Month: December 2011

Bamboo, who is currently based in the US seems to be riding towards a great journey in his musical career. Bamboo who has been silent for a little while  is working on releasing a new album and he has secured a lucrative business agreement with former Wu-Tang Clan manager, Cedric Mohammad who is popular among the hip hop community in the US. Bamboo who will now be in the Pan African Movement, an initiative by Cedric who appears to have a huge portfolio in the US politics as well as the entertainment industry.

This could only mean good for Bamboo since with his lyrical talent and flow, its only a matter of time before the world realizes we have a great hit. Working with Cedric will give him the exposure he needs. Cedric has endorsements all over from the US Democratic party, Nation of Islam, the OAU and numerous business organizations in the US. It is notable that it was during the time he managed Wu-Tang Clan that they got endorsements from Pepsi and Mcdonalds. Cedric, an economist has been featured in major media including Wall Street Journal and the Source.

Two of the most popular lyricists in Kenya, Juliani Julius and Abbas Kubaff have joined forces for the very first time to release what has to be the most anticipated Kenyan collabo of the year! The title of the song is “Nipe Makofi.” The song is sung using the “Trap Muzik” style of hip hop, which means that it will be a very unique sound coming through to your airwaves.

Can’t remember the last time I was this excited to listen to a track. The best part is, KenyanLyrics.com has a preview of the chorus of the song lined up just for you on YouTube. Check it out by clicking the link below:

Listen to Juliani & Abbas – ‘Nipe Makofi’

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing away of one of our artist’s father. Slice, from the duo of Shavey & Slice of the hit song Gal. May his soul rest in eternal peace. For Slice we encourage him to be strong for he still has many friends he can always rely on for hope and encouragement. Ulopa ngoma are a family and in times like this we must stand by our own.
God bless Africa,God bless Kenya and God bless Ulopa Ngoma.

Shavey & Slice

DNA, the latest secular singer turned gospel, is threatening to take the Kenya Commercial Bbank to court over what he terms as “unauthorised use of his lyrics in a TV commercial.” This is most likely in reference to the new KCB Bankika promotion, where there is a jingle that goes, “Bankika tu, Bankika tu!” which sounds alot like the chorus to DNA’s breakout song “Banjuka.”

DNA has already instructed his lawyer to take action and file a case against the bank.

More on this story to follow…

Harrison Muniu, aka Bamzi, aka the African Superman, is currently finalizing the video shoot for his comeback track, Mizuka.

The African Superman

He went underground as he checked into rehab for c*****e abuse. That was one year ago. Now he is back, and is not slowing down. 

The location for the music video shoot is Red Republik Grounds in Roasters Thika Road.
The song has clear electro house inspirations, mixed with a blend of kapuka and spiced with a bit of rap.
Expect the video to be on your screens in a couple of weeks.

Dan “Chizi” Aceda will launch his sophomore album in July 30 at the prestigious Kenya National Museum grounds. Chizi has titled his album Benganologybecause, according to him, Benga is the music of the gods; the true Kenyan music. He has dedicated the entire album to creating a fusion that would reach all other genres like reggae, RnB, jazz and hip hop. The new album has come out as a catch phrase and is running all over the cyberspace.

Dan Aceda

Benganology features a collabo with Eric Wainaina dubbed Guns and Arrows which Chizi decribes as “extremely poignant.” There are also collaborations with Wyre, Doris Onyango and Sanaipei Tande.
The album release’s concert will be recorded and packaged as a live DVD. Entrance to the show is set at Sh 800, which includes a free souvenir copy of the album, or Sh 500 for ticket only.

Super-energetic gospel songstress Rose Muhando will be in Kenya on Saturday July 17, for a Nakuru concert on Sunday the 18th at Afraha Stadium. The concert will be sponsored by Safaricom’s Skiza Value Added Service.
The aim of event is to promote and gospel music and gospel artists across East Africa. She will be performing alongside other gospel greats such as Daddy Owen, Dunco, Eunice Njeri, Emmy Kosgei, Allan Aaron, Jimmie Gait, Betty Bayo, Joseph Wa Kabura, Ben Githae, Loise Kim, Mercy Wairegi and Alice Kamande.

