Internationally acclaimed lyricist Boitumelo Tumi Molekane had a one-night live concert at the Bowling Club recently.
Internationally acclaimed lyricist Boitumelo Tumi Molekane had a one-night live concert at the Bowling Club recently.
Born in Tanzania, he lived in exile with his parents until 1992 and worked his way up from being
a rapper in the streets of Soweto to becoming an internationally acclaimed poet who has been tried and
tested across the globe.
The interactive lyricist wowed the packed to capacity crowd. Backed by DJ Peach of Yesterday’s Pupil, Tumi delivered uncut wording in a rhythmic pattern on a foundation of underground sounds produced by the DJ.
The rhymer has not only spun the listeners’ mind but was also influential in addressing social messages. “With my music I wish to tell the stories of the simple,” he said.
He performed a number of tracks from his latest offering, while DJ Peach kept the volume up in the background. “I had to be here to bring hip-hop into the Arts Festival scene.
I am happy to be here, I wish I had some more time to experience more,” said Tumi. His second album Whole Worlds is available at music outlets country wide.
The wordsmith completed countless works on the Johannesburg hip-hop scene before he made a lasting impression with the band The Volume at The Bassline in Johannesburg, the Flux Festival in Durban, Eargasm’s Mkonto, The Independent Armchair Theatre in Cape Town, the Oppikoppi festival in Pretoria and on TV programmes The Phat Joe Show and Castle Loud.
Blending the hip-hop recipe with elements of rock, spoken word, and African jazz and pop, Tumi and The Volume have been one of South Africa’s outstanding musical outfits, with styles parallel to Philadelphia’s ground breaking band The Roots.
The band then went on to work along headliner K’Naan, The Roots, Blackalicious, Massive Attack and Coldplay to produce two albums.
Molekane’s second solo offering, Whole Worlds, was nominated for a South African Music Award this year. His approach has proven to be highly collaborative as he features a number of diverse musical guests on the new record, including South African songbird Sibongile Khumalo, Kwaito star Bricks, MXO, Blk Sonshine’s Masauko, Zaki Ibrahim and many more.
“The latest album is different from my previous works. Why would I do the same thing over and over?” “I don’t want to paint the same painting all the time,” he said.
