Month: February 2012

Kenyan music on the recent past has moved to a level most of the people who started it never thought it would.

Look at the like the young talent like Camp Mulla those guys are making Kenyans proud and that is indication that Kenyan music has indeed gone places.

If you compare the song Addicted by Camp Mulla with Rusha Vidole by Jua Cali you would not come to a conclusion of how it got to where it is.

On the hand Producers have also played  a major role in making this happen, take an example of clemo the Calif record producers have lifted the streets talents into stars ,the likes of Jua Cali, Nonini , Pilipili all these stars you see today originated from Califs when the y were just ordinary.

Ogopa deejays is also another major factor in the industry, it has brought big names like the late E-sir, K-rupt, wiki mosh among others.

When you see nameless rocking the stage just know it was ogapa dejaay who made him known to you, wahu is also an Ogopa product the wife of the above named mathenge nameless if you like

Over the years Kenyan music has been much of circular music which was blended on Kapuka, hip hop and many other genres of music. The gospel genre was a bit in the dark in the 90s. This has changed in the recent past with gospel music taking the center stage in the Kenyan music industry.

As much of the Kapuka music from the likes of Jaguar give the loudest beats in clubs around the city of Nairobi and many other towns in the country, gospel music has found its way to the clubs and there by reserving there airplay in many restaurants in the country. One may be much more interested to ask the why question on gospel music taking to the clubs and not the church as it were. The answer is simple there beats of the new gospel music has stolen the hearts of the Kenya music lovers and arresting there intelligence and passion long enough. 

As our music scene continues growing in leaps and bounds its just right for one to reminisce and look at how far we have come since the days of Hardstone, Five Alive,Or The Legendary Kalamashaka. More than a decade after this pioneers set the stage for kenyan music the industry is basically at a stage where you can actually make a living from it.

Concerts are now the order of the day, international endorcements, collabos with international artists that just five years ago would have been a pipe dream working with, and now day in day out, hit after hit, hot high quality videos its just exciting being a music lover right about now! Howwever we do agree we still have some things to sort out before the industry can actually actuallise and be the best in the region. These include, piracy, dubious promoters, goverment support, underhand dealings and worst of all get the public to appreciate the art that is music. Any music lover out there like me dreams of a day music will just be music!!

Upto early 90s we used to listen to foreign music and even our clubs used to play those music.Our own musicians used to sing old school music which was only refferd to as out dated by the youths who are the majority in kenya.

Mid 90s the llikes of Kalamashaka came up and that was the turning point of Kenyan music.They were first seen at channel O tv.this gave artist hope to venture into music as a carrer.Parents despited this people shunning down music becouse it doen`t pay.The likes of Nameless,Redson,Juakali rose to fame and this was the turning point of the music industry.They did hustle for awhile but now even the parents want their kids to take up music as a carrer.Ourown musician have aken Kenyan music to the next level.Mtv base,Trace tv and Channel O are playing Kenyan music becouse of its quality in prodaction and the lyrics.Music in Kenya have enabled many Kenyans to earn a living in the right manner and whom din`t have a future.Our clubs are yawning for more music,we are winning international awards meaning dat we are somewhere.

Kenyan music has gone through great changes with time and the changes are so diverse, you just wouldn’t know what to expect. There is a lot of influence from the western countries and artists are always trying to ape what the rest of the world is doing. We have lost the original African touch that was our trademark and with this fading nature we can only wait to see what the future holds for our entertainment industry.

Most of this music is in the favor of the youth and the older generation can is left with very little to choose from. We need to embrace the oldies and get back to the soft tunes that used to grace our radio stations. This will give us an identity which we have lacked and get us back on track in gracing the entertainment trends of the world. The oldies were not as bad or boring as people may think and it only takes a little love for our culture and the rest will take its course.

The onset of the westernized way of doing music has indeed been a drawback to our original music and the campaign to have it back is going to take time to pick up but it can be done, only if we have willing artists who are brave enough to take the challenge and direct their music to the older version which will bring us to a situation where we can have something to identify with in terms of Kenyan music.

This is a challenge to our artists and it comes with great opportunities of recognition if they do choose to venture into such a territory. Our music needs to have an identity and this can only be achieved through our musician and they have the backup of the rest of the media industry. Let us join our entertainers in making this brave step a reality and give Kenya something to reckon with in terms of the music that plays in our radio stations and televisions.

