Nthatuoa Koeshe
PINS ‘N Stripes located at Lower Thetsane in Maseru will be the venue for the first edition of an interactive music show where artistes will perform and then take criticism from the audience afterwards.
Penned in for the 24th of this month, the show will be debuted by rapper, Mokebe ‘Skebza D’.
The Sthalala hit-maker will be the main performer on the day and will use a live band.
The initiative is a brainchild of four artistes namely Sekila ‘O.G. S’killz’ Molapo, Naleli ‘Da Starr’ Lesala, Lebohang ‘Thepa’ Moiloa and Bokang ‘BeatIAm’ Khoarai.
O.G. S’killz told the Weekender that they picked Skebza D because his music genre is not fully accepted by the society while the media wouldn’t support him.
O.G S’killz said he teamed up with his peers to push and open doors for local artistes who do not have the necessary platforms to nurture their growth.
He hailed Skebza D for maintaining consistency for over a decade despite lack of support.
He said at the event, the entire focus will be on Skebza D.
He said the resident band at Pins ‘N Stripes, Origin, will be the opening act to curtain raise for Skebz D.
“Skebza D will perform a live set of between 45 and 60 minutes to showcase his music,” O.G S’killz said.
“We realised that there are several artistes who have dedicated their lives and resources towards feeding the entertainment business for a long time.
“Realistically, the entertainment business does not give a lot back to the artistes. So, we thought we should identify them, put them on a different stage compared to what they usually perform.”
He said the aim is also to raise enough funds to compensate the artistes adequately and try to broker relationships between the artistes and corporates that may appreciate the artistes and engage them for different projects.
O.G S’killz said over the years, they saw acts come and go but Skebza D has stood the test of time. He said a few saw him break into the limelight in 2003 through Hipnotica with Chocolate Soul and Pasco Dollar.
“This was years before social media became the in thing and local radio hardly played any music from the local youths. Apart from this, hip-hop music was seen as the sound for the privileged kids.
“A lot of Skebza D’s current followers were either toddlers or infants at the time,” he said.
He said they are planning to host six events in the next one year as they have a long list of artistes they intend to celebrate.