Rose Muhando

Kevin Waire aka Wyre – a leading Kenyan dancehall and R&B artist and multiple awards nominee have signed to Rockstar 4000 Music Entertainment – the African continent’s first Pan African 360 Music & Entertainment Company and Record Label. 

The deal with Rockstar 4000 begins this month and will see this Kenyan R&B-dancehall heartthrob in an historic, exclusive worldwide digital distribution deal, having his music made available commercially to a global audience of millions.

Rockstar 4000, through its exclusive Pan African partnership with Sony Music Entertainment Africa, will distribute Wyre’s music and video catalogue to hundreds of digital storefronts worldwide, including major digital music services like iTunes®, Amazon MP3, Napster, eMusic, Rhapsody, Beatport, YouTube, Vevo, Zune, MySpace Music, Spotify, SKY, Juno Download, Boomkat, and Turntable Lab and mobile carriers and outlets such as Verizon Wireless, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Nokia (to name a few) via Sony’s partnership with the San Francisco-based digital distributor IODA. 

“Wyre is an exciting addition to our Rockstar family and one of the first artists from East Africa that’s consistently pushed the boundaries of his music and making better music videos with his eye on expanding his fan base and music outside of the boundaries of Kenya and East Africa. With Wyre’s talent and commitment as an artist we’re looking forward to crossing many borders with him in the near future” says the CEO & Founder of Rockstar 4000, Jandre Louw.

American rap mogul Jay Z is in Nairobi. According to sources the hip-hop star flew in on Thursday (yesterday) evening on a private jet and driven to the uptown five star Tribe Hotel.

Jay Z

It is not clear what mission Jay Z is here for, but it is claimed that he has an exclusive interview with a leading broadcaster lined up. Keep it here and get the story as it unfolds. In case u have any info on this story, post a comment below

Dancehall artist Lord Kitchener, aka Dr. Ring Ding jetted into the country yesterday. The reggae musician, well known for his hit song “The Needle” arrived with a low-key reception at JKIA airport. He has come to Kenya for the purpose of visiting Nairobi’s Kibera slum. Kibera slum is one of the biggest slums in the world and an infamous tourist destination in Kenya.

Lord Kitchener

Whether Lord Kitchener will perform remains to be seen. However, it was worthy of note that he was in the company of a four-man entourage.

More to follow on this story.

KenyanLyrics.com has learnt via it’s handy Celebrity Tweets feature that Big Pin has today been arrested.

The reason for his arrest: Lack of a passport.

Christopher ‘Big Pin’ Mwangale was clearly perturbed by the nature of the arrest.

He probably got a chance to use his phone as the arrest was being made, and he updated the following on Twitter:

How have i been arrested for not having my passport on me

More news on the arrest to follow shortly.

Nonini announced his eagerly awaited engagement yesterday via his official Facebook profile. This comes after Nonini just completed the shooting of his video to the song ‘Ghetto Love’ at the Tribe Hotel. 

Nonini had been known earlier in his career for his ‘Bad-Boy’ approach to music. His original hit songs ‘Manzi wa Nairobi‘ and ‘Wee Kamu‘ generated a mixed response for their explicit lyrics. However,

Nonini’s has now branched to a more mature brand of music where he celebrates the finer things in life. In recent songs like ‘Kadhaa‘ and ‘Kumbuka‘, Nonini appreciates how far he has come since he first started out in this music industry.

Album cover of Nonini’s ‘Godfather’ album

The lady in question has not yet been confirmed. However, Nonini has been spotted of late in the company of a beautiful girl by the name of Bernice. We at KenyanLyrics.com would like to congratulate Nonini for taking this big step and we would like to wish the lucky couple all the best in their future endeavours.

Carol AtemiUK-based record label Gatwitch Records has snapped up Kenyan neo-soul and Afro-fusion musician Atemi Oyungu on a long-term recording contract.
Gatwitch Records is also responsible for gospel rapper Juliani’s world class 2008 hit album Mtaa Mentality, and world-renowned Sudanese artist, Nyaruach.

