Month: March 2012

Redsan

Ever been to a Redsan concert? Those who have will be able to attest to his ability to drive the female section of the crowd WILD with anticipation as he belts out his latest hits. His Jamaican patois lyrics may be slightly hard to understand, but whenever the ladies can’t hear him, they still have his buff body to look at.

 

 

 

Chimano

Chimano may be a small man, but his big, booming bass voice is his main competitive advantage. Whenever he starts his verses in Sauti Sol songs, women are left gasping for breath from the shock and awe. Whether he is wearing suits or skinnys, his dress sense is always up to date, endearing him to the younger crowd.

 

 

 

Frasha

The self-proclaimed ‘King wa Flow’ has won over many Kenyan women with his confident delivery more than anything. They say there is nothing sweeter than forbidden fruit, so perhaps when he said, “Mmh, ha, nisha-marry” it increased his appeal!

 

 

Tony MOG

Despite being involved with a controversial case last year where he was accused of having a baby out of wedlock, his urban Christian fanbase still scream his name whenever he comes up on stage. After he admitted to being the father of the baby, MOG temporarily suspended him from the group, but eventually took him back after a short while. Maybe the female MOG fans were complaining about his absence?

 

 

Holy Dave

Kind-heartedness is a much desired trait in men, so when Dave Muthengi launched his Holy Dave Foundation, many ladies must have gone, “aww, how sweet!” With those pink lips and chunky bod, he’s got a touch of LL Cool J about him. What’s not to like?

Live music in the purest and most powerful sense of the word. A melting pot of songs with special Nairobi spice, that never fails to bring fans to their feet. Sauti Sol are a magnetic, magical experience to behold.

These four young, passionate musicians launched their career in Kenya’s eclectic capital city, Nairobi, and over the past three years, have brought forth two albums, a European tour, television appearances and countless hours of media coverage.

There’s no cultural stereotypes to be found here, merely a unique confidence and fuel for their gift of music. Sauti Sol offers an accessible and internationally appealing spin on world music. Their albums, Sol Filosofia (2011) and Mwanzo (2008), both of which were extremely successful on Kenyan charts and gained international attention, showcase content reflective of the choices, consequences and challenges that face Kenyan youth today.

In March of 2011, Sauti Sol accepted an exclusive invitation to perform at the South By Southwest Music Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, marking their first American appearance. Celebrated by a host of bloggers, fans and fellow artists as the most entertaining and best dressed act at the festival, Sauti Sol were already invited to return to the 2012 edition that just ended.

Have a look at the SXSW compilation video that was by Social HAE here… (below)

Remember the hot song that I did a review on last week (read related article)… that was to be released by the end of that same week?… Well, Autopilots just made it happen.

They have finally delivered the video for the track ‘life kwa mtaa’ just as they had promised. The music is hot, all about the life of a youth in the hood, and guess what? The video ain’t disappointing either. It’s all you would want to see in a hip hop video, at least from new artistes.

Did I mention that this is Autopilot’s first ever single. You have to apreciate this awesome work. The lyrics are off the hook as well. Just take a look.

Nonini does great things when it comes to promoting other artistes or even introducing them to the music scene. He brought us P Unit, who are now stars on their own, all thanks to Nonini for getting them out here.

He has now introduced yet another female artiste to the Kenyan music scene and she goes by the name of Annette (read more about it).

What is even better is that Nonini has made it very simple to get the song (for those that don’t have it yet). It is free to download on his website noninimusic.com or better yet, just download it directly from here.

She is blessed with the voice, beauty and acting talent but what we don’t know is that she also has a big heart.

The Ogopa deejay’s queen, Avril

made sure that she did put a smile to her little fan called baby Jasmine.

The little fan wanted Avril to attend her birthday but the diva was busy as she was on her county tour.

Avril decided to make it up to little Jasmine, so she organized with the father to bring her at Junction mall.

Jasmine was lost with words when she saw Avril and couldn’t believe it. She got to spend quality time with the beautiful diva over a cup of frozen yogurt.

Avril bought her a matching bracelet so they could both remember each other.

There is nothing sweet as making someone smile. This a good gesture from the Ogopa Diva for making someone smiles.

This is one of the rare Hip Hop tracks that manages to be hardcore and funny at the same time. Fusing real Hip Hop with humor through out the song is something we rarely see. Labalaa just delivered the Nyeri situation with serious yet funny lyrics.

The song ‘sura yangu’ talks about how the women have now turned to punishing their men. It gets funnier as Labalaa illustrates how the battered men try to justify the shame to their palz in the streets. Oh, and Agano, the other half of Wakamba Wawili plays the battered man in the video.

