Nthatuoa Koeshe
SOTHO hop sensation, Skebz-D, says he has always known that his hard work would end up paying but for it to come this late is phenomenal.
The artiste said this in a recent interview with the Weekender in the run up to the Everything Live event planned to celebrate him as one of the people who have been in the music industry for years.
The event is penned in for tomorrow at Pins ‘N Stripes located at Lower Thetsane in Maseru and the initiative is a brainchild of four artistes: Sekila “O.G. S’killz” Molapo, Naleli “Da Starr” Lesala, Lebohang “Thepa” Moiloa and Bokang “BeatIAm” Khoarai to appreciate artistes who have been in the music industry for years.
Skebz-D said he was honoured by the initiative to celebrate his work.
“It is a great honour that Everything Live will be celebrating me with this event,” Skebz-D said.
“I have always known that my hard work would later pay off but for it to come at this time is phenomenal because I want to grow further as an artiste and this commemoration and live show is exactly what I needed.”
Skebz-D said this would be the first time for him to be celebrated as an artiste and he was grateful to Everything Live for the “amazing work appreciating people like me”.
“Everything Live is bringing something totally different to the music industry, providing artistes with opportunities to perform with live bands and giving them an audience which is totally a new experience. It is a game changer,” he said.
He said the event would add more value to how music events are viewed and conducted in the local entertainment industry.
Skebz-D said being the pioneer of the Sotho hop genre, he will always have a few tricks up his sleeve to keep the sound unique and rooted from his way of writing music through his performances and music videos.
“Sotho hop has grown immensely since its inception in 2004 and it has a lot of talented and aspiring artistes as well as a huge following now,” Skebz-D said.
He said international artistes have also recognised the sound and have requested for collaborations which he says is a good sign of progress.
“I was fortunate to travel to different countries when I was younger and the love I received for my style of music kept me going especially when I was hustling outside Lesotho. Also, the support from my family, loved ones and fellow artistes has kept me positive even through hard times.”
He said the music business is diverse, eye opening and full of connections that one would never have been able to get if they were not an artiste.
“I have managed to buy studio equipment and cameras and also learnt to be independent in the audio and visual production and I am now engaging in other non-musical businesses like real estate.
“Thanks to some of the capital generated from my music and winning competitions, my brand is growing. This is also attributed to the lots of ground work that I have laid for myself and other artistes,” Skebz-D said.
Born Mokebe Mohasoa, Skebz-D was a Vodacom Superstar Finalist in 2016 coming third in the Music Category.
Skebz-D has been passionate about music since his primary school days but he officially joined the industry in 2006 with the Sotho hop mixtape that featured songs such as Terompeta and He Banna, which took the market by storm.
Around 2009, Skebz-D released a banger titled I don’t know and for three weeks, the song was on the top spot on the Y FM Hip Hop Charts hosted by the legendary C-Live.
