Herbert Moyo
Kommanda Obbs’ stock continues to rise with the Sotho Hip Hop pioneer lined up to perform alongside Jamaican reggae superstar, Damian Robert Nesta Marley in two shows scheduled for Durban and Johannesburg in South Africa.
Damian is the youngest son of Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley and is a Grammy Award-winning artiste in his own right. He has been performing since the age of 13, initially as part of the Shephards group which included the daughter of reggae musician, Freddie McGregor and son of Third World’s Cat Core.
The group opened the 1992 Reggae Sunsplash Festival in Jamaica and after it collapsed in the early 1990s, Marley went on to release his debut solo album, Mr. Marley in 1996.
He won the Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the Welcome to Jamrock album at the 2006 Grammy Awards and in the process, became the first Jamaican artiste to win two Grammys at the same event.
Damian is currently in the studio working on his upcoming album Stony Hill which is set for release on 21 July.
Kommanda Obbs will be a supporting act to Marley (also known to fans as “Junior Gong” and “Gongzilla”) at The Groove Live (formerly known as The Bassline) in Newtown, Johannesburg this Friday at 19:00 hours and again at the Zakifo Music Festival in Durban next Sunday.
An elated Kommanda Obbs described the upcoming gigs as unique experience which testified to his growth as a musician where he has developed “from rocking the ghettos to international stages”.
Obbs has also created publicity for the event under the hashtags #LetsTakeItToTheWorld, #SekoloSeKene (the classes are in) and #ItsNativeNje.
Tickets, for the gigs which have been set at R500, are available at Computicket.
In addition, Kommanda Obbs will also represent Lesotho at this week’s Bassline Africa Day Concert in Johannesburg alongside other continental heavyweights that include Thandiswa Mazwai, Ray Phiri, Vusi Mahlasela, Gugu Shezi, Jobie Clarke (all South Africa), Jah Prayzah (Zimbabwe), Petite Noir, Baloji (Democratic Republic of Congo), Jojo Abot (Ghana) and Bombino (Niger).
The Maputsoe-born Obbs is signed to South Africa’s Native Rhythm Records.
He released his debut single under the stable in March 2016 after signing on in October 2015. Titled Tauerora (roaring lion), the single was distributed on social media and on the link http://www.datafilehost.com/D/D8E085DD.
The Randburg-based (Johannesburg) singer said that the single was meant to inspire young people to tell their own stories.
“Since the release of my debut album Tšepe Sethua Majoe in 2011, I have always appealed to African youths to tell stories of their own continent and not let people from afar do it for them,” said the rapper whose real name is Obatia Chapi.
“In the single, I aim to instill confidence in young Africans, especially those within the SADC region, to tell their stories in different artistic forms especially now that we are exposed to different mediums.”
Kommanda Obbs said he would continue with his unique Tšepe rap style which fuses traditional Sesotho sounds and wordplay with Hip Hop.
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