Amapiano sensation Lethabo Sebetso, professionally known as Focalistic, recently celebrated the journey that led to his Straata Nation Address One Man Show.
Speaking to Sunday World about his journey in amapiano this week, Focalistic shared that the music genre made more sense based on how he grew up.
Focalistic rose to prominence with his single Ke Star, which reached number 16 on the Billboard Top Triller Global charts.
He previously dabbled in a lot of sounds but eventually felt more comfortable focusing on something more South African.
“Amapiano feels like God’s gift to the South African youth because of the way we grew up,” said Focalistic.
“It was the only genre for me that I felt most comfortable with, and I could express myself the way I wanted to.”
Focalistic is well-known for making his music in spitori (Pretoria style), and has shared that this is to make a kid he was in the township proud.
He said: “It’s very hard to be yourself in a world that keeps presenting you with what might seem better.
“I want to be better for the kids from where I come from. Everything is to inspire and I think that is my purpose in life.”
Plans to make show an annual event
The creative process behind his music is mostly reflecting on his life.
“A lot of people feel like they know me because they have listened to my songs. You kind of get to know my opinions on life, how I love my mom and my hood.
“My take is to always just be myself and treat it like a diary.”
He added that he does not see the need to protect his brand because he tries to be real all the time.
“You can hear it in my songs, I’m actually running away from all my vices. All the wrong things in my life, so I try my best to stay away from them.
“I’m human and I have my faults, but I try to keep it real all the time.”
Focalistic, known as President Ya Straata, hosted one of amapiano’s biggest events in September, saying the journey to Straata Nation Address One Man Show was stressful.
“The whole year from conceptualising to planning the show was stressful and a learning curve, but at the end of the day, I think we were blessed.
“I learnt a lot, we changed the game in terms of how we promote shows. I didn’t expect the turnout to be as massive as it was, I expected 5 000 people but it ended up getting to 15 000, which was by God’s grace.”
The muso plans to make the Straata Nation Address One Man Show an annual event, because he believes it is only fair to give his fans what they want.
He is also planning another tour of London in 2024.
Speaking on his relationship with Jägermeister, he said it is amazing because the partnership began before he became a household name.
