Kelebogile Mabua, known to his throng of fans as ‘HT Tautona’ for his prolific Tswana rhymes and hard edged delivery, released an online mixtape entitled ‘Makgonatsotlhe’ on the 31st of August. Rising from his two year musical hiatus, HT’s new offering captures the craft that made him renowned as one of Botswana’s foremost rappers.
Although he is four albums deep into his career, HT said the mixtape was his first. “I figured out it has been a while since I did anything new so I felt the need to give my people something whilst I work on an album,” explained Mabua.
Having worked closely with his producers Rimzy and YungFella, HT has retained his impressive delivery as heard in some of his previous hits like ‘Gotta Go’ and ‘So Called Friends’. With his official single from the mixtape ‘I’m back’, he states that the song reclaims his position as the Tautona of Tswana Rap. From the ten track compilation, songs that stand out include ‘Nomadic’ which pays homage to fellow rapper, Tebogo ‘Nomadic’ Mapine whom he calls his musical big brother and title track ‘Makgonatsotlhe’, which celebrates his hometown Maun.
Speaking on the creative process, HT stated that recording a mixtape is quite different from making an album. “I didn’t really have to worry about the direction I was taking as opposed to an album where I usually cover a wide range of topics. Whatever came to my head or what the beat dictated is what I put on the songs,” said HT. He added that he had some great moments, “One of the highlights of this process was recording a track called Ramasedi, which was arranged, produced, and recorded the same night. It really brought out my religious side.”
HT, who has revealed that the mixtape is a build up to his upcoming album, said people should expect something fresh and worthy of a purchase. “I had to tap into the hungry HT who is rooted in raw tswana rap, I had to show the hunger I had before I was well known,” he said.
Makgonatsotlhe is currently available on his website www.httautona.com for purchase, streaming and download. For more on his music, his Facebook page is Kelebogile Mabua.