ROOTED SOULZ TURNS ‘10 YEARS’ IN POETIC STYLE!

MBABANE – The true definition of African rooted sounds.  Soulful music was served at the Theatre Club in Mbabane last Friday, in a show dubbed ‘Rooted Soulz’.

The show’s aim was to celebrate a decade of local soulful music and poetry.
 The event started at 7pm, fun lovers braved the cold and came out in numbers.

 First to warm up the stage was the talented soulful Qibho Intalektual, who left the crowd with words of wisdom when reciting a poem.
 He shocked the crowd as most of the revellers were expecting him to sing.

Second on stage was Dzeli Mdluli, she shared a poem about a young girl named ‘Chakazile’, which left the crowd yearning for more.
While the crowd was still trying to recover from Mdluli’s performance, poet Words Smith B-Sim came through and took over, setting them to frenzy yet again. During his performance the audience was snapping fingers and smiling during his set.

B-sim was followed by the songbird who goes by the name Velemseni. She gave revellers their money’s worth with her soulful music.
Her set was intimate as she composed a song that she sang with the crowd.

Themba Mavuso, the master of ceremonies, kept the audience glued to their seats, with his sense of humour.

snapping

Fun lovers also saw the thrilling performance of Sbu J, who recited a poem titled ‘Cela kukuphatsisa’, which left the crowd laughing out loud and snapping fingers, as it was a love poem and also an awareness piece about domestic abuse.
He also shared a light moment on stage, appreciating his girlfriend whom he said he adores a lot.

She was also caught by cameras laughing and smiling.
The quote that says ‘saving the best for last’ was indeed applied at the show, as the last act was Thobile Makhoyane who gave a stellar performance.
She shared a song dedicated to the show themed under celebrating 10 years of existence.

Her energy filled the room and left the crowd yearning for more.
 She indeed gave them more than they had bargained for and shared one of the songs that was loved by the crowd titled ‘Kwendza’.
One of the organisers, who was also the master of ceremonies, shared that they were grateful to all the people who came out to support them and made the show a success.

braved

“Thank you to all the people who braved the cold and came out to celebrate with us and to all the artists who have been part of the show. We are looking forward to celebrating many more years,” he said.

 In an interview with some of the people who attended the show, they attested to having a great time.
 Sabelo Mavimbela said he had an awesome time and pleaded with the nation to support such programmes as most artists were discovered through Rooted Soulz.

 “It was amazing, in fact I like the concept it gives artists a podium to express themselves and the industry at large. I met. Velemseni through Rooted Soulz and I fell in love with her craft” he said.
 Nomusa Dlamini also said she had a great time.
 “I am a huge fan of poetry, and this show did the most in as much as it was cold,” she said.
 The event ended on a high note with people mingling and taking pictures.
About Rooted Soulz
Themba Mavuso, along with Lusolotja Ginindza and Sicelo Shabalala, are the founding members of Eswatini’s prominent poetry movement, Rooted Soulz. The collective has helped unearth prominent poets such as Qibho Intalektual and The Last Man, among others. They’ve also showcased their roaster at one of Eswatini’s biggest arts festivals, Bushfire.
previously
According to Mavuso, perhaps with the exception of typically elder praise poets (timbongi), “The poetry genre in Eswatini was previously non-existent prior to the birth of Rooted Soulz.”
The group’s poetry sessions started out at a venue in Mbabane, where they were held until their audience became too big for the space and relocated to Eswatini Theatre Club.
Since then, poetry in the kingdom has seen a substantial rise with the prominence of Rooted Soulz affiliates. Vernacular poet The Last Man, who regularly showcases his work at Rooted Soulz poetry sessions, released an anthology, Akangacitfwa Lamanti, a few months back.
The book is packed with intricate siSwati wordplay, and has been hailed as a work of pride to emaSwati who value their language and believe in its poetic sensibilities.
Poet and emcee Qibho Intalektual, another Rooted Soulz affiliate and a regular at the movement’s sessions, is making the genre ‘cool’ and accessible. His emotional and socially conscious rhymes have found a comfortable medium in music.

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