Month: February 2012

Kenya’s reggaesensational star Kevin Wyre will never disappoint you whenever he

unleashes a song. He has done great collabo’s with international artists like Cecile and Morgan heritage, giving him an international status. He’s been producing big tunes and this time round his done it again. ‘My girl’ is his new single featuring Silvastone from Nigeria.

He does relay out the message about his girl in this song and Silvastone adds a Niger swag and as usual the dancing styles are originally kenyan’s. This song will definitely be a heat not only in Kenya but also in international market. Kudos to Wyre for a good job done, hope upcoming talents will emulate you.

Kenyan flag is flying high in international music stations courtesy of Camp Mulla.This guys are destined for greater things if they continue with this trend because to them the sky is the limit.

‘Party don’t stop’ is number one on MTV BASE’s official African chart.The group thanked the lord for their achievements.Since they entered the music market they have been dropping hot stuff and already they are reapping from their hard work. 

Reports are in that Norwegian based Kenyan artiste Stella Mwangi’s father passed on late yesterday in the Scandinavian capital, Oslo.

Jeff Mwangi, 54 years of age, was killed in a hit and run accident, in which the vehicle eluded the scene and local police there are yet to catch the culprit, according to leading Norwegian newspaper, VG.

In earlier interviews, Jeff would tell the media of how he was proud of his daughter, adding that he taught her rhythm and that music was very important to her throughout her upbringing.

Jeff Mwangi studied Linguistics and Psychology at the University of Oslo and thereafter worked for the Oslo municipal council.

Ghafla would like to express its condolences to Stella and her family at this time. You can send her your wishes on her Facebook page here.

 

Juliani seems to be taking the lead in empowering the youth, not just with his inspirational lyrics, but also through all the service he does to the community.

Last year Juliani went on a 3 month university tour called the ‘Kama Sio Sisi’ tour where he kicked it off from the 5th of March 2011 at Kenyatta University and went on to perform at numerous other campuses including Daystar and the University of Nairobi.

This year however, Juliani has come back even BIGGER and BETTER with his ‘Kama Si Sisi’ campaign, including a ‘Mtaa-tour’ as well as a Music Summit which he is yet to disclose where it will take place.

The gospel guru is currently involved in a fundraising for the event and went on to wittily state:

‘ (it is) typical to right a 32 page proposal bt ideal for (Juliani) is getting the resources from concerned Kenyans’

He aptly added:

‘If the change we need doesn’t come from us, where do we want it to come from?’

Like the industry isnt full already…(and i mean that in the most polite way)

Seems fred omondi of the churchill live fame will be joining the music fray soon, with word on the street stating that he will be shooting a video for a song called ‘Gold Digger. this Saturday.

going by his style I forsee a rhyme like this; /nilikuwa natembea kwa street na ring on my finger/then manzi mmoja aka approach ati nimbuyie dinner/ ati anaitwa Tina/akaniuliza una dinga/ zi?/ she showed me her midle finger/kumbe she was just a golddigger/

In another life i’ll be a rapper!

Rock is definately about to blowup.

The media on its part does very little to promote it but sticks to the more radio friendly hits. Well rock is still doing their thing and im proud to say they are doing it big!

Take for instance murfys law: made up of six talented individuals they enjoys favourable airplay on radio rock shows(which I think are only two in Kenya!). They have a cult following in the Kenyan rock scene and have taken it a notch higher BY shooting the first video off their sophomore album, “Hello Light”.

Hello light is what rock has been waiting for, a breath of good fresh music. They will be performing this Saturday.

He is the artiste with the comedic blood in him, just like Mejja. Alfayo is the guy behind the “I will rumour monger your dental nomenclature” frase,

through his hit song ‘physical’.

Apart from being a good and funny artist, most of us, his fans, don’t really know much about him. Well, here is his short self-written autobiography.

“Born & Raised in Kibera. Still Living in Kibera. I keep my head up.
Music is a Gift I treat with respect.
To me it is a cocktail(Music). My Style is my Voice….I use my Mother Tongue(LUO), Swahili, English, Sheng’ & any other language to compose my Songs.
I must jam with a Band. I must make live un-recorded music with a live band.

