Mohalenyane Phakela
D2AMAJOE are on the comeback trail with the hip hop outfit brewing its third album and a tour that will start at the National University of Lesotho on 15 September 2017.
The Tšepe movement is currently working on their third offering Tšepe Tape Vol. 3 with two singles already released. The first single, O Leshano, was released last month featuring new members Severe Agoni, Golden Shovel, Majuka and the group’s founder Kommanda Obbs.
The second single, Rap No More, was released last week and features South African Hip Hop producer DJ Switch and female rappers Meloh, Kot Inferno, Zinnycated and Tyrant.
D2amajoe released their debut offering, Tšepe Tape Vol. 1 in 2012, with volume two unleashed in 2014.
In May 2014, they dropped the 15-track Nalane after its promotional single L’Afrique Sans Frontieres (Africa Without Borders) garnered 10 000 downloads on Datafilehost in a very short space of time.
Some of the group’s prominent members included T.I.E.H.O, Boshoa Botsoere, T?epe Motopela, Yemba Shungu, Qhobela and Kool S’moko.
However, Boshoa and Qhobela left the group in late 2014 with T.I.E.H.O, Yemba and S’mogo following suit the next year, leaving Motopela to hold the fort.
Motopela told Xpress People in a recent interview that the departures were a blessing in disguise as they allowed the group to bring in new members.
“D2amajoe is a movement with many members. Unfortunately, some people thought it had ended with the people who left because they were the most known at that time,” he said.
“Their departure gave us an opportunity to work with people who were determined to work with us in realising our goals.”
Turning to the upcoming tour, Motopela said it would also include the artists featured in the upcoming album who are not members of the group.
The tour will start off in Roma and head to Teyateyaneng in Berea district, then Leribe and Butha-Buthe. The other locations are yet to be confirmed, including the Free State and Gauteng provinces of South Africa.
He said the two singles were released to whet the appetite of fans for the album.
“Our strategy has always been to release singles ahead of the album to create hype. Tšepe Tape Vol. 3 will have a track list ranging from between 16 and 18 songs,” Motopela added.