Beer, Dinner And Poetry Music

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday February 15, 2010 00:00

 

That was the question as hundreds of patrons poured into the Khwest Cafe in the Gaborone Main Mall last Wednesday to sample Botswana's first poetry music by spoken word poet, Andreattah Chuma.  They seemed to love it; they seemed to have been waiting for it to happen.

Most of them had been following it when homes were destroyed in Zimbabwe's Operation Murambatsvina; the poet's performances for a while now since she started to appear at the now defunct monthly poetry sessions at joints like the Village, Maitisong, Khwest, and Cattle Barons.

And the pub was packed to the rafters, raking in more money for the pub management on the night in the process. The revellers seemed to enjoy themselves, too, beer flowing, and some having delicious dinner as poetry music played in the background. The freshest music sounds by the poet seemed to redefine style at Khwest. The experience of dining and wining in the background of poetry music seemed fulfilling and many at the end of the sampling session wanted to know where exactly the poetry music album would be found and how much it would cost. Andreattah's poetry album interestingly has something for everyone with some real ravey tracks for clubbers, laid back soulful stuff for the bedroom, or that soothing Sunday jazz to kick back and relax. The patrons came to discover that there is more to enjoy in the forthcoming album, alongside the rocking single House of Zion, released early this month as the first single of the poet's debut album, 1981 Was A Good Year.   To put the icing on the cake the poet also does some nice rap in the song, The Word, produced by Man-e, a South African producer. One thing for sure about Andreattah's album is that it is more than just spoken word, it is poetry in music, and she performs like a talented singer who brings out her vocal style in her unique way.

Another talented poet, Samantha Mogwe, features in the album ushering in a jazzy feel in the track Alright, which is also tipped to make this album a success.

Andreattah's album is scheduled for release next Tuesday (February 23) with music shops such as Kalahari Music (Game City), Exclusive Books (Riverwalk), mentioned among the sellers of the album.