THE EPIC COMEBACK
Mmurubele release their second album after 16 years
After a 16-year-long wait, the talented Mmurubele traditional music group has finally released a massive banger album of eight tracks.
When they sampled the songs during the album launch and listening session at Molapo Showcase, for a moment, the world froze with excitement and mixed emotions. Some of the attendees shed tears of joy, wowed by the best of local culture’s indigenous music.
Their new album is called ‘Botshelo’ and all the songs were written as stories of their lives, hence the album’s title.
Their latest album includes songs such as Mokwena, Thokolosi, Ntate o makgasa and O jola o le nosi. The group is actually famously known as the ‘Kwa ga Mokwena creatives,’ as it originated in Molepolole.
It is a cultural group determined to promote local music internationally. One of the founders - Motshabi Moloi - said the group was actually moulded by Eric Ramco who selected it through auditions in 2008.
She expressed their gratitude to Ramco who not only spotted their talent but glued it together.
The listening session served as an opportunity for attending artistes to connect and expand their nertwork. Several musicians within the genre attended to support their sisters in music.
They included among others, Dithubaruba, Ngwao Loshalaba Association, Dobs Creatives, Ditiro Leero and Touch Records who recorded this beautiful album. President at Botswana Folklore Association, Refilwe Senna applauded Mmurubele for their great comeback.
She emphasised that women in the music industry have suffered gender disparity for a long time as they were not adequately represented, but observed that Mmurubele always remained resilient throughout.
She said that their mission is to promote Botswana culture and tourism locally and internationally, and is excited that the new album accords with this mandate, as well as shows growth.
Director at Zen Promotions, also former President of Botswana Entertainment Promoters Association and the ruling Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) Secretary of Sports and Creative Arts Sub Committee of the Central Committee, Zenzele Hirschfeld, also commended Mmurubele.
She said the group has upgraded and taken its craft to another level. She encouraged the group to nurture their brand and make it a habit to read and research to fit into the world’s current trends as well as utilise the social media platforms to diversify their craft.
The renowned creative and leader within the industry also encouraged the local artistes to normalise archiving their stories for future generations to know their roots in the music setup. She applauded the Mmurubele group for their hard work of showing off the talent that they are sixteen (16) years later, and also defying the odds that women within the music industry cannot work together for a long time.
The album is readily available on all online streaming platforms and Mmurubele also intends on embarking on a music tour to take the album to the people. Hirschfeld has also already pledged to hire them for the Miss Millennium high tea event coming up in March, to support their beautiful craft.