Ranto Bokgo

Ranto Bokgo (born Sipho Ray Sithole) is an artist from Rusape, Zimbabwe.

Being a child experiencing colonial Rhodesia hangovers would later form the basis of his social commentary music and message about the injustices and failures of modern society. Ranto’s passion for music and art thus sprung from an early age, as he joined the school choir and drama classes in his primary schooling days.

Bokgo’s first appearance on a commercial recording was in 1994 as a feature artist on ‘You’re The Fool’, a single released in Japan by Transit Crew’s late lead singer Emmanuel Brown.

In 2000, Bokgo moved to South Africa, where he landed work with indie label Ghetto Ruff Records after chancing a street freestyle turned audition at a shopping mall in Pretoria. Ghetto Ruff Records released his first solo single and music video ‘1000 People’ in 2001, which
appeared as the lead track on a CD compilation for a film series called ‘Steps’, alongside other established acts like Oliver Mutukudzi, Manu Dibango, Lucky Dube and Phillip Miller.

A Swedish filmmaker, Simon Klose who was shooting various works in South Africa encountered Ranto in Johannesburg, filmed and sent some video clips of the artist free-styling to his friends who owned a Swedish based label. This resulted in Ranto Bokgo (then Rantoboko) signing and relocating works to Malmo City’s indie Juju Records in 2001. He also inked a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell AB in
Stockholm that same year.

Together with the labels’ co-founder and head producer Mans Asplund aka Breakmecanix (a sparky Swedish production outfit with hip hop act Spotrunnaz’s member Moe Sekwanda), Ranto would go on to record various features and works between Europe and Africa, including ultimately dropping his debut international album ‘Urban Africa’ in 2005. Some feel it is a classic piece from the artist.

Bokgo’s own blend of Afro-Soul-Reggae vocals and a self-tutored style of acoustic guitar strumming have gradually earned him a space for features, collaborations and even writer & producer work in both music and film circles in Europe, USA and Africa. His creative enthusiasm has contributed to works like; performance as part of the opening band to a first ever Fifa Concert held on the 10th of June 2010, which event was hosted in South Africa. His catalogue of works includes music production credit as the sole scorer to Europe’s Dschoint Ventschr
Filmproduktion film ‘Hidden Heart’, a story about social political events behind the first human heart
transplant.

Bokgo’s song ‘Kumba Kure’ is the introductory song to the United States of America’s official ‘Welcome to the United States’ Refugee Orientation DVD available online. He enjoys participating in dynamic engagements as a performing artist, such as a recent programme of
touring spins and a bout of releases between Sweden and his southern-African region as a Cultural Exchange group of multi-nationals, an ensemble called Kwaai. The Swedish sponsored initiative has been active from 2013 to date. Kwaai’s 2013 debut compilation album ‘Worldwide’ continues to do well on Sweden’s...