I still haven’t been able to send him those guitars, but Red Pepper has the Ruff Riddims studio up and running (and blogging!) — and it’s not like there aren’t guitars or guitarists in Botswana.
Indeed, the first track I’ve heard out of the studio, “Dumelang” by Skeat (pronounced Skee-tee), is an ebullient bit of kwasa house (aka, house kwasa), including that trademark kwasa-kwasa guitar (nodding to the noodly lines of soukous). No doubt it’ll be a local hit. But will Vampire Weekend fans dig it?
Skeat, “Dumelang”
[audio:http://wayneandwax.com/wp/audio/skeat-dumelang.mp3]
Skeat’s 17. Lots more songs in him. In this occasionally audible interview, he sounds young and confident about his mix of “traditional, house kwasa, kwaito.” I look fwd to hearing more.
Plus, the hip-hop/reggae/r&b of Tebza Rocker! Stay tuned–
I tend to be a silent-reader, but I had to speak up about this post – amazing, thank you!
Thanks, Daniel — It’s always good to hear from readers I didn’t know were reading! Glad to hear you dig what’s happening at Ruff Riddims.
I just happened onto this site and I saw the link for Botswana. I don’t know how it could be done, but the local artists from Botswana are amazing – Vee, Alfred Mos, Nature Boys, and Bojo Mujo from South Africa. They aren’t very available, but if this is popular then is there a way to get there stuff out to the public? There should be a Botswana party dedicated to artists from there and making their music known.