On The Rise: A Conversation With Tefoffline
Tefo Kosie best known as Tefoffline is a 20-year-old rapper, producer, and upcoming mixing engineer from Kanye, Ga Maila.
With the release of his mixtape 'Tomorrow Might Be Too Late' last December, he has further solidified his place as one of the most exciting new-age rappers in Botswana.
Where did you grow up?
Well, I moved around a lot when I was growing up you know. Initially born in Kanye, I lived in Gabs for a good 8 years before moving to Mahalapye for like a year or so. Then I came back to the south, living in Molepolole for 4 years before moving to where I live now which is somewhere around the city.
How did you get into music?
I think I've always had a musical inclination from a very young age, mostly because of the music my parents was bumping. I was like 4 or 5 when I used to go into their room and play Michael Jackson and Johnny Mokhali CDs. In terms of Rap and Hip-Hop records, my uncles put me on man. During school holidays I used just get dumped at their places and these dudes was playing a whole lotta rap shit at the time. You know your Lil Wayne, Nicki, Drake and Rick Ross, those are the 4 niggas who properly introduced me to this Hip-Hop stuff. In terms of my rapping, I wrote my first ever rap at 9 while living in Mahalapye. But what had urged me to write a verse was the fact that me and my friends at the time had a thing we did after school where we'd rap and just talk about Hip-Hop stuff for hours on end before we all went home. We used to do like other niggas verse's you know like the stuff that was popular at the time and really just stuff we liked until one day i decided to surprise these dudes and rap my own shit that I wrote. It went as well as expected and I been kickin it since.
How did you come up with the name Tefoffline?
I went on a long ass sabbatical in like 2021 just to get off social media and get my mind right and tbh, that was most amount of work I did, music-wise and just life-wise. Basically, thats where it came from. I felt like I worked better off my phone and the internet as a whole, so I just merged that with my name. It just took me back to how I used to make music before I encountered phones and shit. Back then it was just my imagination, pen, and diary, and I was the most efficient working under those conditions. I think I was going through a name change type situation at the time and I just didn't want a regular name that everybody had or some typical white man's name like nah. I needed to bring it home as well. I like that I included my real name in there because it just added to the authenticity. Real shit.
When did you start releasing music?
I only started dropping music in 2021 and to be honest anytime I think about it I can't help but laugh. I was in the kitchen one morning at like 9am and I was like 'Yo kana I did this other joint yesterday, maybe I should drop it, and I did and it went crazy. I think that when I really decided to go all in after seeing all the good things everybody had to say about my shit.
How would you describe your style of music?
Right now I won't lie i'd say I'm making some real stoner music. Like stoner anthems fr but seriously I'd say it's like a mix of alt-rap with jazzy elements and the truth really. That's what I describe it as because it's really music about my life you know, the ins and outs, ups and downs, the weird shit, everything. I look at it more like confessions in a way.
What inspires the style of music you make?
A whole bunch of things tota. I like music combinations and rhythms that aren't conventional. The regular shit is hard as well but I never really wanna limit my references. Niggas like MF DOOM, Earl, and MIKE been inspiring and continue to inspire the music I been making to this point. If you look closely, all these cats have a thing in common: they produce and rap. So that's the school I came from. Tota hela anything goes with me. I'm a big house music fan as well so I'd say that inspires my shit too.+
What inspired your recent mixtape?
Life has a funny way of showing you who the boss is. I guess I was just going through that shit and decided to document it. Like I said I see it as billy would say, Truth Rap, so for me it was an easy thing to write the records. The hard part was outgrowing the tracks. It's like you can't get that first feeling on a track you've been working on for 2 years so it took me a while to get it done but all in all it was a good experience man. I went through some stuff and if you listen to the music you'll hear it. Everything is on the music.
How was the process of creating it?
Man, it was like any project to be honest. It's like you develop a new love for creating and you're almost always excited for the first few months. But then it becomes routine and it gets mixed up with other bad routines in your life prompting you to try to escape or change that. I ain't gonna lie that shit got me off course for a good while. Just focused on living my life. Writer's block became a hassle at a point and I was nearly like 'F this' but you know, that's how it be. I really had fun man but truthfully I've been over that project for a good while.
