“Beef is part of hip hop but local controversial rapper, Ozi F Teddy has taken it to another level.”
This is a quote from the mmegi community webpage in Botswana, and this sentence was a good introduction to me in understanding this Botswanan rapper Ozi F Teddy. He gave me an impression that Ozi F Teddy is one of the most influential rappers, who represents the Botswanan Hip Hop. Many people view that Ozi made Botswanan hip hop scene popular by his active use of the social media. Also, through his active interactions with other rappers both in collaboration and diss games, he became a big contributor in making the hip hop a more interesting genre in Botswana.
Ozi F Teddy’s real name is Ted Tshepang Phaphane, and he comes from Thamaga. He is 28 years old, and he started to rap in the age of 13. He graduated from University of Botswana, and also he was the finalist in the “My African Dream Talent Search Show.” He was already popular even before he became much more well-known through his diss-tracks against several rappers. He started his career in 2011 by working together with ATI, a current rival rapper, and also by covering several American hiphop songs.
Ozi F Teddy was criticized by Botswanan rappers and people when he said: “local music is trash,” and started to diss several other rappers in the region. He was critically dissed by ATI, Young Black, Zeus, and even by Sasa Klaas, who was his ex-girlfriend. His career as a musician shows that he is an active contributor to Botswana hiphop game.
In his interview, he said he writes about his life stories including his hometown, friends and family. The song “From My Heart / Thank You,” released in October 2018, was included in his most recent album Lordsummer, which is viewed as his master piece to many Botswanans. This song well represents one of the colors in his music, and he in the song talks about his good old memories as a young enthusiastic rapper, and he expresses appreciations of others, who made it possible for him to be where he is now.