Seronga native artist Thato Kavinja, better known by his stage name Koolkat Motyiko shared insights into his recent and deeply personal album, Khutyi Ya Sejwara. Released earlier this year, the project fuses traditional storytelling, social commentary, and raw emotion into a body of work that is as much a tribute to heritage as it is a cathartic release for the artist.
From a recent interview with the Weekender, Motyiko shared that Khutyi Ya Sejwara was inspired by a conversation with an elderly man who shared the story of how the bayei migrated from the village of Sejwara in the Okavango Delta, delving into themes of migration through the lens of a fictional character of an old man who returned home after searching for food only to find that the tribe had left and thus leaving him behind, and the plight of his children trying to return to find him within the fauna of the delta.
Khutyi Ya Sejwara comes into focus in track six in the album aptly named after the albums name where the story of the old man is told, addresses broader themes religion, abandonment, and generational disconnect. “It tells a story of love and negligence. About how we forget the ones who raised us when they need us most,” he said.
The album’s fictional thread follows the journey of children discovering their long-abandoned father still alive on the mythical island. Motyiko believes this storytelling method helped him process his grief without losing focus. “I didn’t use this album to say what I wanted to say to my mom that happened in a separate song with my little brother. But I think my emotions are everywhere on this project.”
“That narrative sparked something in me,” he explained. “I began building this fictional world to reflect not just movement and abandonment, but also personal pain.”
The album was recorded over nearly ten months, a period that coincided with a challenging chapter in Motyiko’s life. “While I was writing, my mom was in and out of hospital battling cancer. We lost her in July last year,” he said. “That pain made it hard to make music but ultimately helped shape it.”
Motyiko admitted that the second song on the album became a ballad influenced by his grief, even though he tried not to drift from the main storyline. “There are heavy emotions throughout the album,” he said, “The second song in the album reflects some of the pain I felt when the situation with my mom happened.”
However, through it all he found the strength to put his pain and the dialogue of immigration and belonging in his music because of the need he felt for the story to be told.
He stressed that the album was a creative call to reconnect with Botswana’s languages and identity. “We’re not chasing trends like Amapiano or Afrobeat,” said Motyiko. “We’re trying to build something rooted in who we are as Batswana. The album is meant to stir curiosity about our language and culture.”
A key collaborator on the album was Bishop, Motyiko’s home boy, a gifted writer studying in the United States. “He contributed a lot to the storytelling. And what we’re cooking for 2025 that’s going to be something even bigger,” hinted Motyiko.
While some might assume Khutyi Ya Sejwara is his most personal project yet, the artist points to his earlier release, particularly the track Seronga, as one that holds deeper sentimental value. “That was about where I was born, the friends I had as a kid, the family,” he said. “It took me back to a time I hadn’t visited since 2007. That’s the song where I really felt was my most personal song.”
Still, there’s no denying the emotional resonance of Khutyi Ya Sejwara.
When asked what’s next, Koolkat shared, “There’s nothing concrete. I’m just living,” he said. “Creation comes from living.”
