Growing up 267 Hip Hop: #1

Let me introduce myself to you, wena o le mobadi nna ke le mokwadi.
To wena the nameless specie but before that
E re ke tseye sebaka se ke gopole the resting Faceless Artist
Ke gopole botlhe badiri ka rona ba ba re tlogetseng,
Bo Skhokho le bo Motshini yo itshetshang
Mma Mongwato le Wa Makeisane
Robalang mme lo re nesetse Pula

My name is Stevie G DJ, been in the game for almost 2 decades now, which to me is crazy. But the crazier thing is I often find myself realizing that in all honesty, I’ve been in the game since I was maybe 7 or 8. I’ve shared this story with many, and I’ll share it with you too. Having been raised both in Moleps (Molepolole) and Gaborone, I was exposed to a lot of elements and sides of creativity, music, art and entertainment.

The bug bit me when I went to buy a loaf of bread. (Let that sink in)

Yes, you read that right. My grandma in Moleps sent me to the local general dealer, Highway. And if you know Botswana well, you know that our complexes have three establishments, a general dealer, a butchery and a bar. If you ask me, that’s a winning model that should be studied. So, on this one Sunday afternoon I do as asked and go buy a loaf of bread. Here is where the bug bites.

Highway was known for hosting a variety of events, and quite frankly, it being so close to home exposed me to so much music that I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered. And on that fateful Sunday they had the legendary Kwasa Kwasa act Alfredo Mos. You’d think it was seeing him perform that got me hooked, but it was one of his dancers. Let me give you context. I walked into the store having seen that there is a performance going on and I guess I wanted to see it because on my way out, I hid behind a speaker and watched in awe. I was entranced and captivated by the way the woman (the dancer) was moving her hips. There was something that I felt, and in that moment I knew that’s how I wanted to make people feel.

I also saw how the entire performance captivated the audience. At that exact point in time, when I realized how captivated everyone was, I guess I may have stared a lil too long at an old man who probably caught me by the corner of his eye because his reaction when he clocked that there was an irregularity had me running back home. Since that day, I knew music and entertainment would be a big part of my life. That goes without mentioning the constant singing I grew up around. My grandmother and her daughters could’ve formed a choir if they really wanted to. They sang and to this day, still sing a lot at various functions.

A lot more influences came up as I grew up and if you are a frequent reader of this blog, you will get to know more about me and how I grew up in 267Hip Hop, and in turn grew up in the Botswana entertainment industry.