Vocal layering seems to be a common aspect in a handful of your tracks..would you consider that a part of your signature sound?
Yeah definitely. I used to make tracks without adlibs and backings cause I had a different perspective on what music should sound like. But you know, with time, you grow and learn and I just decided to incorporate all that into the records. I really love music with good backings and adlibs, not even just rap, so it was more of an 'I'm making the shit I like to hear' type of vibe. That's just how I move with my music. I know what I want in terms of the sonic direction, so I just do it myself. Even with the latest project where that kinda thing is prominent, I knew how I wanted it to sound like 2 years ago. I just had to practice and implement that knowledge.
Is there anything you're doing apart from rapping?
Yeah, I'm a student currently about to get my bag, soon. I do a little music journalism for my school magazine focusing on music, but besides school, I have a couple of business ventures I plan to implement, especially this year. I'm a business dude at heart, even though I never studied it. I've always loved the fact that you could make money from your own ideas on your own terms, so I won't dwell too much on that but yeah. I also recently started officially heading a little label imprint called 4EVAFADED, which comprises the people responsible for the success of my tape and my music in general, my niggas idyllicsoul and Rxssi on production, as well as fellow rapper NovSon who's a young MC trynna make moves as well. I'm what you call a Renaissance man in a way, I just have a little trouble with laying out all the pieces because it gets messy.
Any local acts that you find exciting?
There's tons; I wouldn't even know where to start. My favorite rappers right now would have to be Nikky Dymondz, banzai, Jesonyana, Chrysus, OneTake 267, and my boy NovSon just to name a few. In terms of singers and vocalists, I have been messing with that Magadi single (Backseat Headrush), Sebaga got some really cool-sounding projects, Fourteen'O'Six is hard af, Courtney got that one track, and how could I forget spacerover and Chubbs (Lucas Chubbs). Oh I fuck with Pablo and Xortic as well. Them niggas is crazy like I won't even say much, but I'm sure I'll be able to experience most of these artists because I was privy to meeting some more amazing acts last year. So maybe my list will change in a few. I just had to give you a few because I can't really think of some right now, but I'm a huge fan of local shit. It really is my bread and butter.
Any thoughts on where the music game is going?
I really think everyone is getting to do anything they want especially sound-wise. I feel like we're not confined to doing what pleases labels or whatever so it's more of a whole group of niggas just making music they really mess with not because they have to make that stuff. So I think you know, with that kind of freedom, the landscape changes over time. I also love the fact that dudes like Saigo (saigotheeditor) have been able to do the photography stuff and shows to basically accompany the music, practically building aesthetics for the sonics, so a big shout to my guy Lerroy, that's my guy.
Do you have anything you're working on right now?
Yeah most definitely, but the stuff I'm making right now I wonder if they gon' like it, because it's some weird shit man. That's all i'm going to say for now. Oh! and I did a couple of features that I hope will be out this year with some amazing artists. Sometimes I don't even believe I did that but you know, I did.
Speaking of features, you are featured on 'The World Is Yours' by Nov Son, how was the experience of working on your first collaboration?
It was really cool. One of the easiest and laid back collabs I did. He hit me up and was like 'We need to get in the studio' and I was down fr. My nigga Idyllic was working with him as well, so it just made things easier but yeah he was recording some songs from his upcoming album and we knocked a couple out the park. Watch out for that project btw. That was also when I met my nigga Rxssi; they was moving as a unit back then so I just decided to mess with them and what they did because normally I just keep to myself and do shit on my own or with like 1 or 2 of the homies. It's a very personal thing for me. People probably think I hate collabs or something, but they're so hard to get done because of the different mindframes, schedules, and shit but I always try to make sure I work with other artists because I believe we work better together.
Stream Tefoffline HERE
Instagram: @Tefoffline
Facebook: @Tefoffline