Two Botswana artists Oliver Gaolaolwe and David Golekwang have reached the top five of the Africa Theme Song edition of the 2021 Africa Music Challenge.
The winner of the challenge organised by Africa Sports Ventures Group (ASVG) and HITLAB will be unveiled on the 25th of May on Africa Day.
The winning song will be a theme song for the day.
Speaking to Voice Entertainment in Oliver Gaolaolwe said as a new up-and-coming artist, the competition would give him exposure locally and continentally.
He said his Manager, Kopano Boduwe is the one who informed him about this challenge and he developed an interest.
“I went to the studio, made research, and wrote down the lyrics about Africa, our lives, and culture. The instruments of the song we made by beating the dust bin in the studio. I have been taking part in the Constituency Arts completion and currently, I am the defending champion as a guitarist in Lobatse. I am honored to be in the top 5. Winning the challenge would completely change my music career,” said Gaolaolwe
Golekwang said he has been in the music industry for about seven months and recently registered with Botswana Music Union (BOMU).
He said the advert for the challenge was shared in BOMU’s WhatsApp group and he developed interest.
The 23-year-old artist from Radisele said he developed an interest in music when he was at primary school and joined the boys’ choir.
“During the first lockdown, I asked my brother to fund me and I released a House Kwasa single titled,’ Tshaba Satane, produced by DJ Bino. The response I got was very positive from the people I shared it with. I released another single called Sengwe le Sengwe and this week I released the third one with C-sharp called Thomas. I am now working on an album with my producer Saint Chris 87 because I realised I have the potential,” said Golekwang
Speaking at the online unveiling ceremony, Africa Music Challenge Spokesperson, Paul Ugbede said when the competition started about 450 artists had shown interest but only 100 submitted their songs. A few weeks ago the top 20 were unveiled.
He said this has been an exciting journey and thanked everyone who participated. The search for the theme song, he said has also proved that Africa has got talent and they can deliver on such a big challenge on their own.
“For all artists who participated, I just want to say we are all winners. Those who made it in the top five, their career journey has just begun, and being part of the challenge will contribute immensely in their career, We listened to all your songs and they were amazing,” said Ugbede
