Don Laka's Poison in Botswana

MPHO TLALE
Correspondent | Tuesday June 1, 2010 00:00

 

The kwai-jazz heavyweight has dropped an earth-conscious album, which he says is a contribution to greening the earth. This has come in handy as 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity as people all over the world are working to safeguard natural wealth and reduce biodiversity loss.  In an interview with Showbiz Laka stated he decided to replace plastic with 100 percent recyclable material for the album cover. He also pointed out that South Africa has the biggest percentage of pollution, which is at over 42 percent, hence a call for him to address such issues through his album.

Commenting on his genre of music, Laka pointed out he does kwai-jazz, which is a fusion of Kwaito and jazz to bridge the gap between the old and the young.

However, most of the attendees at the Saturday show were the older generation who were blown away by Laka's sizzling performance.

He said he enjoyed performing though he wished the audience could have given him the chance to explain the songs, as it is very important that they understand the inspiration behind the song.

On taking the stage Laka performed a collaboration with traditional folk artist Stampore, which was rehearsed the last time he was in Botswana in March in preparation for the Saturday show. In his performance before welcoming Laka on stage Stampore performed his controversial song Ha Modimo O Ka Nthusa much to the delight of the audience.

With close to 38 years in the music industry, the South African-based Laka remains humble and says the support he receives from his audience inspires him to do more work and share his music.  He boasts six award-winning albums to his name and has been deemed as a contributor in making jazz music accessible to everyone.

Throughout his career Laka has toured internationally in United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (US), Canada and Austria among other counties.

The continuing leg of his tour sees Laka performing in his country in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town before moving to neighbouring Lesotho.