Magnum Maetro’s video impresses

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Scoops top honour at Lesotho Music Awards

‘MATHAPELO TAKISI

MASERU- Magnum Maestro bagged the Video of the Year Award at the Lesotho Music Awards held on Saturday at the Lehakoe Recreational Centre in Maseru.He emerged victorious in the final round of nominations in this category in which he muscled five other competitors.

Lehlohonolo Nkole, popularly known by his stage name Magnum Maestro, is a 29-year-old Hip-Hop recording artist, a brand ambassador for the film and fashion label Tycoon Series, a graphic designer and an events promoter.He hails from Maputsoe in the Leribe district and this is his first award since he started rapping in the year 2008.Talking to Life&Style about his journey and experiences leading to the awards, he says it was a very tough one as they shot the video on the desert-like stretch atop the mountains near Ha Shepeseli close to Botha-Bothe.

The reason for choosing the particular location is because it has never been used for purposes of shooting a video before so they understood that it would set them apart from other music videos in Lesotho. He again explained that it is also to showcase the place as a tourist attraction.In addition, Magnum Maestro revealed that he shot the video with his director Carlos Khutlisi together with fellow artists Citybirds and Judge Shifter as well as their other brother, Kaybee.

He says on the way down from the mountain they even got lost as it was pitch dark after darkness had fallen, since the video was shot just at sunset – that’s how tough shooting the video got for the the rapper and crew.“I submitted the video for this year’s Lesotho Music Awards and fortunately the panel picked it to be among the finalists for the Video of the Year Award,” he says, and continues that voting was opened for the public in October while appreciating that it was those votes that made him win.

The hard work did not end after shooting and submitting the video, Magnum Maestro had to rally people for votes through all possible channels, but mostly he used social media. Fortunately for him, people voted in numbers and he was announced the winner of the award.

As it was his first time being nominated this year at the Lesotho Music Awards, he wanted to win at all costs but says the competition was so high that he did not expect the victory.He says it was highly competitive and very tough in this category, indicating that “with the public voting you can never be too sure.”Nkole says he thinks his life is going to change for the better after winning this award; he believes that brands will be more willing to work together with him now that they know the stature of the Magnum Maestro brand.

He went on to say he believes this victory is an exposure for him and more things will materialize; things like shows and business deals. Moreover, he thinks the award will change his life by exposing him to be internationally recognized as a household name in the music and entertainment scene.He started rapping in 2008 and says he was inspired by the likes of Jay Z and the Wu-Tang Clan, among many others.He goes on to say he has many role models for different reasons but mostly for him it is artists who became household names in the sphere of business, the likes of HHP, 50 Cent and Ice Cube.

The rapper says from here he is working on a lot of new music to be released soon and is planning to continue building the Magnum Maestro brand, growing it to be a global brand that can attract more business opportunities all over the world.He explains that he currently has a song titled ‘Full Throttle 2.0’ which peaks at No 3 on the Lesotho Music Top30 charts.His greatest wish is to see more artists from Maputsoe getting recognized not only that but also more Lesotho artists spreading their wings globally just as Morena Leraba is doing.

“I want to see us rappers running the game globally and I want to be a key factor in that coming to reality,” he says.Magnum Maestro acknowledges his director, Carlos Khutlisi and the brothers they shot the video with for the great work.He also thanks the fans who voted because he says it is their votes that got them to victory, he goes on to thank the organizers of the Lesotho Music Awards for giving them a platform of recognition and he says he is thankful for his gorgeous partner who has always supported him throughout this journey.

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