
Tribute to the LEGENDE-ary “Bosso”, Jabulani Tsambo
Today, we pay tribute to perhaps the one person who did the most for the promotion and dissemination of the Setswana language throughout the world than all his precursors and other actors in the foreseeable future. Today, the 24th of October 2024 marks the sixth anniversary of the untimely demise of the LEGENDE-ary “Bosso”, Jabulani Tsambo – better known by his stage name Hip Hop Pantsula or just HHP.
I would borrow from his track Bosso and say “Bosso ke mo-Afrika Borwa yo headline website ya Setswana sa Botswana”. Stering! Legende!!
Here’s the thing, usually champions of a language will promote the language through forums that are specifically set up for this: it could be through discourse, scholarly writings, or even artworks that are designed to cater to people who are looking for to enjoy that bit of culture.
Needless to say this, there are scores of Setswana artists who present their wares through traditional music, poetry, dramas, sketches, and the like. But for people to access them, these people should be deliberately looking for them.
In the case of HHP, he was sure to throw in at least one Setswana verse in not only his music, but also in collaborations with artists from diverse countries, including American A-listers like Nas, Talib Kweli, Raheem DeVaughn, and Goapele. No doubt there are some young Americans out there butchering the lyrics to “Ke Ledimo” and trying to find out what the duet with Nasir Jones was all about. And it’s not just Americans, looking at the world-wide influence of Hip Hop music and the millions of followers it has.
Even back in South Africa, one would be amiss to have missed the mega-collaboration “Shout-SA” project aimed at combatting crime, and its successful successor “You’re the Voice” that still reverberates in people’s minds over a decade since they were released.
The late Jabulani “Jabba” Tsambo was a celebrated South African musician who was born on 14 September 1980 in Mafikeng, a region rich in Setswana culture. HHP used his platform as an artist to elevate the status of the language in the hip-hop and global music scenes. His efforts played a pivotal role in modernising the perception of Setswana while remaining rooted in its cultural and linguistic heritage.
HHP’s decision to rap and sing predominantly in Setswana was a bold move at a time when English dominated South Africa’s music and entertainment industry.
Through his music, he demonstrated that indigenous languages could have commercial viability and artistic relevance. Most of his songs integrated Setswana with modern beats, appealing to both young and older audiences. His ability to seamlessly blend the language with contemporary genres like hip-hop and Kwaito brought Setswana into urban spaces where it was often overlooked.
By incorporating Setswana proverbs, idioms, and storytelling traditions in his lyrics, HHP preserved and shared cultural wisdom with younger generations. He uses Setswana expressions to convey themes of pride and identity, encouraging his audience to embrace their cultural roots.
This approach not only celebrated the language but also empowered speakers of Setswana to take pride in their heritage.
But the truth is he was not the first. Without doubt, he probably took inspiration from, in particular Tshepo Seate, better known as “Stoan” of Bongo Maffin. Without trying to remove the limelight from our subject of today, HHP, Stoan arguably had one up over HHP. Rather than rapping in Setswana, Stoan infused an entire traditional art form “poko” into Kwaito music.
Poko is a form Setswana traditional poetry with rhythms and elements quite different from standard rap. But somehow, Stoan was able to pull this off, and had our whole country (Botswana) agape when we first heard that iconic “Bomeno-masweu ke bo sielakgaka senwamoro” stanza in Bongo Maffin’s chart-topping Thath’isgubhu in the late 1990s. And this was not a fluke. He went on to repeat this feat in many smash hits that followed.
As both Stoan and HHP were Mafikeng natives, their variety of Setswana sounds closer to how we speak it in Botswana, making it more appealing and natural to Botswana audiences, that perhaps the Johannesburg-Pretoria styles.
Back to HHP. Beyond music, he was an advocate for the recognition and use of indigenous languages in education and media. In interviews and public engagements, he often spoke about the importance of preserving languages like Setswana in a world increasingly dominated by English and other global languages. His advocacy highlighted the critical role of language in cultural identity and social cohesion.
Jabba’s presence in Botswana was more than just over the airwaves.
He was a regular fixture in this country, and even had songs like “Built this City” making direct reference to his connection to this land. His album “O mang” (Setswana for who are you), which talks to the know thyself motif, derives its name from the national identification card of this country. He also had business interests here, together with his Botswanan friend, music promoter, Seabelo Modibe.
Today, his music continues to be celebrated for its linguistic and cultural significance, making him a beacon of pride for Setswana speakers everywhere. He is considered the first “King of Motswako”, a sub-genre of hip-hop that blend English and Setswana lyrics, usually with transitions between the languages within a stanza of even a sentence/line. The term, which literally means “mixture” in Setswana, has also been used more extensively to cover even more languages, particularly in South Africa, where language diversity is more prominent than in Botswana.
Without doubt, it would be amiss to omit to mention our Motswako heavy-weights
this side of the Molopo and Limpopo Rivers, even though we shall in future have discussions focused on them. I shall start the list with fellow deceased Motswakolistas, Dramaboi and Sasa Klaas (MTSRIP). Other names that immediately come to mind at the mention of this sub-genre include Scar, Kast, Zeus, HT Tautona, MMP Family, Ban-T, and MC’s with more controversial content like Jujuboy, A.T.I., and Ozi F Teddy.