Let us have a break from the usual booming hip-hop, genge, notes and have the smooth and relaxing hits that used to grace the airwaves if only just for a change. Very few would be willing due to the preferred styles but we urge at least a number to try it out and let us wait to see the reaction of the audiences and hear what they have to say. 

The world of music is doing great as each comes new in the world, but that’s not the case on Kenyan music. Every day an artist in the country must enter a studio hoping and believing that his or her music will make it in the charts or possibly the internationals awards.

Different artist get there fames through the different lyrics they sing about for example environment, love, and art among many more. In Kenya love songs popularly known to many as RnB and reggae music take the center stage each dawn.

Underground artist are always the ones  who come to the limelight because they struggle hard to be on top unlike the different artist who have made it and they fade away with time

The government should start taking tax on every local music that is produced in the country this will help cub the issues of pircacy,and we will see them on high mountains

The world of music is doing great as each comes new in the world, but that’s not the case on Kenyan music. Every day an artist in the country must enter a studio hoping and believing that his or her music will make it in the charts or possibly the internationals awards.

Different artist get there fames through the different lyrics they sing about for example environment, love, and art among many more. In Kenya love songs popularly known to many as RnB and reggae music take the center stage each dawn.

Underground artist are always the ones  who come to the limelight because they struggle hard to be on top unlike the different artist who have made it and they fade away with time

The government should start taking tax on every local music that is produced in the country this will help cub the issues of pircacy,and we will see them on high mountains

Kenyan music has to some extent grown in terms of marketing and distribution. Technology has also impacted on Kenyan music in that nowadays with the use of YouTube one can market Music through online.

The government on the other hand has done a little in improving music though not as expected. The problems which the music industry faces include: piracy and plagiarism which has affected the careers of most musicians in that the government together with the copyright society of Kenya have not fully prevented piracy.

Another problem has been that the old musicians are not recognized by the government this has thus led to the death of the traditional music and also archiving of the traditional music has been very minimal.

The media have really improved the Kenyan music through marketing of the music. With the introduction of programmes which market music in Kenya most musicians have really benefitted a lot.

Finally music has been now regarded as a full time career. This has really made it possible for Kenyans with talent in music to fully engage in music thus making the Kenyan music industry grow.

To conclude I can say the Kenyan music has to a great extent grown tremendously and it is up to the government together with the Kenya music copy right society of Kenya in consultation with KAMP to make sure that the issue of piracy has been dealt with fully and also make sure that the musicians in all the categories i.e. gospel, reggae ragga, kapungala ohangla among others are fully motivated and protected so as to keep the Kenyan musicians from moving to other careers

 

Kenyan music has been in the past and in the present an influence to many youths.Much of the originality is no so much concentrated on but some artists try their best to outsmart themselves by being original.So far so good for our artists for their contribution in creating jobs and in helping Kenya achieve its millenium development goals.In recent artists have made a milestone in the leading music industry.

                My encouragement to the youth is  to be  original and try their best to make sure the music is encouraging to most the Kenyans.The music industry has so far preached peace in  the trying times for the country especially during hunger and at this moment when the country is at war.

                However  the music industry has a long way to go for many atrists do not get credit for their work.Also the music society has to do alot for the artists and ensure that thier work is not plagiarised.

Role of the government in recognising full potential of the artists should be enforced.The government protecting and recognizing them fully is what they all should push towards achieving.

                In addition to the variuos genres of the music artists should do their best to define the areas of their music.If it is gospel,raggae, hiphop,lingala and others an  artist should outsmart himself.In this he or she will be able to be much original.

.There has been so far much an improvement in this sector compared to the past and this has enabled the growth of the music industry.

In as much as we can determine.

The Kenyan Music scene has evolved so much in the last decade; from the Kalamashaka of the 90’s to the new age crop of musicians like Eco Didda, Avril, Juliani, Suati soul just to mention a few. It has evolved more so on the gospel scene as so many musicians of last year got fame through gospel music.

Although there is much that can be said about Kenyan music industry form the good the bad and the ugly there is always an upright way of looking of such issues. There are so many things that can build a musician, from collaborations to beefs to anything in between. Many musicians in Kenya for instance rely on Collaborations as we call them to make a name in this industry; for instance the Toklezea hit of 2011 was collaboration between a big name in Abbas Kubaff and a new name Chantelle!! Another is the bigger collaboration between Sauti soul and P-Unit that really shows how different genres can be fused to create a hit!

