The inspiration of a brother artist

MAUREEN ODUBENG
Staff Writer | Tuesday July 10, 2007 00:00

 

Kabelo Mogwe together with the other members gave locals something to celebrate. They re-arranged traditional tunes to be enjoyable in any kind of setting. Mogwe, the male lead singer in the group, is one of the triplets born to Pusologo Tshipietsile and Tirafalo Mogwe.

He and members of his group gave inspiration to other youngsters who are equally passionate about music but were sceptical about venturing into it out of fear of not making it. One such youth is Kabelo's own sister and fellow triplet, Neo 'Nini' Mogwe. Neo who goes by the stage name Nini, has an interesting story to tell, one that maybe zeros in on the very life of his brother Kabelo, whose talent has come to be appreciated by many locally and in the neighbouring South Africa. Nini, like Kabelo, has always been interested in music but was sceptical about pursuing music as a way of sustaining herself. She says the triplets have a very strong background in music, with emphasis on the traditional genre.

 
Nini, who just released her debut album titled 'Nna le Wena', told Showbiz that the three of them have always had a strong passion for music. She explained that they started singing at a very tender age and they even formed a group comprising just the three of them.

'We would participate in school concerts and village concerts, just the three of us, and people would keep paying more money for us to play again and again,' she said.
She added that part of the reason why they never let go their passion for music was the strong encouragement they got from their parents.
Nini explained that their father was very passionate about music. As a teacher, he frequently conducted school choirs before he died in 2005 in a car accident. The father played a significant role in developing their music skills and encouraged them to nurture their singing talent. Their mother, Pusologo Tshipietsile, taught them most of the lyrics of traditional songs. She said Kabelo learnt some of the songs sung by Culture Spears from their mother. Nini was a member of 'Tse Tilodi' Traditional Troupe in Kasane.

This is the same group that all members of Culture Spears graduated from. While she never went commercial with her singing talent, she always kept it burning. She has been mostly inspired by the success enjoyed by Culture Spears to record her own album.
She told Showbiz that originally when the group was formed, her brother Kabelo invited her to be part of it, but she turned him down because she did not believe that one could make a living from music in the country. She decided to look for a job, and was finally persuaded to give music a try by the popularity that Culture Spears gained in a short period of time.

 
Nini, however decided to tap on a different genre - wedding songs (Dipina tsa Manyalo). She explained to Showbiz that while she started dancing and singing traditional music (Borankana) at the tender age of seven, she decided on wedding songs for the sake of originality because people were already trooping to traditional music. Nini said while traditional music is lucrative, it is not easy to vary. This means most of the traditional groups sound the same, however much they try to vary their music.

 
She pointed out that she is not scared of competition, but wanted to make a mark by coming up with something different. The new offering recorded at Mr Tagg's Real Deal Studio has six tracks, two of which are popular Setswana wedding songs, which have been rearranged.

 
These are Tsatsi and Lenyalo. With the help of her brother Kabelo, she wrote the lyrics of the other four songs, Nna le Wena, Nxobona, Sweetie and Ngwetsi. She said that when writing her lyrics, she makes sure that they convey a valuable message. The Nxobana song is sung in Sesarwa. She explained that the song is about a rebellious child who does not listen to parents and gives them many problems. Nini explained that the songs seek to advise youth that failure to listen to parents can bring bad luck.
She said when writing her lyrics, she looks at social issues and addresses them through music. The six-track album, which a real joy to listen to, was released in June.