I have an open mind, when it comes to Music….if it sounds right it is recorded.
Music Heals my Soul… Plus I laugh A lot…Really hard at times…”

Well, there you have it.

The much anticipated video to the track ‘Fresh all day’ by Camp Mulla is…

well, not yet released but guess what (before you start cursing and all), the teaser is out just to get you all worked up.

I have to say, they are a real tease because I just can’t wait to see the whole video. These guys are simply awesome. On a level of there own. Check this out.

People have been asking themselves what it would look like if this sensational artists did  a collabo

, and the feeling is crazy.They both have originality and they are well known for helping and naturing young talent.

The king of genge featuring Juliani and the single is out. ‘Si siri’ is the song produced by Clemo from Calif records and the video should be out by today.

Juacali is thanking the Lord for what he has done. His been through thick and thin and eventually made it. Juliani brings the gospel aspect in the song. This is a big heat from big people. Truely Juakali ni baba yao.

JBlessing once again delivers for Mr Seed.

Gospel musician Mr Seed continues in his steady rise in music. This time with follow you. He maintains the Naija tip and delivers the song well with catchy tunes. His last song ‘WelloWello’ which featured Dunco and Ngashville, is still hot and on heavy rotation on radio and TV.

For such a young artist to have so many multiple hits, it comes to show that determination does pay off.

The video is done by prolific director JBlessing and livens up the song with great choreography and dance moves. It will definitely be on rotation soon enough.

While other producers are busy having fan, Wawesh is busy making beats all day long. Like Terry Linen, he got no time to linger.

He disappeared from the scene but only to go deeper into the music. from an artiste to a producer. He is now behind the scenes and making it even bigger. To all the haters, yeah, he is kind of like a big deal.

Wawesh today tweeted, “Notice that I’m very short with people on phone! No hard feelings.” He simply doesn’t have time away from his music. Perhaps that’s why his young daughter, Yome, is already on the mic following her dad’s footsteps.

Astar is on a mission to spread the word even farther..

 

Gospel artist Astar (Richard Njau) has been one of the most consistent gospel artists for the past few years. His Gospel rap delivery has been refreshing to the industry and has earned him numerous awards.

As he endeavors to reach millions more he has come up with a monthly event known as Mwapi Lounge Live. This live band event he collaborates with other artistes to give fans a new musical experience.

This months Mwapi Lounge Live will feature Kanji Mbugua. It will be at Luther Plaza, entrance fee 500 but for only 60people.

He has promised to give fans their money worth!

Meg C is back albeit with a brand new sound!

After a brief hiatus Meg C is back and with a new sound to her music. Known for hits such as ‘Elewa’, ‘Nipe’ Meg C has been off the scene for some time and has come back with a new sound(and look!)

Her new song ‘Love me’ has an electronic trance dance feel to it. The video is amazing and top quality, shot on the beach, it enhances the feel good quality of the song. I must admit it is different but definitely a good listen.

Lets now see how her fans will receive the song. Here are the lyrics.

Allegations were recently made that acknowledged radio presenter Shaffie Weru dismissed aspiring president Raphael Tuju at the recent Miss University Africa Beauty Pageant.

Turns out that all this was a fake story made up by Shaffie’s hater. Shaffie told sources that he has nothing against Youthful politician and that he had not dismissed him at all. He says that he wouldn’t say who he would be voting for as he would think about that at the Ballot Box… hehehe!

We have been singing this song for a couple of years in our churches but never so the video.Its a vibrant praising song

done by Judy Karanja and the title is Jesus the name above all names and was produced by Billy Frank.

The best part is after a long wait Judy released the video last week and is know in the stores. Its a hot video featuring DWAP dancers, they do show why indeed they are worthy to be dancers. it has a live performance setting giving you the praising feeling.If you watch this video you wouldn’t want to miss the praising session in your church if they do sing this song. 

I love the enthusiasm this guy has for charity work. Not only does he uplift people with his music, but he also goes extra miles to make their lives better. If Kenya was full of hearts like this, Uhuru and Ruto wouldn’t be where they are right now.

On January 30^Th, Jimmy was performing at a charity event meant to contribute to The International Day for The African Child, at Njabini. A Lot was made that day and EWD also contributed to that. Thank you Jimmy for your kind heart and love for your country.

