The age of Lekompo has arrived, the rise of the sound as a dominating force in the South African music landscape altogether inevitable. From the vigorous voice of one of the genre’s most prominent vocalists Shandesh to the refreshing presence of Kharishma, Lekompo is duly represented. Its structure and ecosystem vibrate with new blood of spunky, sprightly, original young talent with nothing in mind but crafting music that is Limpopo-centric and subtly tribal in its sonic makeup and pushing a movement that is rapidly becoming a countrywide phenomenon. And record producer and disc jockey Ba Bethe Gashoazen is the nucleus of the Lekompo movement, a pioneer, the rightful owner of the godfather title to the genre.
Gashoazen spoke about what started him down the path of record production, admitting that it wasn’t even in the books for starters.
“Before I started producing music, I actually started out as a DJ. In fact, I wasn’t producing at all, and this was very much back in the day. When I decided to go into production fully, the sound was still very tribal at the time, and I wanted to make a name for myself by coming in with something different, wabona?” Ba Bethe said of his early days as a producer.
Ba Bethe Gashoazen | SUPPLIED
Gearing up for a powerful ending of 2025, Ba Bethe enlisted the assistance of BET Award-winning singer-songwriter Makhadzi and guitar maestro Enny Man Da Guitar for his latest single titled “Di Number”. Simplistic, ambient, and subtle, Gashoazen’s newest offering exceeds in dismissing its duty as a masterclass in Lekompo musicianship – it’s a testament to the genre’s flexibility and the potential it holds in the fusion space.
Ba Bethe spoke briefly about how the song came about.
“About my new song with Makhadzi, I think I was in studio when I gave Makhadzi a call since she was around Polokwane performing at the time, and I asked her if she could come through, and she did. She’s a very creative woman, and we had something in mind to create something that would be fresh, a taste of something very different. With that, I also decided to call up Enny Man Da Guitar, so he could some flavour of Bacardi into the song,” he said.
Enny Man Da Guitar, Makhadzi, and Ba Bethe Gashoazen (left to right) | SUPPLIED
Ba Bethe talked about the influence that Bolo House (with he himself being inspired by King Monada) had on the creation of Lekompo music and how a mixing of sounds birthed the country’s next big wave.
“At first there was a genre called Bolo House, which originated in Tzaneen; that’s the kind of sound you get from King Monada. Lekompo as its own music genre borrows elements of sounds from Bolo House music, but not everything because the Bolo House style is slow. There is also a tribal element to Lekompo music as well because of how it started out, and that makes it unique and sets it apart from other sounds,” he said.
With Lekompo having already established a strong foothold in the industry and in the hearts of South Africans and listeners beyond the borders, Gashoazen expressed contentment concerning the genre’s current gradient of growth.
“I believe that even though there is still more work to be done within the space, we are definitely moving, and we are untouchable. I’m quite happy with the pace at which Lekompo is going, if you can also see it. The sound is well on its way, and it has gone international already. I’m satisfied with the growth of the genre and the collaborations I’ve been seeing,” he said.
Ba Bethe Gashoazen | SUPPLIED
Ba Bethe revealed that in checklist of world domination, working with the king of amapiano Kabza de Small and Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy were on the list.
“When it comes to me, I am down to work with any artist that wants and is willing to operate. My primary objective at the moment is to mix genres, like if I could get Kabza to jump on the Lekompo sound because I know that we could do magic if we got that chance. I’d also like to see what I could get Burna Boy to do with Lekompo, wabona? Just to give the genre that Naija twist. And that’s what I have in mind at the moment: mixing Lekompo with other sounds. I want to mix it and mix it and mix it so that it goes far and wide internationally,” he said.
The movement’s powerhouse recently inked his signature on Sony Music papers, making him the record label’s face of the Lekompo scene. Ba Bethe had words of gratitude for the turn of events and promised more music since signing with the company, the first of the many being “Di Number”.
“One thing I’m certain will push the growth of my Lekompo is my new partnership with Sony, apart from collaborating extensively with other artists. Signing with Sony is something I’m extremely grateful for and it’s a good thing for my music because I can see that things are happening on the socials, my handles are growing, and people are talking about me. So, on my end, I wanna produce more works to match all this work done at the back so that my name and my music will also yield results. The impact is definitely there,” he said.
Check out “Di Number”:
