While the Gaborone clubbing scene is to all intents and purposes moribund, The Bier Baron and Naked Soul Sessions may be the next big thing. Once every month the Bier Baron at the Gaborone main mall turns into an impromptu live music venue, equally attractive for young new bands eager to perform and for audiences who usually get in for free for a night out listening to acoustic music.
Thursday night saw the third monthly instalment of the intimate Naked Soul Sessions at Bier Baron and this time around rapper, Cibil Nyte, was the man unplugged. Nyte, a Motswana rapper and amazing lyricist, was the first local to win the international Emcee Africa competition. Accompanied by Bobo on bass guitar and GrandPa on the djembe drum they put on a spectacular soulful interpretation of the rapper’s hip hop / rap music.
He performed original material all night and had the crowd swaying and singing along. A childhood friend and his sister gave wonderful speeches about the talented rapper. And a talented young girl also recited a poem to him that he had helped to inspire! The night also featured an open mic section where Mpho Sebina Serenaded the crowd and Maya Rose did fire fire freestyle!
Naked Soul Sessions is a monthly event that focuses on live acoustic music performances. A different artist is featured every month and the previous two months saw solo acoustic performances by Mpho Sebina and Taola respectively.
The show aims to create an intimate environment where performing artists can be heard and appreciated by stripping down their music and performing to only acoustic instruments, hence the name naked soul sessions. The event is also an open platform where the audience is allowed to interact with the artist by asking questions and expressing how they may feel about the artist or their music. It is also one of the factors behind the name naked soul.
The event is conceptualised and presented by Mpho Sebina with the help of a few sponsors Voodoo Advertising, Sunday Standard, Graham Beck Wines, Golden Child Productions and 6 Pac Promotions. It was created to feed the music lover who wants to understand the music and also get to know the artist behind it.
In attendance were some of Botswana’s most vibrant movers and shakers; Gwen Isaacs (Lush Lifestyle), Lerato Motshwarakgole (Motswana actress formerly on Generations and on her way to Harvard University), Bonolo Mogowe (media personality), Ncinci (Kwa ga Ncinci), Tebogo Cranwell (visual artist), Alessandra Sbrana (Drummer- Skinflint), Faded Gang, Favi Motsemme (producer), Bnote (Producer), Maya Rose (artist) Loneshark M Thebe, and many others.
