Mzansi Celebs

Selaelo Selota tackles racism in his latest album

Selaelo Selota tackles racism in his latest album. “It came from a challenge that I had. It started out with the utterances of Penny Sparrow, and then it was the Vicki Momberg issue. What bothered me was that when it comes to the loud voices of our artists, they are not there anymore.”

Selaelo Selota has officially launched his legacy project “8 Colours of the Rainbow”. The musician said the reason he started it was because he felt there were not enough voices speaking out against racial tension in the country.

Momberg and Sparrow got into hot water for their racist rants. Selota said that in terms of his peer group of artists, their voices were dying out. “From a political standpoint, they always come as a reaction after a xenophobic incident or racial thing.”

Selota said he then imagined having a true South African band that would represent what the country was all about.

Selaelo Selota

“I first composed a song One Country in the hope I would form a band and movement called One Country, but after the Mandela centenary celebrations and what he stood for – uniting the people – I realised the Rainbow Nation had disintegrated and needed something that would unite it. So the element I introduced was an eighth ‘colour’ to the rainbow: love.”

The 8 Colours of the Rainbow is also the title track of his upcoming album. His first performance will be in Cape Town with Vanessa Phillips and Jeremy Olivier, both of whom he shares some history with.

“Vanessa, I discovered her in Springbok in the Northern Cape, and Jeremy was a guitarist in my band 22 years ago.” Selota’s Baxter Theatre performance later this month will be a full-­circle moment from him.

“The first time I performed under the banner of Selaelo Selota it was at the Baxter Theatre in my university days.” This performance will be followed by a variety of performances over the course of the year.

“I will be doing four events a year as part of my legacy. “As time goes on I hope to turn these performances into festivals that will include other major artists in the line-up.” The concert takes place on March23, and tickets are available through Webtickets.