Dikakapa: From trash to national icons

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Wednesday March 31, 2010 00:00

 

They have created a fever and that fever is at its peak this week as the Botswana group fly out to Burkina Faso, where the nation prays that the ensemble is proclaimed the Kora Awards winner of the grand prize of US$1 million.

Batswana, from the corporate sector to government, to fans, have been giving the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) based group so much love and wishing them the best of luck as the group of 11 eyes the coveted US$1 million first prize at the Kora awards event slated for April 4 in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou.

Presents in the form of money and other freebies have been pouring in from all over the country for Dikakapa.  The corporate sector has also heed the call and many of them reacted by booking the group for corporate shows for which they were generously paid.

Dikakapa have been the only local group to enjoy countless playtime on Botswana Television (Btv), Duma FM, Rb1 and RB2 as the television and radio stations also contribute their best to drum up support for the group. 

Dikakapa need voters to sms or log onto Kora wards website and vote.  Duma FM alone put aside P100, 000 worth of airplay for the group, according to the station's public relations (PR) and marketing officer, Vincent Tiro.

Last week, Dikakapa were given a red carpet reception by government as Members of Parliament (MPs), ministers, converged on the Botswana Craft at the invitation of the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture to honour Botswana's ambassadors to the Kora awards in West Africa. The glamorous event was sponsored by government, not only in terms of food and free flowing drinks and colour, but also bought the group members return tickets to and fro Burkina Faso, while other Cabinet ministers and MPs reportedly made their money pledges.

The group says the corporate sector has been supportive as well by booking them for shows. As their spokesman Jambo Lekone puts it: ' A gona beke ya mahala'(loosely translated, we have been fully booked all week).

Last week alone they were booked at the University of Botswana Cultural day, then they had a volleyball corporate show at Maharaj on the Tuesday, paid for by JB Sport. They were performing at a SADC event at SSG on the Wednesday, and then government hosted them on Thursday night. They performed at Mr BDF pageant that weekend, before they wrapped up the week with the mother of all shows at the Botswana Craft where party lovers paid P100 at the gate, and what a show, what a kill they made. That is Dikakapa.

Ordinarily, however, Dikakapa know they are not supposed to rank among the hottest cultural groups in Botswana.Dikakapa are not anywhere near Culture Spears, or Maxy, Captain Dira, Gong Master, Ditiro Leero or Shumba.

They have not been the same since their multi-talented lead vocalist Gong Master Ketshabile left them to establish a solo career after the group's smash hit, Selempu in 2007.

What followed after the fateful departure of Gong Master was the album Bomalome, which went on to become a flop among lovers of cultural music, until the Kora awards came to the rescue of the album and gave it the new breath of life the group so desperately needed.

It did not take Dikakapa more than six months since the album was released to learn that it has not been well received. Quickly Dikakapa rushed to Gong Master and requested he feature in the next album, Mooka, released in 2009.

But Kora nomination meant that Dikakapa now had a once in a lifetime chance to hype not only themselves as a brand, but as well as the very same album Batswana trashed as boring and lacking in the original Dikakapa flavour.

How fate can work in one's favour!  Dikakapa capitalised on the Kora awards organisers' perpetual errors and controversies as the 2008 awards were postponed exactly five times, while the nominees remained unchanged. 

The postponement might have bored other musicians like   Jimmy Dludlu, Oliver Mtukudzi, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who were initially in the same category with the Botswana group.

Who would have the patience to wait for awards, which were postponed for three years!  But Dikakapa were not to be deterred; they used radio, and television to announce the postponements and present them as the opportunity to cast more votes for Botswana.

Dikakapa spokesman Jambo says they have observed a rise in album sales as well as DVD sales of the same album since the Kora awards nomination. ' Initially it was criticised, now it is selling, it is doing well, along with its DVD', he tells Mmegi.