By Neo Kolane
Local poet, Thabo Mora-Mobu, has decided to take his craft a notch higher, by reciting his poems to the accompaniment of a serenading and spellbinding musical beat.
This has the added benefit of amplifying the packaging of poetry, making it more appealing to be presented on radio and other music sites.
‘Mountains With Voices’ is a poem written to celebrate Basotho creatives who are pioneers in this field, and those that carried on the legacy. After a number of performances that received a standing ovation, Mora-Mobu decided to try a musical feel of the poem.
“Honestly, I think I always had it in me. I only had to find it; I was a member of a Famo group from a young age of six. I used to play the ‘moropa’, so the creativity has always been there,” Mora-Mobu said.
Mora-Mobu began writing poems in 2007 when he joined a school theatre group under the leadership of one great writer, Tśeliso Moima.
“He nurtured me into this performer that I am today and since then I have never looked back,” Mora-Mobu explained.
The 27-year old wrote ‘Mountain With Voices’ for the Lentsoe Poetry Slam.
“This is how it came about: I asked myself what the voice of Basotho and Bosotho is, and my answer was music. I think it presents us with the platform to showcase our language and traditional dances,” he said.
Speaking to theReporter, the poet said he celebrates the spirit of Africanism with his writings. He worked with producer uNejah, and the song is an adaptation of Letta Mbulu’s ‘Music in the Air’.
“My most successful project has to be hosting my own sessions, the Mora-Mobu Poetry Session at Maqalika Dam. The first of its kind in Lesotho, it was a session that brought poets, musicians, fine artists and instrumentalists in one space to share their work.
“I also won a number of high school poetry competitions. Some of my recent poems are the one I wrote for Lemeke’s album, and the one titled ‘It’s not your day to die’, that is more of a motivation production.
“As a poet, I performed at the Free State Arts Fusion, Ba Re E ne E Re Literature Festival, Golden Mic Sessions, Letofe Comedy and Poetry, Flying Fish Sunday Chillas, Tiny Art Gallery Concert, Lentsoe Poetry Slam, among others.”
