Chris Theko
Following the announcement of their return, the two-man legendary group Lefate has made good on that statement by releasing a single titled ‘Ntoa Ke ea Malula-mmoho’.
The duo of Damario and Stlofa together produced the song which was released digitally on April 13, 2022.
‘Ntoa ke ea Malula-mmoho’ has a time elapse of 5 minutes 25 seconds, built on 129 beats per minute (BPM) with a sampling of rate 44100 Hz and laid on a 99/99-time signature.
The overall beat organization of the song is not akin to the Lefate of yester-year, which could be a result of the fact that, much as they entered the scene as a duo, the two musical greats spent a lot more time apart as solo acts than as a group thus building individual musical identities. This is quite evident in the song.
Nonetheless, coming to the way music has evolved over the years, it would be unfair to expect the duo to still be on the same wavelength as they were ten years ago.
The instrumental arrangement is laid out nicely; a lot similar to what is Damario’s style of sound. The rhythm is heavily influenced by a mixture RNB, afropop and Afrobeats which leans to the Stlofa kind of sound in an attempt to strike a balance between the two. However, it seems their reunion is not what most Lefate die-hard fans expected in terms of that very sound.
Another give-away on the song is that the both vocal and instrumental arrangement lack the chemistry of old thus depicting that the song was clearly not created in the same space and atmosphere.
Damario sings the hook as it has mostly been the case even in the past with Stlofa rapping and singing the verses. The hook is nicely delivered in the true Damario style of sound which can be heard in his songs such ‘Khalase E Ncha’ or ‘My Journey’ and the way his compatriot sings suits his style of music which can be heard in songs like ‘Ha ke skatana’ and ‘Ntja tsa media’.
The title of the track has been derived from a vernacular adage which could loosely be translated to mean that people who stay together do have conflicts but must always find a way back together. The majority of the lyrical content talks to the fact that they had previously had a conflict and now have sorted that out, forgiven each other and are continuing with the journey of life and music business.
The message is not merely about the duo’s much publicized conflict but also speaks to people who have some form of relationship. Having conflicts does not mean the end of a relationship.
As nice as the song is it lacks that Lefate creativity, chemistry and vibe.
Ntoa Ke ea Malula-mmoho rates at 6 out of 10.
