Although hippos are notoriously territorial, the self-proclaimed ‘real king of Disco’, Mr Hippo is planning to expand his borders beyond Botswana.
The 30-year-old Mahalapye-born music maker is taking his brand north, teaming-up with Zimbabwe’s Kid Kay for his latest single, a Disco/Dancehall mix called ‘Mangikhumbula’.
Released earlier this month, ‘Mangikhumbula’, which is Ndebele for ‘I remember’, carries a strong message.
“We did the song thinking of those who have lost their parents. We started recording it two months ago. I decided to work with the Victoria Falls-based artist to get a feel of their music and also to be recognized internationally,” explains Mr Hippo – real name Onkgolotse Goememang.
Full of praise for Kid Kay’s professionalism, the artist tells Voice Entertainment he learnt much from the collaboration, including being more patient when putting a track together.
“Collaborating with someone from outside the country is vital as you get to learn new things and tricks on music. It was an eye-opening experience, the hard work and dedication Kay puts into his music is something else; the guy’s incredibly thorough but that’s what it takes to get to the top,” he says, listing his musical inspirations as: Thabile Mazolwane, Khoza Mkhozeni and Mahempe, who took charge of the instrumentals and mastering on ‘Mangikhumbula’.
Despite only hitting 30 this year, the Disco singer is a relative veteran of the industry, having started out way back in 2007 as a dancer.
By 2015, the mover-and-shaker had moved his way to the mic and started recording his own music.
Six albums and eight singles later, the ‘ChebeChebe’ hit-maker has carved out a relatively successful career.
It is a career on the rise, hitting a new high this year following his first-ever BOMU Awards nomination, where Mr Hippo will be hoping his ‘Katara’ offering can do the business in the ‘Best Disco Album’ category at next month’s awards.
Following his collab with Kid Jay, it is also a career very much on the move!