Rejuvenated Topito tries hard in music

MOGOMOTSI MOLOI
Correspondent | Wednesday March 5, 2008 00:00

 

If Mmusi Dikgole was academically gifted he could have been an acclaimed attorney by now. Unfortunately, things did not go the way he anticipated and his education ended at Form Five, disqualifying him from entering any tertiary institution. That, however, did not discourage this talented Manyana lad of venturing into the music industry to put bread on the table.

Dikgole is now a full-time musician with two traditional music albums to his name. Trading as Topito, the former Mogwana Traditional Troupe member needs no introduction in the music industry. He has been in the industry since 1995 though he slot to fame about five years ago after dumping the group to focus on solo projects. He confesses that he has seen it all in the music industry, whether good or bad. He has met people with different characters in the industry.

'At Mogwana we were many and just danced for food during events or occasions,' he recalls laughing. He added that Mogwana is a voluntary group aimed at keeping the youth away from mischief; so there was nothing much to expect. He once represented Botswana in China musically while he was still at Itsoseng Private School where he was a traditional dance group lead singer.

Despite leaving Mogwana he does not dispute that the group made him what he is today. 'I learnt much from that group and I am happy that today my work is recognised by Batswana,' said an impressed Topito. Immediately after going solo in 2003, he recorded an album titled Timpa Kgolo.  Since this was his first attempt the project did not do well on the market perpetrated by the fact that the so-called artistes' managers cheated him.
Narrating his sad story about the failure of his debut alum, Topito explained: 'I was robbed by the company I was working with. My manager by then, David Abraham, was not a transparent administrator. The way he did things was dubious.' According to Topito, Abraham, who could not be reached for comment at press time, allegedly sold his (Topito) music in South Africa without the artiste's consent.

 
'I found that my music was sold in South Africa but I got nothing in return,' the artiste said. He remembers that initially they cut 1, 800 CDs and 2,000 cassettes but he never saw the money. The 27-year-old however said he has put all this behind him and is soldiering on with his career. He states that he found it pointless to follow up the issue, as it was going to consume lot a of his valuable time.

In his intensified efforts to make a comeback Topito recently released a hot eight-track album dubbed Bagolo Bame. The album is his brainchild though he was assisted financially by traditional music award winning quartet Culture Spears. He even features Magdalene Lesolebe of Culture Spears in one of his songs.

Topito said he has learnt many lessons the hard way and now he is taking everything seriously. He asserted that he has used his own money to cut the CDs and is distributing them himself. Though this is absolutely discouraged by business experts, Topito finds it the only way to satisfy himself.

Bagolo Bame is a good music piece that reflects on several issues of life. 'I considered several issues of life and wrote the songs based on them,' he told Showbiz. The artiste pointed out that he wants to expose some realities of life that the public has ignored.
He claims that he is not motivated by huge money traditional music makes here but the overwhelming desire to communicate his experiences with the world.

He noted with concern that because of greediness many potential musicians have failed. 'Music is my language. It is my spiritual thing and I feel blessed when I sing,' he explains before adding that his latest offering can console, comfort and entertain listeners. He strongly believes that it is one of the locally made unique music pieces this country has ever listened to.

It has some tracks in Sesarwa and Kalanga languages. 
Topito is faced with the a daunting challenge of convincing fans that he is the man to reckon with and he knows it. He however vows to face the challenges head on. Even though he could not make it big in the industry he is happy that he has created employment for at least five people, his dancers. Meanwhile, Bogolo Bame is available in local music stores.