Moment in Time: Leloko la Lekoko.

In the year 2007, HHP released what according to me is one of the most important albums to come out of the country, let alone in our local Hip Hop scene. Acceptance Speech came with a symbolism and a level of craftsmanship that was yet to be seen locally – a force to be reckoned with. The songs were track listed to perfection, the features were genius, the lead singles were well calculated, the sampling was measured and unmatched, I mean, what could Jabba be without a sample?

One of the many standouts for me was the song, Leloko La Lekoko, this song for me highlighted Jabba’s foresight, his acceptance of being at the forefront of the Motswako pack, and the unifier role that comes with it.

“The song was recorded at Cozy’s (Jazzworx)… I remember the night it came about, Cozy came up with the beat, Cozy is a producer from Maftown as well. He did the beat, we were working on my project at the time. I felt that the song was too hard and too heavy. My thinking was that talent like this cannot be kept to ourselves. I said to him “ let’s collab Jabba” and we collabed with Jabba. I told him we had something for him that he really needs to hear. He came through then he heard it and decided he wants to record the song. Of course, there were a couple of conditions. One of the conditions was the fact that he put some of our guys on, a friend of mine Straydawg who is on the song and also GC who was working with Cozy at the time. That’s how they got onto the song. I remember I also wanted Towdee Mac on the song as well but we couldn’t find him that night. Jabba brought in his guys as well, Samba T from Botswana, he was in town at the time and he also wanted Proverb. Basically, it symbolized Motswako, which is something I have been preaching about for a very long time that if we are united, then we would be a force to be reckoned with.”

L Skillz

There’s an iconic rap line that Khuli Chana once uttered on one of the best posse rap cuts that have ever come out of this country, Hape Le Hape Pt 1, where he confidently raps about how the song hasn’t even started however everyone listening is already nodding their heads.

Leloko La Lekoko had a similar effect on South African Hip Hop fans when they first heard the song over 10 years ago…

“Leloko La Lekoko was a key moment in time for Motswako. It was a hard core rap song that was embraced by so many people. It set a new standard for posse joints.”

GC

“The title of the song, Leloko La Lekoko, means member of the movement, Lekoko Entertainment was Jabba’s record company and I was signed to them. At the time I had just released my debut album and chart topping with the single Manong, the song Leloko was part of Jabba’s soon to be released SAMA-award winning album, Acceptance Speech, so at that moment we were on top of the game literally.”

Mo Molemi

“Motswako was at its heights at this time and had really provided the keys for vernac rap in general to take centre stage, not to take anything away from bo Skwatta Kamp, PRO etc., it’s just that Motswako was at pinnacle level and high rotation.”

Samba T

…Jabba’s mandate was clear: “we are taking these Platinum Stars and making jewelry”. With quick 8-bar bursts from each emcee, they put together a cult classic as far as posse cuts go. I’d like to highlight my favourite moments from each verse. HHP and Samba T were up first, sharing the first verse duties…

“My verse was premised on Jabba’s brief (laughs) which was; “we are dropping dope verses about being dope emcees and being part of a dope movement”. I bounced inspiration off of his verse because we were all writing whilst he was in the booth. We wrote 8 bars, so I finished mine and began reciting it as Jabba finalized his recording so as to catch the flow and cadence. When he finished, Sticky, who was recording us asked; “who’s next?”, so I hopped in. I was done in 2 takes, because Khozi, the producer of the instrumental, liked my verse but wanted me to give it more energy. I spoke of my lineage as a Mokgatla from Botswana, I spoke of how as Motswakolistas we were doing the most, How we commanded respect and attention from all that resonate with the movement in different dialects, and finally stated how we are unstoppable, so… Tswa Daar“

Samba T

…The ‘Platinum Stars’ line by Jabba was my favourite from this verse, due to the double entendre found in it. Platinum Stars was a South African football team based in the North West Province. This is also the Province that is well-known for its rich mining sector. HHP used the team as a metaphor for the Motswako rap scene, as it originates from that part of the country, going from diamonds in the rough to some of the best rappers in the game. Look no further than his protege, Cassper Nyovest.

