Their hit album contains all time hits Sweetie Lavo and Shisa Badakiwe. Other hits include Magasman, Jakarumba, Mahoota, and Sigiya Ngegoma. If ever there is one group that traces well the trajectory of development of kwaito music then its Trompies.
The group came together in 1995 and named themselves after an Afrikaans TV mini-series about a gang of naughty, hyperactive schoolboys.
Their Pantsula-flavoured kwaito started with the steaming hot Sigiya Ngegoma. They released the album through Gallo Records and while there was no marketing strategy, few could resist it, and it sold over 80 000 copies.
In 1997 Trompies became the Jazmee part of what is known as the Kalawa Jazmee Records. Today Trompies are all part of Kalawa Jazmee’s Dangerous Combination Crew production team that cooks up hits for Bongo Maffin, Alaska, Thebe, The Hunger Boyz, Mafikizolo and others.
At the coming festival the local line up will include UB based Kazi-Q, Wizards Of The Desert, Botswana kwasa kwasa king Franco, Da Vet Crew, Unik Attraction, Eskimos and Exsodus who will be battling it out. Whola Jents, hip-hop rising star Kast, Vee ‘Wama Mpela’ are also billed to perform at the same occasion.
Fohlos and Groetas are also popular but they don’t come close to matching Trompies, the beauty of their song about a drunkard, Magasman, nor that of their other song, about a moody girl called Madibuseng (off 1996’s strong selling Mahoota).
Revellers are this time not going to be chanting the way they did on that song “Sometimes your reddiii, sometimes your greeniii, sometimes your orangiiii” or wailing along with Boom Shaka on the “Zyneee, Mandla, Eugene, Jairruuus” chorus off the national anthemic Magasman.
The foursome are well remembered for the 1999 UB Freshers’ Ball when they did wonders and left many people thrilled by their presentation. Mandla Spikiri, Jairus Jakarumba and Mahoota, DJ Vetkok will perform their solo projects. They have vowed to repeat that feat again during the Intervarsity-opening week end at the Show Grounds.
The new kids on the block Malaika are the main attraction considering that it will be their first time to perform here and their hit song ‘Hona Jwale’ is the most played both on local and national radio stations.
