Lesotho is a Southern African nation surrounded entirely by South Africa. The largest ethnic group is the Basotho. The Basotho culture is immersed in musical traditions.

The national anthem of Lesotho is "Lesotho Fatse La Bontata Rona". Written by François Coillard, a French missionary, it appears in the popular computer game "Sims 2: University" as the theme from a videogame console.

Traditional musical instruments include lekolulo, a kind of flute played by herding boys, setolo-tolo, resembling an extended jaw harp played by men using their mouth, and the women's stringed thomo.

Vocal choirs, which sing church music in Sesotho, are extremely popular. These choirs are formed in villages, towns, churches, etc., and can be heard on the radio every evening.

As an enclave of South Africa, it is not surprising that South African musicians have a large following in Lesotho. Most frequently heard on the radio are various sub-Saharan AfroPop styles, jazz, kwaito, and reggae.

While South African music is generally enjoyed in Lesotho, there is a tremendous following for famo (contemporary Sesotho music, which features the accordion and oil can drum) such as that by Mosotho Chakela. The music recording industry is nascent, but many of the Basotho musicians sign with South African companies - undermining growth prospects.

Lesotho (ⁱ/lɨˈsuːtuː/ li-SOO-too), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, completely surrounded by its only neighboring country, the Republic of South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km² (11,583 sq mi) in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day.

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Wasja-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The Sotho-Tswana people colonized the general region of South Africa between the 3rd and 11th centuries.

The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under king Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Between 1821 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.^{[citation needed]}