Selonyana rejoins Culture Spears
WeekendLife
By Dave Baaitse
One of the founding members of the once mighty Culture Spears Jelinah Mokgwatlheng aka Selonyana has this week confirmed to WeekendLife that she is back with the group after completing her solo project. This is after speculations became rife that she has returned to the group following their performance in Sowa town over the weekend. Mokgwatlheng pulled a surprise stunt on show attendees who were evidently over the moon as they could not stop chanting her name.
The group which was started more than a decade ago in Kasane was started by four founding members being Kabelo Mogwe, Magdeline ‘Charma Gal’ Lesolebe, Thembeni ‘Ramozara’ Ramosetheng, and Mokgwatlheng. The group soon shot to stardom and became a favourite, not only locally but in the region and abroad. The group would soon break up, with the founding members going their separate ways, save for Mogwe, who recently divorced the face of the group, Charma Gal who has since pursued a solo career.
While speaking to this publication Mogwe expressed delight at the eminent reunion of the group they founded in their youth. He said he is very optimistic the group is on the verge of reunion even though it might take a while. He believes that the founding members have only gone away to record their solo projects but will ultimately return to the group. He confirmed that according to their documents, all the members are still part of the group. “People have been accusing me, saying that I expelled them but I’m happy she came back on her own,” he said.
Further, he said that Selonyana’s return will strengthen the group, as witnessed over the past weekend. Mogwe has never hidden his wishes of the group reunion- he believes that despite everything that has transpired over the years, there is still a possibility of them working together as a group again.
As for Selonyana, who recorded her solo project in 2015 in Gantsi where she is currently based, she felt that the time to return to the group is now. She reiterated that she was never called back to rejoin the group but decided on her own that she shoul come back to the group that gave her exposure to the world of music. She said her departure from the group back then was compelled by among other things the burning desire to record her own solo project and misunderstandings arising from distribution of funds among group members. She however verified that she has a sensitive headache condition that also led to her break from music for a while.
“I wish we could all come back together as the team that started Culture Spears and just pick where we left off,” said Selonyana. Since their fallout that left only Mogwe struggling with the group, their fans across the sphere have been calling for their re- union. They took to social media and created pages that called on all members who have left the group to return home. A few months ago a throwback picture of Kabelo Mogwe and Thembeni Ramosetlheng was shared on the group facebook page, something that uncovered the healing wounds on the hearts of the fans who still want to see them work together. Fans reacted to the picture with mixed feelings that showed a lot of desperation to finally see them together in song and dance.
Since their break-up the group only managed to release only one album which did not do quite good. On the other hand Charma Gal who decided to go solo became a huge success in a totally different genre, a fusion of Kwaito and Kwasa- Kwasa. She continued to fly her own kite taking home award after award and she became a brand name that is associated with everyone from the streets to the corporate world. Meanwhile Ramozara was struggling to make end meets with his own solo project which didn’t do well due to lack of marketing and amid lack of financial resources.
At the time of their demise in 2014 Culture Spears were darlings of the nation and were at the top of their game. A small group that appeared from nowhere in 2004 went on to bag many awards and won many hearts; they were a perfect match and complemented each other in many ways. Their music had the power to evoke deep primal feelings at the core of the shared human experience, it did not only cross cultures, it also reaches deep into evolutionary past. Incorporated in the modern day tempo, Culture Spears’ music looked even brighter than any other traditional group of their time.
Their reunion will signal nothing but the resurrection of local traditional music genre and crème de la crème of the traditional song and dance. Theirs is more likely to take off as compared to other groups who have lost all hope of reuniting. Their detractors point out that their return to working together as a stable could yield and rebrand them as the continent’s favourite at this critical time when the genre is facing a decline.
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