19 May 2024

Pako Boikanyo aka DJ Pekay of Gaborone and Thabiso Mothupi aka DJ Sasky have emerged the winners of the South region National Arts DJ competition held in Jwaneng on Saturday.

The duo, who were competing against 26 others from different areas in South of Dibete, will proceed to represent the region at the national competitions.

Speaking in an interview, Boikanyo said even though he had won the regional competition previously, it took hard work and a lot of practicing to tick the right boxes.

“I had to take time to prepare because this is a bigger platform than what we are used to on daily basis,” he said.

The self-taught DJ attributed his achievements and growth to his passion for the craft, which he said motivated him to acquire skills from other industry players.

For his part, Mothupi said he was elated to have been selected to represent his region on the national stage.

However, he said he intended to learn from his mistakes to perfect his craft as he prepared to face a more fierce competition.

“I realised the mistake I made on beat matching during my performance today, and even though I managed to conceal it I intend to work on it going forward as I get ready for the national competitions,” he said.

Oteng Johane and Obakeng Di     tlhobolo settled for third and fourth position and walked away with cash prizes of P1 200 and P800 respectively.

Meanwhile, senior programmes officer in the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Malebogo Moilwa urged artistes to work hard towards commercialising their craft to create employment for themselves.

She noted that the National Arts Festival competitions were intended to capacitate them through giving them an opportunity to fine tune their skills and grow in their various ramifications.

Additionally, she noted that the platform was created for creatives to showcase variety of Batswana culture found within different ethnic groups.

“As Batswana, we are very unique, so these National Arts competitions are meant to showcase our diversity and ethnic cultures,” she noted.

Moilwa said the overall objective was to see Batswana utilising their skills and talents to diversify the economy of the country, away from diamond mining.

She said creative industry was one of the sectors, which was capable of immensely contributing towards such economic diversity.

Subsequently, she urged them to adopt the mindset change initiative to transform and improve their skills into income-generating enterprises.

“When you have a mindset change it means you are no longer doing things as usual, you are taking your artistic talent to another bigger and better level,” she said.

In his motivational speech, Raphalane ward councillor, Lebogang Peloyamotho implored artistes to regard such competitions as an opportunity for growth and improvement going forward.

He urged them to aim for more creativity by being unique and trendsetters in what they did, instead of duplicating the work that was already done by other artistes.

He called on participants to respect their artistic talents and skills and take them serious for their audience to return the same respect towards them.

“Let us respect our jobs and treat them like businesses.

It is important to be reliable and time conscious, and also avoid things such as drinking alcohol while we are working,” he said.

Peloyamotho also appreciated challenges faced by creative industry, which he said had the potential to make them quit.

However, he encouraged them to learn to preserve in the midst of such hurdles in order to achieve their goals and occupy their rightful spaces in the industry.

“We are aware of the challenges that you face, some of which can make you quit.

Every time you find yourself in such situations, always remember why you started and that should be your motivation to persevere,” he noted. ENDS