'Dikhaewere'kingpin says it as it is

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Wednesday November 19, 2008 00:00

 

The muso, who hails from Bobirwa, has a background in singing Dikhwaere, the ones usually sung over Christmas in villages and masimo (lands).

In this album he took advantage of his dikhaewere days to release an-all encompassing Dikhwaere album.

His album Ke Jele Serope is an interesting piece of work, very simple in its thematic substance. The artist sings about ordinary issues that rural folk grapple with on a daily basis.

The album opens with the title track of the same name as the album's. He talks about sex, a usually explored theme nowadays in Botswana music, but unlike most of his counterparts he employs the use of metaphor to shroud the subject of carnal pleasure that he is singing about.

Perhaps critics who have often complained that artists are filling the sonic space with foul language will excuse Lesola as like elders in a Setswana setting would do, discussing an issue related to sex or something along those lines - using simple words to denote something else.

He talks about   Maria offering him a serope (thigh), which he ate at night. You would think he is talking about having dinner, until you hear him talking about sweating whilst devouring the serope.

In this track, he addresses an interesting issue that is rarely discussed both in public and private discourse - the complaint that lovers have concerning the poor performance of their partners in bed.

This topic is taboo and Lesola here is challenging society to be open and discuss this issue, which has been the cause of so much misery among couples.

The other track, Khutsana addresses the known problems that orphans are going through. They are abused by their guardians and here the artist pleads with them to love and not hate orphans.

The whole album gives you the character of the artist, who comes across as a young man celebrating his Tswana culture and the life spent in Bobonong.

He even acknowledges in one of the songs, A Pula Elo Nele that he learnt much musically from Shumba Ratshega, another son of the Bobonong soil, who is known for his scorcher Makhirikhiri. The album was produced at Dargie Digital Studios in Gaborone and is marketed by Dikoma Music.