Chris Theko
This week on The Review we take a listen to Omali Themba’s latest offering, a single titled ‘Botle bo Bokalo’ featuring Morena Sway.
Officially released on November 26, 2021, the track runs for a good 3 minutes 42 seconds and was built on 91 beats per minute (BPM), laid on a 16/16-time signature.
Produced by Citizen Ls, when the song starts, it takes off on some piano chord and smooth percussions followed immediately by a hook from the artist.
‘Botle bo bokalo’ is about a beautiful woman as the two singers take turns in singing her praises.
Instrumentally the song’s arrangement is built in a modern day RnB sound, it is well orchestrated, and the production quality is of world class.
The guitar strings are accompanied by the piano chord with some appearance of ululations and bongo drums in the background and heavy towards the end of the song.
The hook is shared between the two vocalists with the lead taken by Morena Sway as they open up the lyrical content of the tune. In general, the message is as simple as they have never seen a woman as beautiful as the one they talk about on the track.
The song is laid out in Sesotho from the hook to the last verse but the melody can easily influence even a person who cannot understand the language to want to listen.
“Botle bo bokalo, ha ke so bo bone nna
I wanna be the one a ka u ratang ka pelo a ka u nyalang, a tla u nyalang ka khomo tsohle…â€
Omali opens up the first verse with some flowing poetic praise of the beauty he says he has never seen the like of. He describes the eyes as sexy as the marbles, he says the kind of beauty is the one loved by cameras.
He expresses that it is not that he is crazy but he is overtaken by love while comparing the woman he is talking about to the mother of the nation and promises to overload her with love.
It is in the way that Omali wrote the poetic and rhythmic verse that captivates the attention of the listener from the first word throughout. The articulation and precision of his words with the backing of Morena Sway’s melodious voice come together so nicely.
This song has the potential of classic that could be the theme song for a lot of wedding ceremonies and definitely deserves a spot on your playlist.
Botle bo Bokalo rates at 8.5 out of 10