Perseverance is the key to success; that is how the Francistown-based traditional music artist, Ontiretse Zuma Bakaile, perceives life.
With an album that is already making an impact around the country and beyond borders, the lad, who hails from Mogoditshane, is slowly gaining fame in the country as he once again won the Youth Health Organization arts competitions hosted in Francistown last week.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Nthinthe, as he is commonly known to his legion of fans, said that he managed to win the P 3000 prize and a twelve month contract to perform in each event hosted by YOHO, which is currently in a bid to sensitize the youth on the dangers brought by the Multi Concurrent Partnerships (MCP) with regard to HIV/Aids infections.
“I had to compete against 64 different artists from Francistown and the surrounding areas and I emerged the winner, which has given me a lot of courage in my music and showing that I am growing as an artist,” he said.
He mentioned that the competition required each artist to perform a song, poem or drama portraying a message in relation to the mandate of YOHO and he managed to impress the judges with his hit track, Mogatsaka, from his debut album, which is due to be officially launched soon.
Nthinthe said that the message in the song Mogatsaka advises youth to desist from multi concurrent partnerships as it only leads to HIV/Aids. He further stated that he is due to perform in Gerald Estates BOCCIM hall where he will share the stage with South African Gospel sensation, Winnie Mashaba, in a few weeks.
Nthinthe went on to say that his album, which has six tracks, has a high demand in the market although it has not been officially launched yet.
“My contract with YOHO will help me spread the message in my album and I will manage to promote my music to the people and make them understand who Nthinthe is,” he added.
He also said that his album was released last year in December, adding that he is currently touring the country with one of Botswana’s notable artists such as the Kwasa kwasa artist, Franco, Mc Maswe, Mareledi and DJ Zola. Nthinthe revealed that his album was released at the Bullet Production studios in Gaborone and has currently cut only 500 copies.
“There is high demand of my music so I will have to cut more records to meet the demand of my fans,” Nthinthe said.
Among the hits in his six track album are songs like Mogatsaka, Rastafarians and Bogodu.
Nthinthe is also a member of the Dinkwenkgoga traditional group, which is based in Francistown. He has previously shared stages with veteran traditional Tswana music artist, Gong Master.
