Bataung Moeketsi

MUSICIAN Sneiman will tomorrow release his latest single Ba Ileng on digital platforms.

The track tells the age-old tale of reckless spending of one’s inheritance and the consequences that follow this behaviour. The track is produced by Talani Ndlovu while Mokete Auda played the accordion and bass.

Sneiman narrates the story of a boy who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth but loses his parents and blows wealth on expensive clothes, alcohol and cars. He also spends money on expensive junkets to Botswana and South Africa.

The trips earn him the nickname, Abuti Gaborone, Abuti Maboneng, Abuti Maseru which the Tšepe Sethuamajoe signed artiste sings about in the track highlighting the lavish glory days and his eventual sudden fall.

The protagonist is surrounded by plenty of opportunistic friends and beautiful young women termed as “slay queens” before the tables turn resulting in him becoming homeless.

As his fortunes wane, friends desert him but that does not dampen his spirits. Instead, he aspires to build his own wealth.

Sneiman told the Xpress People that the song was inspired by the common stories told in the villages about men and women who start off wealthy but squander is all.

“The sad stories inspired me,” Sneiman said.

“Among such wasteful characters are soccer celebrities and other famous people who blow it all. I watched their testimonies and read about them. Instead of mocking them, I thought maybe we should make people aware of it.”

Born Senei Makhalayane, Sneiman is a vernacular singer, songwriter, rapper and producer. His music fuses Sesotho traditions of song and modern Afro sounds in his raps.

He embodies a hustler as his name suggests, which is slang for salesman, and his style is inspired by Southern African miners whose Brentwood pants and expensive leather shoes is popular in Famo culture.

Ba Ileng is the first single off Sneiman’s Maweekente album, the recording of which is complete and is slated for release later this year.

“The album is done. What is left now is the paper work and final mixing and mastering. People should expect to hear a whole new sound manothi as 80 percent of the album has an accordion and other live instrument,” he said.

He said the video for the track in the next few weeks, falling in line with a series of music videos that make up the Sneiman Series soundtrack. His 2018 debut music video for Shoeshine le Manothi featuring Koete Sekhukhuni kicked off the series.

Sneiman will continue shooting the series once the coronavirus pandemic subsides. He also plans to tour the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

“I have already been billed to perform at various festivals due to be confirmed as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic ends,” Sneiman said.