Moroka Moreri to record jazz album
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday March 12, 2023 06:00
In an interview with Arts & Culture, Moreri said the audio album has been in the market for more than five years and he believes it matured well enough to now be shared on the digital space.
He further explained that the president’s Reset Agenda talked about the digital space and needs a response from all sectors, including the creatives. “The live recording of the album is a timely project to exploit the digital space that our country is going to create through the television platform. Agenda 2063 is concerned that Southern Africa is selling itself short by not creating enough cultural content.
I am making my kind of contribution to such. The event will kick-start with an official segment where we will get a speech from the Minister of Defence and Security, Kagiso Mmusi. It will further be followed by a series of activities,” he said.
He explained that on the entertainment side they will have poetry segment where talented poets such as Tsikitsiki, Serurubele, Poeticblood, Kaone Mahuma, Kopanang Tito, Bonnie Manuel and upcoming ones being Senamamphatswa and Little Lamb will recite their poems. On the gospel segment, Phempheretlhe Pheto, Mmereki Marakakgoro and Kesegofetse Kalayamore will bless the audience with beautiful gospel melodies while on the traditional segment, Mafitlhakgosi will as usual give revellers experience of a life time with beautiful traditional music performances.
On the other hand, there will also be a jazz music segment where Bonjo Keipedile, Kahalari Jazz Quintet and Nkokowe will sooth reveller’s souls with jazz rhythms. Kgosi Puso Gaborone and Kgosi Kgari Sechele III are among the dignitaries who will grace the event. Furthermore, Moreri explained that he chose poetry as a comfortable genre to share his feelings.
He added that people accepted and embraced his talent. He also thanked the country for embracing him including countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Sweden, Scotland and Russia where he performed.
He said poetry defined him, put bread on his table and opened doors for him. “I have not done a live recording before. I am trying to widen my horizons and visibility; to showcase our Botswana Jazz and share it with the rest of the universe. Poetry is doing well in Botswana. I thank Batswana and captains of the industry for embracing all poets in the country.
Mostly I thank teachers who groom and give young poets space in their events.” “I, however, wish we had a national poetry association to lobby the nation with one voice, to use poetry in all important platforms, to do poetry packs, decent state funerals for poets and initiate grooming a poet to be a millionaire as we try to diversify the economy.
I wish poets could be quoted in significant high level platforms. It is also my prayer that poets could accompany our President and showcase our culture is some of his international visits. We also need to commodify poetry and create jobs out of it,” he said. Moreri has been in poetry for more than 25 years. He says his poetry has grown nationally and internationally.
He added that it was now being translated into other languages like Spanish adding that offers had been made to translate it into other languages which he was not going to disclose in the meantime.
He added that he had done written poetry, oral and moved it into music space. Speaking of other projects that he does, he said he did cultural exchanges in South Africa and Namibia and was organising culture days at Gopane (South Africa), Maunatlala, Motswasele Junior in Molepolole.
He added that he was also organising Setswana Novel (Novels include poetry as inserts) also saying he would be organising Leetile Raditladi Day to celebrate him as one of the great poets in Botswana. He further urged foreign nationals and Batswana at large to come and celebrate with them at the special occasion.