Leave the Zulu Lyrics Out - Cibo
He has been watching the local kwaito scene with keen interest and hopes he has learnt enough to make a positive change, making it sound more Tswana than South African.
Cibo is yet to release his first solo project but already he believes he has what it takes to change the face of kwaito. “A lot of our artistes have this tendency of using Zulu lyrics in their music, it has worked for them in a way but we should be proud as Batswana and use our own languages.
At times people who listen to their music end up thinking it is a South African artiste and as you know a lot of Batswana these days prefer to buy local music than anything,” Cibo said.
Born Basimanebotlhe Tselaesele, 24 years ago, Cibo liked music and dreamt of becoming a star. In 1999, he formed a kwaito outfit called Two Man Crew. The duo released an album called Re mazwaki, which was a total flop. A follow-up also failed to put them on the map and they disbanded.
“I believe that time was not just right for us because we were still schooling, I went to Zimbabwe and the album was not marketed because in the first place we would not be able to perform at shows if I was staying so far away,” he said.
Things worsened for him when he completed his studies and returned home hoping to revive his career. In 2005, he won the World of Music Talent expo in Francistown and was promised a recording contract at Victor Lumu’s company. But things did not work out and he decided to move on. “The talent expo was sponsored by the Department of Culture and Youth and we were told from the beginning that those who win will get recording contracts and when I won the kwaito category I thought my dream was finally coming true, but nothing came of it,” he said.
The criminal justice student at the University of Botswana (UB) told Showbiz that he was finally relieved to have recorded his solo project, a single called Dinambanamba which is due to hit the shelves in the near future.
Though it would be an exaggeration to say the single will top the charts, it will certainly announce the youngster’s second coming in a big way and make competitors and fans take serious note. Though he is currently working with Mad Dogs, a kwaito-kwasa outfit based in Kanye, Cibo is adamant that he will stick to the original kwaito style popularly called S’gubu.
“I like the Mapetla type of kwaito and even in the project that I did as part of the Two Man Crew, was S’gubu,” he said.
Kabelo Mabalane, who has changed his stage name to Bouga Love, is Cibo’s top man but he has vowed never to imitate him or even try to bring him down.
“I believe I can learn a few things from listening to his songs. The same applies to Mapetla and Skazzo, those guys are really good but I am ready to take them head-on and give them a good run for their money,” he said confidently.
Cibo is not the first kwaito artiste from Kanye, others have come and gone like Colosa of Mogoditshane Route 7. When he first burst onto the scene he was tipped to replace Vee as the country’s youngest kwaito dynamite but only God knows what happened.
“I am well aware of the challenges lying ahead and to me the most important thing is to stick to the basics. I am not going to imitate anyone either,” he said.
[Via Mmegi]
