MASERU — Molibeli ‘Stlofa’ Mokake has been a hustler, a drug junkie, a band member, a solo artiste, a sober man and perhaps a role model to some. His relatively short life has been full of episodes that are both embarrassing and uplifting. He has been down, up, down and up again. Now these episodes will be captured in a documentary chronicling Stlofa’s life from childhood to now. It also captures his days as the other half of popular Lefate until it split and he decided to go solo. The documentary will be released next month. The documentary is being produced by a local company, Mokoari Streets Entertainment, owned by filmmaker Jeremiah Mosese and his partner Hannah Stockmann. Speaking with the Weekender, the duo said they decided to produce the documentary because of Stlofa’s determination to make music a successful career. “Stlofa is an interesting character with a story to tell, a story which everybody can relate to,” Stockmann said. “The documentary which will be launched next month tells a story of Molibeli behind Stlofa, a dedicated budding musician who has been in the music industry for a while now,” she added. Mosese added, “It tells a story of a normal guy who was raised by his grandparents because of a bitter relationship between him and his mother.” “The documentary is not only telling the story of who Stlofa is but it opens him up like a book and divulge his sadness and happiness behind the energetic individual he is,” he said. The documentary was also meant to encode Stlofa’s songs, Mosese said. “The documentary is going to tell meanings behind his songs and the motive behind his song writing. His music is mainly based on his personal experiences.” “It is going to be a very dramatic yet very emotional piece. He talks about the time his mother kicked him out of home because of their bitter relationship and he had to find a way to survive. He talks about how he chose music as a means of survival,” Mosese said. He said Mokoari Streets Production decided to produce a documentary on Stlofa because of what has been written about him by the media. “We had this curious feeling to get in touch with this controversial young artiste who has been written so much about by the media.” The duo said they were seeking to break away from reporting on “ancient history of people who had made impact in Lesotho by reporting about what is happening among young people of Lesotho in the now age”. “I perceive Stlofa as the wholegrain of Basotho nation, one artiste who has been in the music industry since the mid 90s and yet he strived to keep it in the country and not seek opportunities elsewhere. His persistence in making his mark in the music industry just intrigued us,” Mosese said. He said he doesn’t expect people to judge the Mokorotlo star based on his story but rather appreciate his life journey. The Mampoli star told the Weekender he decided to grab the opportunity to share his life with his fans because the “struggles” made him a strong individual. “I believe my story can change the life of the next person. “I have seen artistes doing music with the hope that promoters and music shops will help sell their products instead of doing it themselves. This to me says they don’t love what they are doing hence trusting the next person,” Stlofa said. He added that the documentary will show people that “Molibeli grew up a hustler but is now determined to keep his head above the water in the music industry”. “Most young people tend to lose hope at the first failure they encounter but this documentary will let them see the brighter picture of using one’s talent that will help their survival.” “I had soccer skills and managed to keep them to a certain level but I realised that I’m passionate about my voice and I had hope that it would keep me alive. “Now I am proud to say I am not only a celebrated artist but a proud owner of Lefate Entertainment, a company that will enable me to help aspiring artistes reach their musical goals,” Stlofa said. The Mokoari team said the documentary was initially a movie but “some of his stories wouldn’t have been told authentically in a movie, they would be fictional so we opted for a documentary,” Stockmann said. She said the documentary is going to relive Stlofa’s drunken moments until the day he decided to sober-up for the sake of his career.