Labalaa uses the full capacity of his base voice in the track which goes well with the hard beats. “Usinichape baby, nitafua zako chupi usinichape baby”, this is my favorite line in the track. Check it out.

V.K.P is the newest gospel music group in Kenya made up of three real brothers; Fatha lody, Walman and Trigga. Their style is a fusion of new school ragga,street hip hop and R n B.The group dates its musical journey back to the year 2002 but V.K.P was officially formed in August 2009.

V.K.P means ‘Vijana Kwa Pulpit’ and have a clear motto:

‘Vijana tusimame tujiPULL toka kwa pit hadi kwa pulPIT’

Meet the Brothers:

Fatha lody:

A new school ragga artiste and motivational speaker/peer counselor. He is 24 years old and an Economics graduate from the University of Nairobi. Lody takes care of public relations and networking for the music group.

Walman:

The 21 year old lead singer of the group and a great vocalist. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Design at the University of Nairobi. He does online co-ordination and social networking for the group.

Trigga:

This 19 year old’s name TRIGGA stands for Teach,Rebuke, Inspire, Guide & Go Ahead. A recipient of the 2010 Presidential Award for the Most disciplined and Industrious boy at Starehe Boys’ Centre, he is a pillar of the music group and the official Ambassador for the Tafuta Answer for Cancer Awareness Campaign

V.K.P is currently working with Saint P of HomeBoyz Studios, and have a new single called ‘Fantasy’. The song is one meant to encourage individuals in times of struggles, seen through the eyes of a young woman who put all her trust in her man only to be grossly disappointed and be pushed to the brink.

Have a look at the video EXCLUSIVELY and first right here and tell us what you think… (below)

Doing one thing for a very long time gets really old. You eventually want to explore new grounds that your talents can adapt to. Some of our celebrities have a lot of these talents and as they have shown, are not afraid to explore them.

Some usually do this not completely sure that they will make it in another profession. But some are sure of what they are doing and they go for it head first. Take for instance some of our artistes that have added acting to their list of careers. Nonini is one of them, playing a part in the action movie ‘Kila Mmoja’. Avril and vallerie Kimani are stars in the hit series ‘Shuga:Love Sex and Money’. We all know Patricia from TPF. She now acts in most music videos and has proved to be great in both fields (music and acting).

However, the vise verse also occurs. Who knew that some of our best actors might just turn out to be some of the greatest musicians? We first knew Anto Neosoul from the series ‘SIRI’ that aired on Citizen TV. ‘Shuga’ then followed. Right now, Anto has multiple songs to his name and are favorites to most people. Check out Nick Mutuma from almost every film and series in Kenya. He just dropped his first official track that promises to be a huge hit (read more about it here).

Kevin Samuel from the NTV hit series ‘MALI’ and M-Net series ‘Changes’, to my surprise, is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard. Why he’s not putting in more time on music, I honestly don’t Know. Check out his song ‘Believer’ below this article.

Multi talented artists they all are.

It is now confirmed that Supremacy Sounds has finally unleashed their latest weapon. Deejay Juan is the mastermind behind the 3rd Volume of ‘Confirmation’,the mix tape, having mixed and produced it.

Good thing is that you don’t have to go around town looking for where to purchase the mix.  You can download it for free directly from here.

Celebrated award winning group, Sauti Sol jetted into the country to day morning to a rather rare surprise welcome as they had to witness

JKIA workers stealing from people when offloading their luggages.

When they saw this they reported the matter to the relevant authority even though nothing of theirs was missing.

The group told word that they couldn’t believe that a thing like that could still happen in Kenya as we are spending a lot of cash to try and bring more tourists in the country.

This was a good gesture from Sauti Sol and we should all emulate them and take care of our country Kenya no matter what.

He is among the most celebrated artistes in the country and he’s popularly known for introducing fresh talents in the music industry like P-Unit and Mimmo.

The Genge God Father, Nonini has a brand new single ‘pole pole’ featuring a new talented artiste Annette. This single is part of his fourth coming Album titled mdundo za kibiashara. Listen to the song here.

The song is tight as the God Father maintained his style, while the melodious Annette proved why she featured in this collabo.

Nothing is known about her but Nonini said that we should watch the space.

We salute you, Nonini for giving the fresh talent a chance.

We know them as the music comedians, always tickeling us with their lyrics and videos sunny acts. Remember ‘do not touch my car’ or better yet ‘chonga viazi’? This were some of the greatest hits from this all boy group.

