Top hip hop artist Relebohile Monaphathi, popularly known as Sannere has released his much-anticipated EP Pha Balimo 2, a three-volume project that sees the artist return to the cultural and linguistic roots that have become central to his music.
The project is a sequel to his 2024 release Pha Balimo, but Sannere said his intention this time was not simply to produce another instalment.
“When I sat down to plan Pha Balimo 2 and its concept, I had one main objective, which was to remind Basotho of the kind of music I am actually good at and that I’m still very good with music inspired by our culture and language,” he said.
The ambitious project contains 30 tracks divided into three volumes, with the final volume dedicated specifically to Famo.
Sannere said the decision to incorporate Famo was deeply personal, arguing that the genre forms an important part of his identity as a Mosotho, regardless of his career as a hip hop artist.
“The genre of music Famo has a huge impact on me as a Mosotho before being an artist, hence you can even hear its influences on my music. Even internationally, as Basotho we are known by Famo music, so whether I like it or not, that genre is part of me and part of us as Basotho,” he said.
The three-volume format also allowed the artist to accommodate the different audiences that have followed his career.
Sannere explains that, as someone who is constantly recording, he had accumulated a number of songs that his fans wanted to hear but which had never been officially released.
“I opted to release Pha Balimo 2 in three volumes because I know I have fans for different reasons, so I decided to cater for all of them,” he said.
Unlike the first Pha Balimo, which was produced entirely by Flash Cortez, the new project brings together several producers and artists in an attempt to create a broader and more diverse sonic experience.
Sannere said working with multiple producers was deliberate.
“All I wanted when I brought together different producers and featured artists was to create something different from Pha Balimo, where I only worked with one producer, Flash Cortez. I believe had I done that, we would have had a similar style of production,” he said.
Among the producers featured on the project is Vibeboybeatz, a long-time collaborator who appears more frequently than any other producer on the project.
Sannere explained that their relationship goes back to his earlier days as RM Leever and the HotSpot Cypher, when Vibeboybeatz would step in whenever his then-producer, Shev Shang, was unavailable.
The project features a wide range of artists, including Phepheľa, Nthethe, Lenonyane, Culture Spears, Phoka ea Boraa, Sebotsa, Ntate Milo and Tekano, among others.
The project goes beyond music, for Sannere. He views it as an opportunity to promote Lesotho and preserve appreciation for the Sesotho language among younger generations.
“My goal with this project is to sell Lesotho locally and internationally. I have made it my mission to teach and instil Sesotho to the youth because it’s through us as influential people that Sesotho can be instilled and appreciated,” he said.
The artist also sees his fusion of hip hop with traditional Basotho sounds as part of a broader return to cultural roots.
He argues that while Basotho embraced hip hop as it became a global phenomenon, traditional genres such as Famo have always been deeply rooted in Basotho culture.
“Hip hop was never really our thing, part of our culture as Basotho. We have always had our own signature music, which is Famo. Although when hip hop became a global thing we also embraced it, eventually we were always going to go back to our roots.”
Sannere believes his growing reputation as one of the leading voices in the current wave of Sesotho hip hop comes from his ability to fuse contemporary hip hop with traditional Basotho sounds.
“I think the reason I’m called the leader of this current wave of Sesotho and hip hop fused is because I became popular because of it. I essentially made it known as new-age Famo with songs from Pha Balimo, such as ‘Ha Le Felile O Njoetse’.”
With Pha Balimo 2, Sannere is positioning himself not only as a hip hop artist but also as a cultural storyteller seeking to make Sesotho and Basotho identity relevant to contemporary audiences. The three-volume project is now available to listeners.
Summary
- “When I sat down to plan Pha Balimo 2 and its concept, I had one main objective, which was to remind Basotho of the kind of music I am actually good at and that I’m still very good with music inspired by our culture and language,” he said.
- Sannere said the decision to incorporate Famo was deeply personal, arguing that the genre forms an important part of his identity as a Mosotho, regardless of his career as a hip hop artist.
- Even internationally, as Basotho we are known by Famo music, so whether I like it or not, that genre is part of me and part of us as Basotho,” he said.
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