'Troy' with the beat on 'Emotion and Feel'

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Wednesday August 18, 2010 00:00

He said in Gaborone over the weekend that nowadays rap music has become a platform for some artists to brag about living glamorously unlike in the past when people used rap to express deep emotions and feelings.  The 26-year-old man is set to release an 18-track self-produced mix-tape entitled The Troy Season.

He describes the mix-tape as a musical piece that takes you back in time, giving listeners some classical sound with hard hitting lyrical rhymes and content. Dintwa, however, describes himself as a unique artist compared to other local Hip-hop artists.

The self-employed IT support technician said that unlike most local artists who mix rap with Setswana to come up with Motswako, he prefers sticking to the genre's original vernacular, English. He, however, said that it is easy to tell that he is a local artist because he raps about issues relevant to contemporary society.  'I rap about different issues youth in Botswana go through,' he said. 

Dintwa urged local rappers to be creative and they should not look up to Western countries for motivation.  He said local rappers have started sounding all the same because of Western influence. 'Rappers should try to come up with their unique styles rather than overcrowding on what's hot at the moment because they end up becoming predictable to the listeners,' he said.

He said that he believes in working hard to achieve success. Dintwa said that with his mix-tape coming out next week, he does not know what kind of reception to accept from the public. 'What I do know is that if I really push this mix-tape out to the people and they get a chance to hear it, they are going to love it, so the main aim is to get it out there,' he emphasised. Dintwa said that he is not considering releasing an album anytime soon.

Although this is his first mix-tape to be dished to the public, he said he would continue releasing mix-tapes until he successfully penetrates the market.

'Only then wouldn't I mind releasing an album because then I would have a guaranteed share in the market,' he said. The Troy is scheduled for release sometime next week and various people in schools and neighbourhoods around Gaborone will distribute it.   The mix-tape was recorded, mixed and mastered at Frontline Records in Gaborone.  It features various underground artists and producers whose beats were sampled from various international songs.  Tshiamo 'Nasty' Modise, who also features in one of the tracks, designed the CD sleeve.