Now, all that seems to have changed. Their new song ‘marry you’ which features Qevianno is more of a romantic song than comedy. Infact, there is no comedy at all. We are not complaining. The song is actually good and the video is too, but it honestly can’t be compared to Boomba Clan’s all time hits like ‘does your mother know’.

Despite all that, we are glad to have Boomba Clan back in the scene. I’m hoping more music is coming our way. Check out their new track ‘marry you’ below.

It’s no secret that Kenya has a love for reggae music, and what better way to cement this relationship than to have home grown artistes develop a home grown form of this genre… Meet Danty Cluive, a dancehall/reggae recording and a performing artiste who has been in the music industry for the past 8 years.

Growing up listening to the likes of Freddie McGregor, Bob Marley, and Lucky Dube among others, Danty fell in love with the reggae and dancehall genre.

His latest works include an EP album titled “LINK UP” which comprises 8 songs varying from reggae to dancehall style. The EP which is being released this week will see this talented young artiste give out his all in every song. Danty also happens to be a professional dancer.

Like they say, “The Sky is the limit” but for him this is just the beginning. This is definitely one artiste to look out for!

Have an EXCLUSIVE first listen to his single ‘Link Up’ off the Movie Star Riddim below…

She’s been away for too long and we had already started missing her. Just as we were about to forget about her, she made a comeback and officially announced her return. I don’t know what exactly Mercy Myra has been doing but it has something to do with ‘living her life’.

Her voice is off the hook, great appearance and embraces the African culture. A true African queen I would say. Mercy now has an upcoming music release titled ‘African tango’ that should be out this month.

She now has a new producer, Brandy Arvin just should get the job done perfectly, as she says. Things are looking up and I can’t wait to hear the new song and others that are on their way. Welcome back Mercy.

Mercy Myra talks about all this and more in the video below. Check it out.

The multi-talented Nick Munene Mutuma, actor, singer and rapper, has dropped his first track ‘254 Anthem’ which premiered at 5.20pm last evening on 97.1 One FM in Nairobi.

The single, which features back ground vocals from the soulful songtress Lyra Aoko, is a tribute to his country as he also gives mentions to prominent Kenyan personalities such as Mike Sonko and Shaffie Weru.

The fluid flow of the song, continuing a growing trend of a new musical niche in Kenyan music, makes it a BIG hit…at least we think so. Have a FIRST listen to it right here (below) and tell us what you think

Sad news has filtered down to our newsroom, where we have learnt that G-Money’s mother was pronounced dead earlier today.

 G-Money himself confirmed the news via his Facebook page, where he released a touching statement which read:

 

“Today I lost the woman who made me the man I am, Mom, I celebrate your life. I thank you for the teachings, the beatings 🙂 , and the values that you gave me. Most of all, I thank you for loving me and teaching me what true love is. I know I will mourn, but as you once told me “don’t cry, pray” – Thank you.”

 

The cause of death is yet to be confirmed, but we will keep you updated via this post. For now, you may drop a condolence message to the dancehall radio presenter in our comment section below.

They shoot a video and everybody can’t wait to see them in action. It might be their faces, their curves, their walk and talk, but it’s definitely not about their character. It’s all about the heat they bring to the music scene that’s got our heads turning and so the countdown starts…

1. We first saw her in Mustafa’s video ‘mtaani dot com’. We loved her smile, her voice, up until
the camera showed her whole body, then we just loved her. The scandal about her sexuality only spiced things up instead of damaging. Straight or not, she is one beautiful sexy lady. ‘Kitu kimoja‘ says it all.

2. “Come take a lookie lookie. Come take a lookie here.” We certainly did, and we liked. Stella Mwangi is a one of a kind lady. Strong, bold and beautiful… a perfect combination for a female artiste especially one that goes international. Kantedda missed out on this one.

3. The fact that she is a born again Christian and does gospel music doesn’t mean that we’ll not say she is hot. Kambua deserves it and Mbuvi can attest to this. Too bad the cliff was too steep for him on this case. This is Divine beauty. I will say no more.

4. They say the Coast holds most of a country’s beauty. I don’t know about that but I will not
argue when it comes to Habida. The skin tone is just but the tip of the ice berg. Everything else
she has to offer comes first. Just check out her video with Cannibal, ‘My Reason‘ and I am sure we’ll be on the same page.

5. Let’s just imagine that we didn’t see the infamous photos that were posted on the net a
while back (good luck with that), and see Kaz as she is… sweet and sexy. She is model quality and we don’t really care about the past. She is blazing hot.

