MC Maswe happy Mbaqanga is competing

CHIPPA LEGODIMO
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 29, 2012 00:00

 

Maswe had threatened to go to court unless Mbaqanga was included in the annual awards.BOMU is set to hold its annual award ceremony some time in November. The voluble musician says he did not campaign for the inclusion of the genre because he believed he would win but that the system where other genres were left out was unjust.

'I never said I would be an automatic winner if Mbaqanga were included but because these awards are organised to recognise talent in various genres those doing it should also be recognised,' MC Maswe said.

With more youngsters showing interest in Mbaqanga though with a bit of kwaito touch, MC Maswe is adamant this old-fashioned music, which dominated in the '60s through to the '80s, would soon be back in vogue.

The controversial musician who has been criticised for 'lacking originality' with critics claiming he prefers to re-produce old songs with new lyrics has denied the charge.'Music originates from other music. You cannot start from nowhere, if you are to produce a song you must have heard that type of music somewhere and you only extend what you learnt without necessarily copying everything that you hear,' MC Maswe said.

There are a lot of similarities between MC Maswe's popular track Re Batsoadi and Mahotella Queens' Ngwanaa Moshanyana. The vintage track from the legendary group goes in part, 'Re batsoadi ka ofela re pepile bana' while the local lad's thus goes, 'Rebatsadi ka ofela re tshepile bana'.

In the same track he goes on to mention Zenzele (Hirschfield), Ntsoro (Joel Keitumele) among others.'The similarities end with the rhythm that the two songs follow but the messages are different.  I am proud to tell you that the old ladies (Mahotella Queens) are aware of this song. I consulted them before I started this kind of music.  In fact we are hoping to do something together in the near future,' MC Maswe said.

The musician has also been criticised for exposing under age children to an obnoxious environment.One of the musician's dancers is his 10-year-old daughter who is never spared from the raunchy dance routines during live performances.

'Except for my daughter all the dancers I employ are not under age. However, I take precaution to protect all of them because people in this industry take advantage of female performers. But people should realise that all I am doing is exposing their talent and give these young people an opportunity to realise their full potential,' he said.

The musician has started a talent-identification and nurturing academy in Francistown called Garero Multi Media Academy.He has vowed to continue giving youngsters the platform to showcase their talents but that he would continue to ensure their safety while under his watch.