Staff Reporter
TROMPIES, one of South Africa’s longest serving kwaito groups, says it is ready to rock the Mountain Kingdom in November when they perform at the Lesotho Times Fanfest.
The group is part of a star-studded line-up that includes the Village Pope Tsepo Tshola, Zimbabwean superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, AKA, Kwesta, Lady Zamar, Amanda Black, Thami, Nasty C and a host of other artistes that will perform at Setsoto Stadium on 3 November 2018.
The event is meant to celebrate Lesotho Times’ over a decade of service in the country is running under the theme “It’s gonna be lit” and is organised by Plan A.
Founding member Mandla Spikiri Mofokeng told the Weekender in a recent interview that while the gig is another chance to do what they have always done in their career spanning almost three decades, the gig is also special because they have another chance to rub shoulders with legends Mtukudzi and the Village Pope.
Mtukudzi (65), as the Zimbabwean is affectionately known, is revered worldwide for his authentic Zimbabwean sound and is generally regarded the most successful artiste is his home country. He has 67 albums and continues to tour and perform in his country and all over the world.
Similarly, the Village Pope is also generally regarded as Lesotho’s most successful artiste with numerous awards to back the assertion. He has several hits and has had numerous successful tours.
Spikiri said while the line-up has several other artistes like AKA and Kwesta among others, he was excited about playing with the two legends.
“It is going to be beautiful,” Spikiri said adding, “They have been giants for a long time and even though we too have been performing for a long time, this is going to be a huge show”.
Spikiri however, said they are not intimidated by the hefty line-up.
“We have been here for close to 30 years when some of the artistes were not even born yet. Such a show is nothing new because we have performed at numerous such gigs,” Spikiri said.
The kwaito singer said the group is still working on its album that had previously been penned in for this year but indicated that it will now be ready next year.
“We have no title yet. We will only know when it is done. We also do not have a date for the release yet.”
Spikiri also released a solo album in June this year titled Spikiri King Don Father which has fared fairly on the market with the track Moriri wama Indian featuring HHP, Uhuru, Mpho, E2.
He also lamented the challenges that musicians encounter in their careers all emanating from lack of support from their home countries. He also registered displeasure at African radio stations’ continued support of music from overseas at the detriment of local musicians.
“Musicians are struggling all over the world. If your music is not played you suffer because you will not get any royalties. In South Africa they have for a long time been playing American music for a long time but finally it has changed and they only play 5 percent of foreign music,” said the singer.
He said he is also working on his solo album which is likely to be released next year.
Trompies started making music in the mid-1990s specialising in Kwaito. Apart from Spikiri the group members also include Jairus ‘Jakarumba’ Nkwe, Zynne Mahoota Sibika, Eugene Mthethwa and Emmanuel Mjokes Matsane.
Trompies predominantly sings in Sesotho, Zulu, Xhosa and Setswana which ably aides the group’s strong ties with its audiences while addressing the impact of a variety of issues ranging from political, social and economic. They also manage different artistes through their record label Kalawa Jazmee.
Born in Meadowlands, Spikiri is one of the founders and a director of the popular record label Kalawa Jazmee but prefers to be modestly identified with his family. He moved in with Sello Chicco Twala in 1987, who enrolled him into Fuba Music School of music in 1991 where he studied engineering and piano.
His love for music had initially been expressed through dancing since 1985. He was also part of the group MMD De Luxe along with his friend M’du Masilela in 1988 recording two albums in the following few years.
Spikiri also took time to encourage aspiring artistes to respect school and their craft.
“My message to the youth is to stay in school so that they can have something to fall back on, they must respect their craft and treat it like a business. The secret to respect your craft, respect your brand and stay focused.”
He also took time to speak about their performance arrangement with fellow group member Mahoota who of late has been reported to have said he would no longer perform with the group.
“Mahoota performs with us whenever he can. It is just that his schedule is busy and sometimes the venues are too far apart so that he cannot make it to both shows. He will always be a part of Trompies,” Spikiri said.
