Music Around the World: Botswana

Welcome back to our Musical World Tour, stopping today in the southern African country of Botswana. Known for its luxury safari experiences, massive elephant populations (YAY sign me up), and being the world's leading producer of gem-grade diamonds, this country also has a really cool music scene. Here's our info dump to catch us up:

-Capital City: Gaborone

-Official Languages: English, with Tswana being the national language

-Government: Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency, currently under the leadership of President Duma Boko, Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe, & National Assembly Speaker Dithapelo Keorapetse

-Great Britain occupied and colonized Botswana in 1885, with Botswana declaring independence and adopting their own constitution in September 1966

-Land Area: 224,610 square miles (47th largest nation in the world, with 2.7% of its area being water)

-Population: 2,359,609 estimated as of 2022 (143rd most populous nation in the world)

-Religion: 70.2% Protestant, 8.9% other Christian denomination, 15.2% no religious affiliation, 4.1% Badimo, 1.4% other religious affiliation, 0.3% unspecified religious affiliation

-Drive on the left side of the road

Tswana music is present throughout virtually every aspect of their culture. Most folk music is strictly vocal with no drums but can also use string instruments. Popular music is also extremely prevelent throughout the music scene of this nation. Let's see what we've got to check out this week!

Return of the Gods by Crackdust (composer unknown)

Crackdust is a Botswana death metal band. Founded in Gaborone in 2006, they lean towards the more aggressive side of death metal and got to open for Botswana Woodstock in 2008. They released one studio album in 2007. Return of the Gods was released as a single in 2011. If you've been here a while, you know my husband is a huge metal fan so my understanding of the genre has grown (slowly) through the years. Honestly, I thought this sounded pretty sick even though I couldn't understand a word he was saying. Metalheads, give this one a try even though I couldn't find the lyrics.

Borikiriki by Culture Spears (written by K. Mogwe)

Culture Spears is a Tswana traditional music and dance group. Founded in 1991, they've performed many times both in and out of Botswana and received several awards. They have released six studio albums and their current lineup includes Kabelo Mogwe and Magdalene Lesolebe. Borikiriki (Blocks in English) is featured on their 2006 album Kulenyane (Slightly in English). This was a cool one to listen to, and I found myself really getting into the groove and swaying along the entire time. I couldn't find a good transcription of the lyrics, but I definitely recommend it.

Ba Ntatola Ke Tshela by Franco & Afro Musica (written by F. Lesokwane)

Franko & Afro Musica is a Botswana twelve-piece kwasa kwasa band. Founded in Gabane (about 29 miles west of Gaborone) by Franco Lesokwane, they perform kwasa kwasa music, a type of dance that originated in the Congo in the 1980s. They have released sixteen studio albums since 2001. Ba Ntatola Ke Tshela (They Deny Me Alive in English) was originally featured on their 2002 album Ba Ntatola (My Aunt in English). I thought this one was pretty cool, and very rhythmically interesting. I couldn't find a good transcription of the lyrics, but I doubt you'll be bored listening to it.

Loud by Samantha Mogwe (written by T. Lesole)

Samantha Mogwe is a Botswana musician, songwriter, vocal coach, and businesswoman. She began performing back in 2003 with the group My African Dream, and competed on Gabz Karioke Idols and Idols East Africa. She has two albums and multiple singles streaming on Apple Music, and she typically focuses on R&B, jazz, and African music. Loud is featured on her 2015 album Transition. This was a pretty good R&B song from someone who struggles heavily with that genre, and I like her voice a lot. I couldn't find a good transcription of the lyrics, but give this one a try.

Fatshe Leno La Rona by The Nationalism (written by K. Motsete)

Fatshe Leno La Rona (This Land of Ours in English) is the national anthem of the Republic of Botswana. It was composed by Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete in 1962 and adopted as the national anthem in 1966 when the country gained independence from Great Britain. An English translation of the original Tswana lyrics is below.

This land of ours/Is a gift from God/An inheritance from our forefathers/May it always be at peace/Awake, awake, o men, awake/Arise, o women, arise, be energized/Let us work together to serve/Our land

Your Time by Vee Mampeezy (written by O. Sento)

Odirile Sento, better known by his stage name Vee Mampeezy, is a Motswana singer, songwriter, and record label executive. Born in May 1983 in Hukuntsi (about 310 miles west of Gaborone), he is credited with developing the kwaito kwasa musical style. An accomplished singer, he typically performs genres like kwaito, house, and Afropop and has released six studio albums since 2001. Your Time was released as a single in 2023. This one was ok, but it felt very reminiscent of a lot of the Caribbean style tracks from other posts that are good, but feel a tiny bit dated. I couldn't find a good transcription of the lyrics, but see what you think of it for yourself.

I hope you found some cool new music to enjoy this week, and even learned something about a different corner of the world. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!