Collaborations are not the only thing that can make a musician in Kenya but also beef. The one thing that you have to understand about beefs is that most are a fabrication! There is no lost love between musicians involved as the main agenda is to sell their music. The more people know you have a beef the more popular an individual gets and the more music is sold.

Apart from collaborations and beefs there is the aspect of international audience and most Kenyan musicians have not been left behind. There have been so many collaborations especially in the East African Block and also further abroad with Amani doing collaboration with other acclaimed musicians in Africa as a result of the R. Kelly Productions.

Generally the Kenyan music scene has grown. There is much that people can look forward to from their celebrities as the time for one hit wonders have gone to the dust as the more songs the better chances for survival in the industry. Music in Kenya has now become a career for many people a thing that was not possible in the 1990’s. But hey better watch out for the gospel music scene as I bet more is yet to come from them this year.

Music is the food to the soul, everybody loves music. Music in Kenya started sometime back when people knew only of the  “genge” genre of music with few named artists. As time went by, some artists started growing interest in hip-hop in which is not well appreciated in Kenya today. The reason why I say this is because it does not receive enough airplay in our radio and television stations.

More artists are finding their way in the studios as they are becoming versatile and exploring and giving more in music today. Compared to the early days when Kenya was establishing music, I can say that the Kenyan music is being recognized even in the other countries. From observation, Kenyan music is growing at a very fast rate but it is miles away from its destination for it is facing are stiff completion from other African countries as well as the Western countries.

Long gone are the days when our media houses used to give the western music full airplay for as for now we have radio and television stations that are strictly playing Kenyan music. With good support from the Kenyan media houses, Kenyan music is bound to grow for Kenyan people have learnt to appreciate Kenyan music and are learning to trace their roots.

Kenya is is country that has been blessed with a variety ofmusicians who  have  been rated the among most vibrant , in the East Africa’s entertainment industry.

This can be attested by the vast number of musicians who have emergered in the last century.By the year 2010, the havhas emerged prominet musicians who have been active in both gospel and secular music. Morever kenyan music has also been characterised by vernecular music , which has dominated the music industry till the coming of the swahili music , commonly known as Genge music.

The growth of the music industry in kenya has brought about  prominet stars like Nonini,Juacali,Esther Wahome

Nevetheless kenya music has been accuseed of aping the western mode of entertainmet. This is apparent by the way musicians present themselves in their music videos

New UkooFlani sound!

 

Initiated by the Teichmann brothers and the Goethe-Institut Nairobi, allows “club music from the capital cities of Berlin and Nairobi to crash into each other and meld together.

For over one year the likes abass ukooflani and nazizzi kimya and others have benefited from this program which has seen them come oyt with a new kind of sound that’s inspired by hiphop and techno

ukooflani msoto million offers a new gritty ssound that’s any hiphop fan will appreciate!

Kenyan sensational alternative music group Camp Mulla have been preparing their fans on social media for their newest video ‘Fresh All Day’.

After the massive success that was ‘Party Don’t Stop’ directed by Nigerian super producer Clarence Peters (who happens to be flying into Nairobi soon for another project), fans of MC Taio Tripper, Miss Karun, Young Kass and K’Cous will be looking to see if they manage to come up with something as good as, or even better.

Well ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the EXCLUSIVE premiere of Camp Mulla, Fresh All Day. Check it out below and tell us what you think

Urban Live is set to take the Kenyan music scene global

Urbanlive is a new online music shop  that has set up shop in Kenya to among other things push Kenyan music further global.

It is dedicated to empowering artists through transparent online Music Distribution, Advertising platform for upcoming events among other entertainment related services.

Take time to check it out and support and build Kenya through buying this awesome content.

Its a customed for celebrities to have personalised number plates instead of the one issued by KRA.The police and the registrar of motor vehicles are

involved in a major crack down for motorists who have customized their name`s instead of the registration numbers given by KRA.

Its suspected that gospel artist Ringtone is among those that have customised their plates but before he was arrested he had already changed the illegal plate to the authorised ones. Our sources revealed that Ringtone decline to reveal how he got plates in his name and instead referred them to KRA.

