Here’s What Focalistic Has Achieved In The Charts In Nigeria. More widely known by his moniker Focalistic, real name Lethabo Sebetso, scored his first big score in 2018 after a feature with Major League DJz called 19 Tobetsa; the upstart’s bars left a lasting impression on everyone in earshot. Since then, the star has released some of the biggest amapiano songs and has featured artists outside South Africa, including Davido.
Nigerian star Davido came through last week with the release of his new single, “Champion Sound,” in collaboration with Focalistic. The two deliver an energetic yet breezy afrobeats record on this one that will surely light up dancefloors across the world. This is the second time the duo will link up on a song after hit single “Ke Star“. With that said, Focalistic has become the first South African artist to reach number 1 on Nigeria’s Apple Music chart three times.
Nevertheless, he’s arguably most vocal about the fact this is a completely independent operation; he retains full control over every aspect of every project, his image and trajectory. Even though he has been quiet vocal about remaining as an independent artist, he also mentioned that collaboration is what he aims for.
“I think for me the move to be independent was not inspired by anyone, but it was inspired by the need to own and just be free,” Focalistic tells us when we ask why he decided to reject standard music industry trappings like labels and agents. His phrasing invoking lines from 19 Tobetsa. “For me, music is not like accounting or something. You know? It’s an emotional thing. You can’t have a boss within that, if you’re being as free as possible. That’s what made me want to become independent. It’s not easy, but it’s all about finding the right deal. I could have done it easier, internationally, if I had a big machine behind me, working behind me, but what would that mean in terms of the music touching people?.”
