Being an independent jazz artist in Botswana is a beautiful contradiction.
It’s freedom and responsibility.
It’s music and paperwork.
It’s passion and… deadlines.
People see the stage lights — but they rarely see what it really takes to get there.
I’ve just finished composing and recording my new album. Most people think that once the last note is sung in the studio, the hard work is over. But actually, that is where the real marathon begins.
Right now my days look like this:
1️⃣ Preparing for Next Week’s Media Launch
Arrangements, planning, schedules, visuals, rehearsals — everything that will make the launch beautiful, meaningful, and professionally executed.
Independence means I am the artist and the creative director and the organiser.
2️⃣ Transcribing All the New Songs
This is slow, detailed, technical work.
Every line must be captured exactly as it lives in the music — the melodies, the harmonies, the rhythmic phrasing.
It must be done carefully because…
3️⃣ Registering My Music With COSBOTS
Botswana does have its own rights organisation — COSBOTS, our copyright society.
It works in the same space as SAMRO in South Africa, ensuring copyright protection and royalty administration.
For COSBOTS registration, the documentation must be precise.
This step is essential for safeguarding my work and making sure every song I have created is legally protected in Botswana and beyond.
4️⃣ Submitting a Proposal to an International Agency
An international agency has expressed interest in recruiting me — a rare opportunity that could take my music to new audiences and new platforms.
Independence means preparing the proposal myself: the story, the artistic profile, the strategy, the visuals, the music narrative — everything that positions me for the global stage.
It’s demanding work, but it’s the kind that builds a genuine career.
Botswana’s jazz scene is full of heart but still at a beginning maturity level.We don’t have layers of managers, publishers, PR departments or labels to run things behind the scenes.
Most of the time, we are doing it all ourselves.We build our careers with our own hands.And we learn that independence is not just a label — it is a discipline.
I push through the schedules, the documents, the transcriptions and the proposals because there is a moment at the end of it all that makes everything worthwhile:
Standing on a stage, singing my own music, exactly as I imagined it.
That moment is pure joy.
Pure truth.
Pure freedom.
Being an independent jazz artist in Botswana is not easy.But it is mine — honest, soulful and full of purpose.
Soon, when the media launch is done, the COSBOTS registrations are submitted, the proposal is delivered and the album is officially out in the world, I will step forward and sing these new songs.
And when that moment comes, I will know that every note travelled a long, hard, beautiful road to meet its audience.
Nnunu Ramogotsi: Africa's Jewel 