Mohalenyane Phakela
SCORES of poetry and Hip Hop lovers braved the chilly conditions to attend the recent Golden Mic Sessions at Alliance Francaise’s Ouh La La Restaurant- a development that highlighted the growing appreciation for the spoken word genre in the country.
The audience gave the thumbs up to performances by the likes of Mpho Leteka, Grace, Answer, Home Work, Poetic Dust, T Squared, Severe Agoni, Kislev, Meloh, Snizz, Mimi G, General AP, Silent Fate, Tsepo Mochaoa and BsB Da Comedian.
The Golden Mic Sessions are organised by Petsoa Majoeng Arts and Entertainment (PMAE). They began in 2016 as weekly underground Hip Hop and poetry sessions in Khubetsoana with the aim of providing a platform for the ‘neglected’ arts.
The sessions only moved to Ouh La La last month and they will now be held on a monthly basis.
“It is in very rare cases that poets or underground rappers are offered platforms at different events and I believe it is due to the fact that their craft involves emotions and that does not make people dance,” PMAE founder, Nthare Taela told the Weekender this week.
“These beautiful arts could perish if there is nothing to motivate the artistes to continue. But we have grown to be a family and the artistes do not just perform but they also hold sessions to equip each other with skills to collectively develop their art,” he said.
He said despite the growing appreciation, they were no plans to charge entry fees to the performances.
“The appreciation has been growing at a very good rate and the artistes have improved through interacting with the audience who also serve as critics for each performance.
“We want the Golden Mic to become the hub of creativity and talent. For now we are focused on sharing talent rather than making money. The artistes who are part of the movement understand clearly that it is solely to expose their stories although they are allowed to bring their merchandise to sell,” he said.
