TKB look back on their musical journey on ‘Nzira’

RUNDU-based Afro-pop and kwaito trio Tight Kasie Brothers (TKB) made up of Sai, Karasa and Bonse recently released their fourth album ‘Nzira’, which means journey.

Passionate about music, they are childhood friends who loved dancing from a young age. The trio met at school and started out as dancers. Their families supported their talents and encouraged them to take part in competitions and talent shows. “We started off as back up-dancers for local artists based at Rundu like B-Square, Thommy and Makurunganga before we decided to make our own music,” said Sai.

When they started, they were a group of seven but some have moved to different schools in other towns and others simply did not believe in what they were doing. “When we started making our own music we did not have money to pay for studio time and we were not being booked for anything so I guess those obstacles demotivated them but the three of us kept pushing until people started recognising us for our music,” said Karasa.

Speaking on their latest offering, Sai said that the response from their fans has been overwhelming. They attribute this to the fact that this is their most mature album in terms of lyrical content.

“It is one of our albums which carries a lot of inspiration.”

The trio believes the album will take them to the next level. It was inspired by their journey as musicians. “Just like our previous albums, this one contains songs for everyone. We make inspiring music but we also love to make people dance so everyone is catered for.”

‘Nzira’ narrates where they come from, the challenges they have endured and how they’ve managed to overcome obstacles as well as how they have transformed from operating under a record label to starting their own label, Chobe Entertainment. “We had a good deal with Basement Records. They found us when we were at our lowest and gave us the support that we needed and we will forever be grateful to them,” said Sai.

TKB was signed to Basement Records for five years and released two albums, ‘Calamari’ and ‘Kawe’ which spawned hit songs like ‘Kawe’, ‘Lovisa’ and ‘Tura Love’ which gained them recognition nationally. While still signed to the label, they were based in Windhoek. They said the biggest challenge was that a lot of money was invested in their image. “People see artists looking good and assume they are living good, it is not always the case. Life in Windhoek is expensive and if you do not have a job and only rely on music, it is even harder as it is not every week that you get booked for a gig. But things are better now that we are back home,” said Sai.

“Our upcoming artists are really talented especially the ones based in Rundu but what is holding them back is they are in their infant stages, some are arrogant and want to compete with established artists when they are supposed to learn from them.”