Sizwe Sibiya
With an impressive reggae music catalogue, Botanist Mr Lamington is on a journey towards becoming the next Lucky Dube.
Growing up in Sebokeng in the Vaal, almost no one would have expected Emmanuel Mohlomi Motlhaodi to go against all odds and become a two-time South African Music Award (SAMA)-nominated reggae artist in Mzansi.
Having started music at the early age of eight, learning how to play the piano, the Botanist is a complete musical entertainment package, with a versatile tongue that twists from Tsotsi-taal to Jamaican slang seamlessly.
His passion for music and the Rastafarian way of living oozes out from his music videos like of the songs “Decriminalisation”, “Faith” and “Reunion”, which got him recognised by the global reggae fan base in 2020.
Nigeria’s Golibe TV and top reggae music blog called ReggaeVille accepted the independent artist after he was recognised by Jamaica’s star musician Sizzla Kalonji, who has shared his music video on his Instagram.
In Mzansi the Botanist has only been able to get two SAMA nominations for Best Reggae Album in 2019 and 2020, for his albums The Game Changer and The Revealer in that order.
But most of his achievements, like the music he makes, stem from overseas.
In January this year, he won a Jamaican television music competition on Television Jamaica called Roll Out while still working on the fourth studio album he plans to release under his own recording label, Concrete Jungle Studios and Publishing.
Is Mzansi ready to embrace his foreign music? Only time will tell.