Apart from Ringtone Mariga na Makadara mp also have customised their plates.Ringtone you should be thanking God for saving you from the police.

Hate him or love him Jimmy Gait is the ultimate business man..

Famed director Clarence Peters who we wrote a piece about here, will be shooting Furi Furi video again! Well for five million Jimmy Gait i too would do even five versions! seems jimmy gait wants to break out internationally hence the reknowned director. 

Hot off the press is that he shall also be shooting Abass and Chantelle’s video for Tokelezea (its about time!)

Clarence peters recently hit a bigger milestone when his video for The Silly Song was became the first African artist video to be aired on the American music network BET.

Exciting times this are for kenyan music!

Its been only FIVE months and loads of hard work invested into making Ghafla! your premier source of all local Kenyan content…entertainment, lyrics, news, content.

It then came as a welcome surprise when the King of Genge himself, internationally renowned Kenyan artiste, Hubert Nakitare a.k.a Nonini declared Ghafla.co.ke the website to watch in 2012. He went ahead to write:

‘This (Ghafla.co.ke) is the coolest website of 2012….check it out Wagenge’

Nonini started his musical career at Calif Records but later joined Homeboyz Productions. In 2004 he won the ‘Chaguo La Teeniez’ Award for ‘Best Male Artiste’, followed by the 2007 CHAT award for Best song for his hit ‘Si Lazima’. 

Nonini has also helped other huge artistes come up, such as the hugely successful group, P-Unit, consisting of Frasha, Gabu and Bonnie as well as Kenyan hip hop queen Lady Bee. In 2009, Malaysian University, Limkokwing branded him ‘International Lifestyle Ambassador.’

Ghafla! would like to thank Nonini for this endorsement and wish him all the best in his endeavors.

Kenya’s leading mobile company Safaricom came up with a Valentines period Skiza tune campaign dubbed ‘Katia her with a tune.’

check the link for more information about the promo.

Many people responded negatively about this campaign, particularly use of the term ‘Katia’… giving the company bad publicity. This prompted the company`s CEO Bob Collymore to apologise to Safaricom customers and even pulling out the campaign. He wrote on his twitter page;

‘So this morning I’m gonna apologize for the Katia gaffe. We deserve the slapping you gave us. The campaign is being pulled.’

He is scheduled to have a press conference to publicly apologise to Safaricom customers.

”Silence don’t mean thumbz down….its the sound of a silent storm cooking into a Tsunami…….” , this ain’t my words but from Abbas Kubaff

. This message is sent to his critics whom are questioning his silence in the music industry. He say`s that something bigger and better is in the pipeline and thus people should watch the space.

His been silent for  a while but he says that his planning on doing something out of the ordinary and that his fun’s will be impressed more this time round. Lets wait and see what his  planning this time round for his fan`s  although we are anticipating something big from him, the pressure is big on his part but he always rises to the occasion.

Known to us for many ‘naked’ reasons, this beautiful empress wouldn’t let the tabloids get her down. She just exploded across East Africa and maybe beyond with this sweet love song.

Avril’s ‘kitu kimoja’ has just become not only the most viewed music video, but also the most liked and most discussed video. Ain’t this huge. This sexy lady knows exactly how to win back her fans and make them want more and more.

Get the lyrics to this song right here.

Safaricom today launched a new Skiza tune offer dubbed ‘Katia Her with a Tune for Only 5/-.’

The offer, in line with this Season of Love that is Valentines Day, will see subscribers get their favourite love songs and be able to download, copy or gift them to their loved ones.

All one has to do is dial *811# and follow the instructions. For more details you can visit their website here >>

The music industry is in another level in Kenya such that artist are switching from other carriers to music meaning that there is cash in music for them to shift.We always see new musicians and in no time they make it big. Camp Mulla came just the other day

and they are already heating it big.

Jaguar is currently driving a Range Rover sports  of which he said is courtesy of music and his also involved in charity work as a good gesture to his fans who have made him who he is today. Man ingwe resigned from Safaricom company to concentrate in his music, Alice Kamande used to be a banker before she shifted to music.

Nameless did confess that what he earns in music is much than what he could earn as an architect and that he can`t regret doing music even just a little bit. Size 8 coming from a humble background also doing well in terms of her income. Nyota ndogo is living very comfortable because of music, she was a house help before she ventured into music.

