Shumba or Simba, which will it be?

Simba
Simba

Music lovers across Africa know him as Shumba Ratshega, but Botswana’s favourite traditional musician, Moses Malapela, now wants fans to know him as Simba.

Well, both Shumba and Simba refer to the lion, king of the jungle.  Simba is the fictional character who appears in the production The Lion King while some African languages refer to the lion as Shumba.

The muscular musician recently released an album called Morobanyana under the name Simba and argues that such a move would not confuse his fans. “I am trying to create a different brand with a different musical focus and once you listen to the music in Morobanyana you will understand,” he said.Morobanyana is a mixture of mbaqanga, jazz and gospel with some remixes from the musician’s old tracks. “I have been catering for only one group of followers being traditional music lovers and now it is time to expand to other spheres.  This is by no means a desperate move because traditional music is still selling well,” he said.

Editor's Comment
Use social media to build, not destro

It is a warning flare to every Motswana who logs onto social media. As a country, we have reached a point where the line between robust debate and outright destruction has become dangerously blurred. At face value, Mabeo’s response, which seeks an apology and threat of a defamation suit, might seem severe to some. But we cannot ignore the context. The comment in question did not offer a policy critique or question a political decision.It...

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