Duncan Senyatso�s son releases debut album
Dumisani Ncube | Wednesday December 7, 2016 14:41
The 36-year -old Genius, who is not a stranger in the music scene, worked on a 10-track organic jazz album which he has been working on for the past 10 years.
Many have over the years wondered why Genius did not have an album of his own as he continuously performed unreleased or his father’s music. “I have been working on the album. I wasn’t in a rush to finish it. I waited for God to tell me that it was the right time to release it. The other thing is that I have been learning a lot about the music industry ranging from the technical to the business side of things,” said Genius.
Tlhako Ya Morago comprises of tracks such as Chiko Sa Dxham, Lelobu, Mmabanyana and Thato Ya Modimo. All the songs have that jazzy element fused with Genius’ poetic and vocal ability.
The songs on the album are not just typical jazz songs that one listens to pass time, they carry a strong message of preserving and promoting the traditional culture. Through his poetic skills he expresses the importance of culture.
“As you can hear all the tracks carry a message of embracing our native traditional culture. My objective while recording this album was to promote and preserve our culture and show the world that we still believe in our modern practices,” said Genius as he spoke about how the Setswana culture influenced him to record the album.
Musically, the album was packaged in its own significant manner as he used seasoned artists such as Nono Siile, Trinity Mphoeng and Esther as the backing vocalists on most tracks, which added more musicality.
The different songs set for different occasions, which also leads to different moods depending on the rhythm and lyrical content. There are emotional, jovial and chilled songs within the album.
As expected, Genius also did a tribute song to his late father titled Thato Ya Modimo, which is an emotional song. He also sampled two of his father’s tracks which are Chiko Sa Dxham and How many times on which he added some Afro hip hop fusion by featuring Flo Cater and Clyde.
He is looking forward to launching the album early next year locally before he launches it regionally and overseas. “This album is for the people in general; it does not matter where you come from. That is why I have people of different nationalities in my band.”
Prior the release of Tlhako Ya Morago, he has been performing with a number of artists such as Punah and Lister Boleseng. The album is available in local music stores.