Kwasa legend sings about love
Kwasa Kwasa legend, Jeff Matheatau, has gone back to his early schooldays to find the inspiration for his latest single.
However, the motivation and drive behind ‘Nonyane tse Pedi’ comes not from the classroom but from the heart.
Set to hit local airwaves next week, the moving, high-tempo track highlights the purity of love and encourages lovers to be faithful to one another.
“Nonyane tse Pedi, as in two birds. It was inspired by the song that we have sung at primary school about two birds sitting on a tree that never leaves each other. So, lovers should love each other like birds and if they do they will not separate or cheat on each other,” explained the 53-year-old Machaneng native, who produced and composed the song himself.
Recorded at Sound Herb studio in Gaborone, the melody and beat contain the energy and quality fans have come to expect from Matheatau over the course of his impressive 31-year career.
It is a journey that started in the most unlikely of settings, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) band.
“When I was in the band, I enjoyed every moment of it. I was a good dancer so I asked myself, ‘Why can’t I try music?’ That is when I started practicing and released my first album called ‘Dilala di Tshameka’ in 2002 that Batswana loved so much.”
Another 12 albums have since followed, with the former soldier establishing himself as a leading force in the busy world of Kwasa.
Despite his success over the years, the ‘Garasi Pampiri’ hitmaker admits that like many, Covid-19 has hit him hard.
Describing the pandemic as ‘a real eye-opener’, he told Voice Entertainment, “Since last year, March, there has been no money coming from music and I decided to plow at my farm in Tonota. I plowed watermelons, maize, and sorghum for sale. Now I want to rear some livestock. Covid really opened the eyes of many.”
Like the two birds in his song, however, Matheatau will not be turning his back on his first love – music.