans, classy indeed.Many followers on Twitter had much to say about the young buck, with some simply singing his praises while others let it fall to saying, 'Can somebody tell me what is unique about that A.T.I guy that came to perform? Is that dress sense unique?

What a horrible sight.'  Something that immediately had his legion of fans asking where the commentor originated from while some simply praised his showing and declaring that the man was on his way to topping the music scene in Africa.  But when all is said and done, A.T.I is one of the few talented artists with genuine stage presence.http://cdn.dstv.com/originalproductions/article/ATI_Lrg_74d1aab9-1a24-4e1d-bbad-f477f8add475_161321201631642.jpg