It was founded by Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal and they operate from bases in London, Nairobi and Juba

Atemi has been hosting a TV show named Africa Rising since 2009. Now with Gatwitch, she not only gets a recording deal, the label will provide marketing, distribution and event organizing for her.

Finger of God Church leader and musician Quincy Zuma Timberlake, was released from remand on Tuesday 30th March 2010, following a successful bail application.
However, in a fresh twist to this long drawn out saga, two days after his release from remand (April 1st?), he was arrested by the Immigration officials in fresh investigation into his nationality.
In an affidavit filed by the Investigating Officer, Quincy is suspected to be a foreigner holding an illegal Kenyan identity.

Quincy Timberlake a.k.a Fizzle Dogg

Mr. Timberlake was whisked away from his Runda home/church and driven to the infamous Nyayo House. There he was taken to the Immigration Department headquarters for further questioning.
Members of the Finger of God church followed their brother there and said that the Immigration Office officials later drove out of Nyayo House along with Quincy Timberlake to an unconfirmed destination.

Boomba Boiz are accusing Just a Band of stealing their idea in order to create the Makmende phenomenon. 
Boomba Boiz are a gospel hip-hop duo consisting of Nascent, a blind single parent, and Labcy, an orphan. They started their musical career late 2004. Their first single Ngeta recorded under Southwest records was followed by Tumefika done by Ogopa DJs. In late 2006, they recorded 4WD, a song that talked about use of condoms not being an alternative to fight HIV/AIDS. Then last year they recorded Boomba Boiz pose for the cameras with PrezzoPastah Joh! and Umaskini Kwa Mtaa, both of which they hoped would make them mainstream acts.

They say they met Just A Band a while back who then listened to their singles ‘Tumefika’ and ‘Pastor Joh’ and they enquired why the Boomba Boiz hadn’t done a video for Pastor Joh. The duo then told Just a Band that they would be releasing a single called ‘Umaskini kwa Mtaa’ first and explained the story line, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the storyline in the ‘Ha-He’ video.
Apparently, the video story line for Boomba Boiz was even allegedly themed ‘Makmende Amerudi’ just like in the ‘Ha-He’ video!
“Our video showed the life of Makmende, a Kenyan hustler who earns his living through criminal ways. In the first verse of the song, Makmende goes job hunting but isn’t dressed like a conventional job hunter should. 
Makmende“He runs low on luck and when he doesn’t get the jobs he has done interviews for, he turns to the life of crime. The law catches up with him when he is netted printing fake currency,” the duo said. 
In their version of the video, Makmende later turns a new leaf and regrets dubious ways
Boomba Boiz proof that Just a Band copied the Makmende video is that the video and the song idea contradict. “This clearly shows that these ideas came at different times with the video idea coming in the last. So why did they have to combine two contradicting ideas?” they said.
However, Just a Band has moved fast to copyright the character and other slang words used in the video. The copyright also includes the characters and slang words used in the music videos like First Bodi, Big-G, Wrong Number, The Askyua Matha Black Militants, Black Sahara, Nyoyo na Uji Films and Finger of Nebula among others.
“This means that any copying or reproduction of any of the above characters for commercial purposes without permission is prohibited by law. Violators will be subject to criminal and/or civil action,” Just a Band said in a press statement. Blinky Bill, lead singer for the electro pop band, has also come out to deny that Just A Band ever even met the two.
Despite the copyright, Nascent and Labcy say they will release their video Umaskini Kwa Mtaa featuring their own Makmende.

Mellow-voiced radio presenter Nick Ndeda has left his job at Homeboyz Radio as presenter for the Drive show, for greener pastures at Hot 96. He had been at Homeboyz Radio for the better part of two years.

I shall be making my much anticipated return to radio very soon it’s only a matter of time

he said.

A relaxed Nick Ndeda

This indicates a shift in Homeboyz Radio as James Kiama left barely two months prior to join Kiss TV and host ‘The Hot Source’.

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