Botswana hip-hop is done asking whether it deserves a seat at the table. The 267 Hip-Hop Awards are back, with regional ambitions, 22 categories and a message for corporate Botswana: the culture is worth betting on.
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Botswana hip-hop has bars to spit, beats to drop and a business case to make. Now, the 267 Hip-Hop Awards want the country to pay attention — and perhaps open its wallet.
Formerly known as the Rarely Hip-Hop Awards (RaHAs), the awards return for their second edition in 2026/2027 with a new identity, 22 categories and ambitions extending beyond Botswana’s borders. The rebrand is more than a fresh coat of paint; it is an attempt to make the platform bigger than the person behind it.
Junior Bakgethisi of Rare Media Agency says the name change was deliberate.
“Using Botswana’s country code ‘267’ as the name firmly positions these awards as a celebration belonging to all of Botswana’s urban culture,” he told Time Out.
NO BORDERS, JUST BARS
The biggest addition is the Best Regional Hip-Hop Award, which opens the door to artists from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa.
For Bakgethisi, the move is about building relationships, not simply importing neighbouring countries’ star power.
“We want SADC to see Botswana as a mutual partner, and to recognize their artistry the same way we want ours to be recognized.”
It’s an ambitious play: positioning Botswana as both a creator and consumer in a regional hip-hop economy, rather than a market that only watches the action elsewhere.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
The awards also want corporate Botswana in the room. Bakgethisi is calling on businesses to recognise the commercial potential of local artists, arguing that the scene has talent worth investing in.
“Most Hip-Hop artists and lovers are nerds, and it’s easy to properly distinguish good art from bad through the artistic structures that Hip-Hop itself has formed,” he says.
“We want them to see that there is value worth investing in within the Botswana Hip-Hop space and that our artists are marketable and bankable.”
Sixteen categories will be open for nominations, with five nominees in each. The remaining six include the ICON Award, WarZone Battle Rapper of the Year and platform-specific honours.
Submissions open from 1–6 November 2026, covering work released between 30 November 2025 and 31 October 2026. The ceremony is scheduled for March 2027, with the venue still to be announced.
The inaugural edition was a proof of concept. This time, Bakgethisi promises a more organised operation and a bigger statement.
“We are changing the game forever.”