The list of people whom are reaping big money in music is endless and still the industry will always have a place for new talents.If you see Kenyan parents supporting young guys to join music is coz of the potential of earning good money as long as you do quality music.

The lyrically graduated rapper is back. He brought us the hit ‘Kiswahili’ with Jua Cali, another titled ‘Munene’, and now he is back with a bigger hit, ‘Radio Love’.

J’Mani collaborated with

Collo and Lyra Aoko on this awesome club banger. Lyra Aoko’s voice… angel like, off the hook. The track is all about the love of music and the swagg in the behind-the-scenes video is also something to note. Collo comes in the second verse with out of this world lyrics. He got me with the punch line, ‘…men I’m off the hook, you can call my flow Wi-Fi’.

The video is not yet out but we’ll hook you guys up as soon as it is released. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the behind-the-scenes footage. Also get the lyrics right here.

 

Whats real and whats not..?

You have to admit gospel music has taken over the industry its therefore becoming very lucrative and many are living good off it.

 

Well then comes the issue that whether gospel has been watered down, is it more of making a living or spreading the good word. Where do we draw a line between what is gospel and whats not? And what really is gospel music?

 

Its clear and obvious that one has to to make a living and in this hard times we in well you cant judge. Bringing me to the point that its widely known that a number of gospel musicians live in ways hat they don’t sing about

 

I therefore dug into our archives and found this thought provoking song by Mr Googz that really brings out this issue bluntly. Read the lyrics

 

It is said that he started Gospel music among the youth and did quite a good job on it too. He is the guy with the rough tone,

and his name is Rufftone. Started music from a tender age and also influenced his brother with his works.

Rufftone was in the music industry back when it was still in its foundation here in Kenya, with songs like ‘Mwikulu’ as one of his greatest hits.

He recently did an interview with KTN on ‘Cheche za Burudani’ and here’s where you can get to know more about your favourite gospel musician.

I’m sure we all loved Camp Mulla’s ‘party don’t stop’ video. It was just great, from the choreography to the video quality,

a work of art. We don’t see this kind of videos produced here, so you can understand the artistes’ anticipation of the producers Visit to our country once again.

Clarence Peters is said to be coming back to Kenya on the 6^Th to work with a gospel artiste and two rappers whose names have not been revealed to us yet. He will also be working on the series ‘Shuga:Love Sex and Money’. His works have been experienced all the way from Miami to Kenya.

Clarence is a legendary producer that is on high demand all across Africa for his perfect art in production. He has the movie effects and what not. Most of the songs he has done videos for have ended up in the top charts. Lucky and honored should be the artiste to taste his talent.

”Chips Funga’ means take away or take out as some would call it’ 

These were Anto Neo Soul’s own words as he was interviewed on what motivated him to come up with the phenomenal first single.

‘You deliberately plan to take away that person you want to have relations with. It’s a short term sexual investment with long term repercussions.’

Anto Neo Soul has had nothing short of a spectacular career in the film and music industry. Currently a 3rd year Broadcast Journalism Student, he kicked off his music playing live with his band, Paragasha, which is also an event that concurrently goes down every last Tuesday of the month at the downtown Nairobi club, Club Soundd.

Aside from music, Lenny Juma had cast the upcoming Anto in a Telkom Orange advert, after which he went on to be featured in the popular Kenyan TV series on Citizen, Siri which consequently landed him a roll on Shuga.

Read a related Shuga article here >>

Most recently he released his first music video, Chips Funga which went viral on social media platforms. For all those on twitter, you may be familiar with the term #NP which means ‘now playing’ and is usually tagged to a tweet about the music one is listening to.

Well, now there’s #NC which means ‘now chipoing’… and well, you know how that goes.

Catch the lyrics to ‘Chips Funga’ here.

Checkout Anto Neo Soul’s BRAND NEW video, ‘Qwerty Love’ right here.

Dj Johni Celeb presents The Garage – Dj Academy.

Starting from 6k You can learn the  art of Deejaying, Veejaying and a bonus offer of Turntablism in a month’s time.He combines forces with Dj maestro My Spin who you can say is an OG of Deejaying in Kenya. Train using the latest Pioneer CDJ 2000 and Technics Sl 1210 MK2.

Classes are located at Kenyatta University and to register call 0703 479 031 and get scratching

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