PHENOMOLOGY OF
LESOTHO MUSIC IN TIMES OF ‘SWAG’
“A collective drive of
immorality”
By: John Ralebitso
The
specimen of Academia often say the power of the mind exudes the infinite
universe of possibilities hence Artists have gone beyond infinity in the spectre of creativity. Living in a such
a stagnantly patriarchal society as Lesotho has always given me a major concern
regarding the growth of ‘popular’
youth
trends and music.
Flickering
through the channels on my Radio Set last Friday, I bumped into the broadcast
of the Vodacom Superstar top 20 finalists. As if my foresight was a validation
of anguish that I had predicted during the national audition phase, I knew that
the youth culture was yet to face an embarrassing climb-down. I was not really
sold into the idea of being excited about this competition because of previous
mediocrity that we have experienced regarding the so-called competitions and
Awards in this country.
But
let me be modest and let my doubts to varnish in vain because prizes are
groundbreaking atleast.
I
am not really sure if it was fair for creators of the competition to wrestle up
‘pop culture’ music with Famo and Gospel. And what also ensued throughout the
whole judging process is in my opinion the pre-emptive agendas that lacks
transparency and clearly defined target market.
But
what could have made Hip hop& Kwaito to suffer such an embarrassing pitfall
in the selection process which scoped diction, lyrical content and
posture/gestures amongst others?
I
would have ideally shunned the temptation of saying Lesotho music but I want
the context to be precinct and literal to the simple eye as a means of scoping
our own identity within the world wide musical traditions and culture. Our local
music industry is characterised by many a genre but i will position my focus on Famo,
Hip hop and Kwaito.
Like
an eagle seizing a baby kitten, many young music lovers have felt like the past
generation sees us(the now generation) as deficient thus bolstering their own
collective ego based on high moral ground. Instead of making me snap out of my
torpor as a youth, the latter statement validates my long winded analogy that
the ‘pop culture’ ,which is also infused in our local styles of music, has
dented the prospect of a smooth musical maturity.
The
vulgar language and depiction of sexual animation now has pride, labels and of
course a huge target market jumping into the Westerners loose moral bandwagon. What
was once a shady loser hovering on the fringes and an amorphous mob has now
grown into a coherent identity of style trend and a socio-movement.
The
triumphalism of incompetence and loose lifestyles has developed to become a gem
that gets flaunted as a token of superiority in dialogues and lyrics that we
listen to today. Within the slow stitches of the speeches that I had listened
to from my childhood in music, I have never felt so unsure about the purpose of
music like I do in this day and age. What is the dream of music? What does it
aim to impart to the world?
I
might be a bit of an old school leftie when it comes to this subject but even
some level-headed realists like myself share the same sentiments. In this day
and age when there is a wide diaspora of social ills that can be remedied
through music, it is quite displeasing to listen to the lyrical content that
celebrates subject matters that embarrasses one to even listen in the presence
of parents.
On
the real, young Artists through their music should serve as the only
transmitters of local traditional culture that should be transcended to the
next generation. Through sad communal evils facing Lesotho, our youths’
thoughts and feelings of fear and epochs in equilibrium should give birth to a
possible ideal of perfection not some western state of mind.
Famo
and Hip hop music are increasingly becoming notorious for fuelling ‘beef’
amongst its stalwarts which promotes incitement and ‘artistic factionalism.’
But art is a refuge of relaxation and a peace propagating tool. Though the
sound has evolved, the content has also lost consciousness too. The
metaphorical rise and fall of Artistic Empires has evolved from the primordial
soup of niche, barely-comprehensive monochrome, text-and symbol based smart
technology to a perilous venture easily foiled by a step in the wrong
direction.
Speaking
to one Hip hop Artist who happened to have participated in the Maseru leg of
the Vodacom Superstar competition, I gathered a lot about his disappointment to
the craft of hip hop which he loves very much. He complained a lot about how
young, inexperienced so-called hip hopers dent the image of their craft which
serves as a disincentive to acknowledgment of hip hop by Judges in competitions
like the latter.
The
elimination of the household names like Skebza D, Juvenile, Black Magic etc in
the top 20 is prove enough that the youth representation in the competition has
suffered a major setback. But I’ve got my homie Stlofa in the running and I
hope he brings the coveted crown home where it belongs; to the long-time
‘hasslers’ who have been pushing hard without recognition, well, monetary that
is.
John Senekane
Ralebitso
is a Business Consultant, Network Specialist and Professional Speaker.
Contacts:
58081656