On the hook, Jabba put his faith on primed Motswakolista, L Skillz…

“My verse is in a language called Lang, it’s a language started by Crowded Crew, one of the first Motswako groups. The Lang itself is a mixture of languages, it’s a made up language from Maftown. That in its own is Motswako. I remember I had two verses ready for the song and I asked him to choose one and he said “no, I want you only on the hook, I want you only on the chorus, lets give the young guys a chance”. I said it was fine, it was cool. I did the hook and he liked it and we recorded.”

L Skillz

… For the second verse GC took over the mic…

“I was a young hungry rapper who wanted to make the most of that opportunity. So I put my all into writing the hardest 8 bars I could think of. The rest is history.”

GC

… another highlight from the second verse comes from none other than Proverb. Saying that Proverb is one of the most skilled rappers to grace a microphone is common knowledge, but to those who are mainly familiar with the wordsmith from his role on South African Idols as the show’s host and executive producer, his verse on this song is an illustration of his insane rap ability. On a song stacked with Motswako’s finest, he stood out by rapping his entire verse in Afrikaans – truly impressive. In fact it was soo impressive Jabba himself can be quoted as saying:

“… the feature on Leloko La Lekoko made me big in Namibia, Kimberly, Upington & Cape Town all because of your (Proverb’s) Afrikaans verse…”

Tweet: @HipHopPantsula Apr 13, 2018

… Now, many have their contenders for which stands as the best lines or verses from Leloko, but not many can argue against Mo Molemi‘s line in the third verse being the most memorable as a reference and probably also being the one to stand it’s ground firm…

“Morwa Tsambo/ in this game o starring o Rambo/ gare ga di tuckshop wena o wholesaler o jumbo..” this translates to : Son of Tsambo, in this game you a protagonist you are Rambo, among tuckshops you a wholesaler you are Jumbo (cash and carry). I think these lines summarize my thinking at that time, and where we were as a movement.”

Mo Molemi

No one other than Jabba could have pulled off a posse cut of this nature and made a success of it. See, visionaries like Jabba don’t come around often, and not even the passage of time can erase his contribution to the culture. His brilliance will always echo through the music and Jabba will always remain in our hearts.

“Jabba had a larger than life persona and an even bigger heart. He wanted to put everyone who was dope or whoever had a heart for the art on. As you can see on the music video, there was Khuli Chana who was breaking into his solo career, JR who was about to make a mark, Mathematics also on the way at the time, and of course the likes of myself and GC getting featured. It was symbolic of his connecting and building the culture, especially Motswako that he seemingly spearheaded. Nobody could do it like Jabba – perhaps Lemonka comes close but he was tight with Jabu so go figure.”

Samba T

“Jabba was a visionary, a leader, a unifier. The song featured among others, Proverb, Straydawg, L Skillz, this shows that at that moment everyone was willing to do it for Jabba, he inspired us, he won for us, he opened doors for Motswako music.”

Mo Molemi

“Jabba was the champion of bringing everybody together and giving everybody a chance and basically flying the Motswako flag very high.”

L Skillz

“Jabba is, was, and always will be the biggest icon in the history of the Motswako movement. He pioneered so much of what we know now. The style, musicality, appeal, even business moves. He gave so many artists an opportunity and his legacy is all of us.”

GC

Lastly, if you search for the Lekoko La Lekoko music video on YouTube, as highlighted by Samba, you’ll find a fun cameo from a young J.R and Khuli Chana, before they became the household names that we now know and love.

I remember there was a lot of pizza eaten on the day of the video shot (laughs).

L Skillz

Massive thanks to the orginal Motswakolista, GC, Mo Molemi, L Skillz and Samba T for their contributions to this post, your work will forever be important baetapele.

Jabba rea lla…