Mohalenyane Phakela
THE second edition of the annual Dancehall Mashup is set to roar into live this Saturday at Victoria Poolside in Maseru.
The inaugural event, held last year, attracted scores of reggae lovers and organisers, Ragga Vybz Sound System, are hoping this year’s edition is not an exception.
According to the organisers, the idea behind Dancehall Mashup is to enlighten Basotho about the reggae culture.
“We started having reggae sessions in 2011 with the aim of promoting the reggae culture in Lesotho, although the followership was still at a low level at the time,” said Selektah Che, one of the show’s organisers.
“The sessions grew at a very slow pace but since we were doing what we love, we did not despair. Now we are able to pack masses in a local club where we host our sessions every Thursday night.
“Reggae is more than just a musical genre but a culture which we are trying to pioneer in this country. We would like to see more people join for the movement to grow.”
The movement has slowly but surely grown in stature and attracted people of various ethnic groups. The growth has spurred the hosting of the annual event which is set to host foreign acts sharing the stage with home brewed talent.
“It is our dream to have regular interactions with reggae artists and movements from other countries to network and foster unity that will also help local artistes establish links beyond Lesotho’s borders,” he said.
Dancehall Mashup is set to feature more performers, said Selektah Che.
“Although the festival has managed to attract scores of reggae followers, our dream is to have a bigger festival that will run for over three days as reggae revolves around sub-genres such as dubstep, dancehall and reggae music so we believe we need more time so we can play all of them,” he said.
From South Africa there will be DJ Fanta, Selectah Don Royal, Faya Uman, L’Titude and SFS. They will be alongside local acts such as ShattaKulcha, Sledge, Mr C-jo, Zha-Zha, Ragga Vybz and Chanty Natural from Botswana to name a few.
