Picks of the Week - William Last (Botswana)

"(William Last) made us laugh our lungs out, but the entertainer, which he likes to refer himself to, was more into music even before doing comedy."

I've featured several acts here that blur the boundaries between music and comedy. Including Triple-R and Mahempe (Botswana) and Mr. Ongengo and Chris Embarambamba (Kenya). Somehow William Last escaped my notice until recently. but now it's time to rectify that.

Born Bofelo William Molebatsi, Last was one of three siblings and has a brother - Thalefo Molebatsi - who's a well- known soccer player. Regarding his stage name, maybe my research skills are lacking or maybe it's a closely guarded secret, but I was not able to determine the significance of "Last" or "KRM."

If I've got the timeline straight, it seems that Last started out doing music. But when he first broke it was due more to his comedic skills and he became known as a comedian. Although, as you can see/hear from these videos, he's got a knack for making catchy music.

Last's breakthrough was with the song "Tinto," not to be confused with an earlier hit by the same name, from the Botswanan traditional group, Matsieng. It sets the template for the Last videos I've seen so far. Which start with a short comic bit before moving on to the music. Stylistically, "Tinto" pays tribute to the Pantsula dancers of South Africa, although there's not much dancing going on.

Also worth noting, the video for "Peka Peka" ("peka" means "crazy"), which seems to be a tribute to the video for Michael Jackson's song, "Thiller."