- Releases a new EP under Afrotainment
- SA’s DJ Tira on the EP
- The two aim to emulate West African collaboration projects
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Odirile “Vee Mampeezy” Sento is undoubtedly the hardest working musician in Botswana. If he is not performing somewhere around the country or selling his branded products, he is in a studio forging new partnerships and releasing music with foreign acts.
Just last week the kwaito-kwasa star released a brand new EP styled “Eezy Peezy” featuring a star-studded lineup of Batswana and South African artists. The EP was launched at the Cigar Lounge in Phakalane and DJ Tira – who is featured in one of the hits, “Unstoppable,” – flew into the country for the launch. “What I have learnt in art is that the easiest things are the most powerful in music,” Vee said at the launch in Gaborone.
“That’s why today’s hits have no words but are highly influential. Simple words such as ‘Eezy Peezy’ are influential and artistically I was saying it’s the most powerful piece of work I have released yet it was easily done. Sometimes too much content kills the whole vibe because people are not music experts and want simple things that can cheer them up.”
This time around the release was not under the Black Money Makers stable but under DJ Tira’s Afrotainment. This 8-track album is set to break barriers and open the borders, uniting Botswana and South African artists. Like the way Nigeria and Ghana in West Africa able to united to influence the world with their craft, Batswana and South Africans are coming together with a similar end in mind.
Said Vee: “Afrotainment has built many brands. When I gave DJ Tira a call, I was just trying my luck because my contract with Universal Studios had ended and I have passed the stage of producing music for Botswana alone. I need to be out there. I was once at the AFRIMMA Awards in the USA and we rocked the stage and the crowd wanted Botswana back on stage.
“So working with DJ Tira is the opportunity I am hoping for. The plan is to go out there and be known all over Africa. Being signed under Afrotainment is a big deal and it brings in new hunger and it gets me excited because it is a new challenge. I need to work hard and perform like a new hungry artist who wants to be known.”
The EP is available on all digital platforms and features music heavyweights such as Major League DJs, Makhadzi, Master KG, DJ Maphorisa, Mlindo the Vocalist, and Dr Tawanda. “Afrotainment has many producers but we decided a Motswana called Jazzman should produce our song with DJ Tira. This is an opportunity to inspire our artists, give them confidence and beef up their profiles,” Vee added.
Right in cue, Durban-based DJ Tira said he had been planning to work with Vee for a long time and was pleased to see their plans bear fruit. Their mission is to grow the relationship between SA and Botswana artists and this project was the first step to that end. “Sometimes the government needs you to act so that they can follow,” said DJ Tira.
“It’s important for you to walk so that they find you walking. We are on a journey of uniting two countries.
We have the Durban July event coming up and we would like to see more of Botswana artists invading Durban and South Africa and we have started the journey… I would like to host a few Botswana artists this July in Durban to showcase their talent.”
Vee Mampeezy was on the local lineup for the Soul Fill Up with Franco festival that made history by filling the national stadium with revellers over the weekend. This was after the “Zope” hitmaker performed in Pretoria and Benoni in South Africa.