He is known for treating his followers to much hilarity. The self-styled comedian is a jack of all ‘traits’ when it comes to creativity. He is an actor, a comedian and a decorated artist. Recently, he dropped an album with hit songs such as “Tinto” and “How it Feels.”
Today he is known by many even beyond Botswana’s borders. Bofelo William Molebatsi, who is also known as William Last KRM, remains the most followed talent with over 2 million followers on Facebook.
Speaking to Executive Life this week, Molebatsi who identifies himself as an entertainer and a father, said he has never gone to varsity. He just completed his Form 5 and his talent has been opening doors for him. The young comedian stepped into the limelight in 2017 and has since been making strides and a name for himself.
Asked when he discovered his talent, he answered: “When I was in junior secondary school, I was in the school drama club. I’ve always loved acting. So when it came to comedy, it was much easier because drama gave me more confidence. I started doing comedy in May 2017 when I was living with both my parents and my little sister in Mochudi.
“By then the only bookings I could get were the ones that I had to beg for. So I could grow my crowd and the gigs that were there were in Gaborone. So it was really hard most of the time for me to make it to the shows due to transport money and staff. I had to perform for free in a number of big stand-up shows just so I could make my mark. And I made a mark!”
While he say he is no stranger to fame, he is learned to embrace every level of growth and being noticed from time to time by strangers. “Being well known is something I’ve always been used to,” he said. “In my senior secondary school years, I was always known as that guy who was always winning the Best Actor award in drama competitions. But being well known countrywide is something else.”
It is no doubt that when it comes to entertaining people, Motsetserepa is in a league of his own, especially with his naturally comical facial features. He is the one person who cracks ribs without trying too hard.
“I guess I am popular because I am always original,” he said. “I am always authentic in whatever I do. I believe for someone to make an impact, they need to be original. I think that’s what people like about me.”
Working with huge corporate brands helped him package himself professionally. But he had to learn to tone down and eliminate vulgarity.
When Motsetserepa dropped his album, the songs on it wowed many because of his sheer talent in another medium. It was one of the albums that set tongues wagging. The hit song “Tinto,” scored more than two million views on You Tube while “How it Feels,” featured singer and songwriter Dato Seiko, garnered more than 700 000 views.
“Believe it or not, I started making music before comedy,” he said. “When I was doing Standard 4, I used to write songs. I’ve always loved music. It heals me. My ‘William’ album, which I released on 26 November 2020, was mainly about my background and what I was going through while making it. The people really loved the album because it showed them the other side of me that they didn’t know before. The album is doing well but I believe it would’ve been doing way better if it wasn’t for COVID-19.”
Like many other artists who are trying to make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry, it took blood, sweat and tears for Motsetserepa to be where he is now. The one thing that enabled his journey was patience. “The challenges I’ve had during my journey of growth were mostly financial issues,” he explained. “There’s been a couple of productions I would have loved to film and direct, but couldn’t because of financial problems that almost made me quit. But the lessons learnt were that for you to get where you want to be, you have to struggle and it takes time. COVID-19 actually helped me generate more content during the first Botswana lockdown.”
He credits his mother for her support. “Even though she doesn’t know the industry, she helped me a great deal along the way. I even managed to get my followers to two million. As soon as I started getting gigs and making some money, I started helping my mother.”
