Over the past eight years, Morena Leraba has become a flagbearer of a remodelled Lesotho sound, manifested through a series of live performances, and, due out in 2022, a debut EP recorded in Johannesburg.
Much of the mystique surrounding Leraba stems from his roots in Lesotho, a mountainous country that is enclaved within South Africa. Like most of his countrymen, he spent much of his youth working as a shepherd (in the village of Ha Nchela), taking inspiration from the solitude that tending animals brings. “If you’re from Lesotho, being a shepherd is a common thing,” he says.
The new EP Fela sa Ha Mojela (“song or poem of Ha Mojela”) captures Morena Leraba’s ability to fuse traditional Famo-inspired vocals with electronic music, dub and echoes of hip hop. Listen below.