Have a preview of what went down at the event right here.

He was one of the guys who brought real Hip Hop in Kenya to life (it was already there but not exploited), through the group Kalamashaka. These legendary rappers paved way for many other artistes who didn’t think they could make music in Swahili since we were all at that time influenced so much by the American music. Them and the likes of Hardstone made Kenyan music.

There reached a time when we were all wondering where these guys are. It’s almost like they just vanished. Well, Kama is here, minus dreadlocks but still lyrically fit. He has in the past few months done tracks with various artistes and also solo tracks. He has a single with Dunga titled ‘wanajaribu‘ and another with Judge titled ‘mad Jaluo‘, just to name a few.

He hasn’t changed his flow, and I’m still loving it. His latest skit called ‘hasira ya mkizi’ is one of my best from his music. Watch it below.

Social media is a good tool for reaching out to fans, but there is a right way, and a wrong way to do it. Here are the suicidal mistakes that I have noticed Kenyan artists make with their social media profiles:

 

Mistake 1. Joining a social network for the sake of presence:

 There are a few artists who join a social network because of peer pressure from other artists. You search their profile on Twitter, or Facebook and are glad to find only to discover an unattended, empty profile.

Solution: Understand that a social media requires a time commitment. You must take the time to fill out your profile in detail, and consistently update your fans on what you are doing currently.

A good example: Stella Mwangi, who’s Twitter account is verified, and she updates people on what she’s doing in the studio.

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Mistake 2: Connecting your Twitter account to all your social media accounts

Twitter is the most open social network around. This openness gives people the ability to automatically share their Twitter updates on their Facebook profile, LinkedIn profile and so on. The temptation for artists might be to lighten their social media workload by simply connecting, say their Twitter account to their Facebook account, such that their Twitter udpates appear as status updates on Facebook.

As lucrative as this sounds at first, this is a surefire way of alienating your Facebook fans, because Twitter has a very unique language and style. It does not make sense for a Facebook fan to see a ‘retweet’ on their profile, or a ‘hashtag.’

Solution: If you must have multiple social media profiles, take the time to update both of them separately. However, some artists’ circumstances don’t allow them to spend too much time on social media. It is perfectly reasonable for these artists to pick the social network that works best for them, and focus their energies on that one.

A good example: Nonini, who has a Facebook profile, page, group, Twitter page, YouTube channel, and Reverb Radio but takes the time to update them each with their own different status.

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Mistake 3: Spamming all your friends on Facebook with a link to your latest song

Before a new song gets traction, some Kenyan artists, both underground and established, tend to worry a bit, and post a YouTube/ Reverbnation link on nearly all their 3,000 friends’ profiles, telling them, “CHECK OUT MY NEW SONG.”

Solution: Promotion of a new song is a must, but the way Facebook works, if you just posted your song on your status every now and then, it would reach a significant number of your fans eventually. If you must post on individual profiles, post on influential people’s profiles.

A good example: Jua Cali, who when his new song ‘Baba Yao’ came out, he managed to restrain himself in terms of how much he linked to his song on Facebook.

We have two new kids in the block and yes they have already impressed me with what they have done

. We cannot write them off because what they`v done is good and quality stuff. They have released a video for there first single titled’Tunaifanya kwa upendo‘. The video is directed by Natty boi from Mnatty entertainment and honestly speaking its hot.The new kids are Icy and Specimen b and they are promising more music from them.With this kind of talent we expect our music industry to go a notch higher.

Secular turned gospel artiste, DNA is back to the radios. This time he’s come to claim his style of music as his own and non other’s.

He recently did a song(which is his latest track by the way), titled ‘photocopy’. It doesn’t have a video yet but is already a favourite to most wagenge. This is evident as the ‘photocopy’ lyrics  is the most popular lyric on our Ghafla!Lyrics site.

The song is about how most rappers come in with other rapper’s flow… not being original and all. He shows lyrically how his style is unique and one of a kind, as his chorus lyrics go,

Style ya mi, style yangu
ni style ya mi, si style yako
one in a million, ah yes
ni style unique
style oriji… hizo zenyu ni kucopy
style oriji…siwezi tumia photocopy

He has made it clear that he is now here to stay and is not leaving any time soon. So brace yourselves for more hits.