Phakela Rethabile
POET and rapper, Severe Agony, has given fans a foretaste of his forthcoming album, which he says urges Basotho to be patriotic and pursue their dreams among other themes.
The nine-track debut album, titled Therapy Session, which he said will be released in a few weeks, is meant to restore hope for dreamers and encouraging them to keep the faith until they make it in life.
Severe Agony was born Paul Matia in Nazareth, although he is now based in Naleli Sekamaneng. He is the first to admit that it has been a tough road to stardom with the rapper stating unequivocally “the music industry is not for the faint hearted”. However, hardship had not deterred him from encouraging the youth to pursue their dreams.
“I am inspired by poetry. The first time I fell in love with writing was during a poetry class in high school and the inspiration developed into lyrical content I could not run away from,” Severe Agony said in an interview with the Weekender this week.
The stories of the exploits of Martin Luther King and Shaka Zulu spawned a sense of heroism I portray in some of my songs. I discovered that, through poetry, the spoken word can make or break a life.”
He insists that his music is directed at every one and not just the young.
“My music tackles issues that affect everybody; be it the person hustling in the street selling apples or a lawyer carrying their briefcase looking for a client. I like to think of my songs as the type that awakens the mind.”
Since 2006, Severe Agony has been part of the arts movement, Artform Affiliates, which is under the Shamrock Entertainment stable. He will soon release the single Sweet Dreams featuring songbird, Linkeng.
