By Seleoe Nonyane
A Hip-Hop recording artist from Maputsoe, Lehlohonolo Nkole, has unleashed an EP titled Sagittarius-A Star Deluxe (SGR-A* Deluxe).
The award-winning muso is also known by his stage name, Magnum Maestro.
Although SGR-A* Deluxe fuses kwaito and house sounds, it retains distinctly Hip Hop or Rap elements.
This was mentioned by the artist this week in an interview with theReporter. He explained that the name of the EP indicates that it is a deluxe version of the one he released on December 31 2022 titled Sagittarius-A Star (SGR-A* EP).
Magnum Maestro said the new offering has seven songs, two more than the original project. None of the songs in the original EP made it back.
He noted that the first song, “New Age Classic” embodies the Magnum Maestro formula of making music which is a hybrid sound of the sound of now (new age), combined with golden era flows (classic).
About 70 percent of the songs were produced by Magnum Maestro himself under the alias “The Eterna One”. This is a shift from the original EP where he produced only two songs.
“The beat is very high octane, which follows the same pattern as the original SGR-A EP. It sets a high energy tone for the project.
“The content details how I have been navigating the music industry in recent times from selling my music and graphics during the Covid-19 pandemic to winning my first award in 2022,” he said.
In October 2022 Magnum Maestro won the Video of the Year gong at the Lesotho Music Awards.
He indicated that he also makes sequels for some songs. For instance, track two and track five on the new EP are sequels to his previous singles.
The artists also revealed that he builds projects in this way so people can keep up with what he is doing, adding that the sequels offer an update on his progress.
His claims ownership in order to make money through music, further highlighting the need to get royalties and licensing as alternative streams of revenue in music.
Magnum Maestro also told this publication that he began crafting his art in the latter half of 2008 under the rap name J-sick.
He changed his stage name to Magnum Maestro Excalibur 500 a year later, upon changing to the hard-core sub-genre.
He is currently signed to his own record label known as R. L. Muzik since 2012.
