Most brothers growing up dream of following similar career paths but few ever realise those dreams.
That is not the case with music producer, Elish Sitima and rapper Caleeb Sitima, popularly known by their aliases Sniteville and Y Dot C respectively. The two have taken advantage of their cross-border appeal.
SniteVille is based in the United States while Y Dot C has brought his craft from the United Kingdom back to Botswana where the two spent almost all of their childhood.
Having already worked with the likes of Chub Heightz, Dj Fauz and Marked Men, among other artists, and having released a mixtape between them, the brothers share a mutual level of respect with neither of them undermining their various accomplishments.
Despite their close connection, SniteVille reveals that he prefers to keep a distance from his brother’s creativity process and final decision making. ┬áHe points out that he helps more with the technical side of things in terms of making sure there┬áis cover art,┬ámixing,┬ámastering,┬átype of promotion┬áand basically the┬ánon-creative┬áside of the┬áprojects.
“As artists┬áI┬áfeel they need to be exactly that ‘an artist,’ I don’t tell him what kind of music to make,” SniteVille remarked.
However despite their musical chemistry SniteVille says the two have had a typical brotherly relationship with its ups and downs.
“Brothers┬áwill be┬ábrothers. We fight, we┬áhave┬áfun, we┬áhelp each other┬áout. It’s┬áa pure brotherly love┬árelationship. You┬ácan’t have a relationship exist that always sees eye to eye with one another that wouldn’t be normal,” he said.
Both artists acknowledge that at a young age they listened to a lot of music while growing.
According to wordsmith Y Dot C their mother, aunt and late uncle are all singers so music really played a large role in his family when he was growing up and he didn’t realize just how much until he began experimenting with it himself. He also explains that most of his hooks have certain elements of singing in them and somehow the typical rapping over hooks seems foreign and difficult to him. This however does not stop Y Dot C from pointing out that he could not have taken a different career despite their father being a renowned church figure in Botswana and usual connotations associated with rap music.
“In all honesty my father being a church figure doesn’t really affect the way I record especially in regards the emotion I leave on a song whether it is a happy, angry or sad song I never let that limit me in expressing myself,” Y Dot C commented.
According to SniteVille It wasn’t easy establishing himself as a music┬áproducer, he┬áhad to deal with rejection and creative differences but he believes he has learnt from it and that it is all part of the┬ábeing in the industry.
“If┬áyou can’t handle rejection than you are in the wrong┬áindustry. I┬áalways say when working with other producers and artists find an equilibrium in which both styles are presented in a unique way without distorted each others art and you would be the surprised the magic that can be created from that,” he said.
The two continue believe that Botswana music has a lot to offer with unity being the key and cited Zeus’s recent Channel O Award as a sign of greater things to come if artists unite for a greater cause.