Ladies and gentlemen (mostly gentlemen)… that is heat for you right there. #word

I don’t want to believe that some of our artistes may just be washed up, but according to this guy, Louis Armstrong, it might just be true. Then again, they might just be one-hit wonders and are waiting for their next big break.

Some of our artistes unfortunately fall under this category. I think it is about time these artistes did something in the studios and prove us wrong. We had started thinking that Kantai was among them until he recently came back to the scene in collaboration with the Hip Hop group Halaiki Family on ‘Halali mziki’.

Still, I tend to disagree with this. i don’t believe music can run out of an artiste. Maybe inspiration.

I love African music. When I say African music, I mean cultural/Afro music away from Hip Hop and all that (which is also good). When artistes decide to go back to their roots and do a song that reflects to our culture and lifestyle, it just defines music.

Aziza and Anto Neosoul did just that when they collaborated to bless us with this song ‘Engineer Penja’. First of all, this song is entirely in the Luo language. The fact that Anto Neosoul (a Kikuyu) sings so well in Luo with awesome ad-libs shows mad talent and skill. Clearly they were both born for this.

This Luo classic opens our eyes on the injustices that we face in our country and the world in general. Talking about how the politician puts himself before the people’s troubles as we are now used to. “Get off the road mama, the man with the Prado is coming,” an African child tells his mother in the village as Aziza and Anto illustrate.

I am crazy for this song and I don’t understand the Luo language. Lucky for me and other fans that love this beautiful song, there is a lyrics video that has both Luo and English translated lyrics. How considerate. I can’t stop hitting the replay tab and that’s probably why I’m not even trying. This is so far the best Afro Fusion song I’ve heard in my time. It goes straight to the top of my playlist.

Thank you Anto Neosoul and Aziza for this wonderful song. #Bliss

Most of Octopizzo’s punchlines have been tweeted and made status updates. Guys like me just can’t have enough of his music. The fact that we keep on talking and sharing his punchlines all over the social media simply means that he’s lyrically established.

“Walidhani waki-buy Subaru wataacha Legacy…”, this right here is one of my favorite Octo lines. Clearly he has a different approach to grabbing fans than most artistes. Some use humor, others just turn on their floss mode, others just threaten other rappers (intimidation), but Octopizzo chooses to put them all in a set of punchlines.

Octo said it himself, “I use punchlines and metaphors to entertain my fans…”, something like a poet. Well, it is evident that we are entertained and as long as they (punchlines) keep coming, we ain’t going nowhere. “Wana-luck originality ka photocopy…”.

Get more of Octopizzo’s punchlines here.

It is finally here. The Uganda Kenya collaboration we’ve all been waiting for. He always keeps us on our feet. No time to sit down. Always gets us tipsy with his music and gives us more and more reason to go out and get drunk every weekend. Kind of a bad influence, but we love him just like that.

Madtraxx is a hit maker. Keko from Uganda is kind of like the same thing. What happens when the two link up and have an agenda of making you dance?… Well, you just get up and dance whether you like it or not. It is not a choice really because the song ‘make you dance’ will definitely do just that. This Ugandan Kenyan collaboration will light up all clubs in both countries. ‘Make you dance’ is basically house music and is just meant for partying.

Keko does her thing in the first and second verses, rapping fast and hyped up. Madtraxx drops in on the third verse with his funny and cool lyrics, inciting us to get wasted as usual… can’t
believe I always fall victim to the peer pressure in his music. I have a feeling this time won’t be any different. Have a listen to it below.

Many artistes and celebrities in general have been in the front line on the war against hunger in Africa. Here in Kenya we have witnessed most of our celebrities take part in activities with this agenda, the most active being Jimmy Gait. We have to acknowledge all these efforts despite the fact that we still have a long way to go in winning this fight.

Last year around September, Kimya Miyaki rolled up his sleeves and joined the fight. Doing what he does best, he delivered his cries for the people through hard Urban Hip Hop. In Swahili, Kimya expresses his view on the ignorant politicians that live well while many more die of hunger each day, on the song ‘maliza njaa’ off the album ‘A moment of Silence’. Yes, it’s the same old cry, but wait till you hear the beat and the flow that comes with it. It captures you on a whole different level.

The song completely took me over immediately when Kimya shuts the door and the beat kicks off. The movie like theme of the video and Kimya rapping directly to the camera takes the message straight to the attention of the viewer. The expression on his face clearly states that this ain’t no laughing matter. A serious issue at hand that needs attention. Through the streets of Nairobi, rap walks through.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Hip Hop is here. It was never dead or gone. This is
Hip Hop. Check it out.

Actor, entertainer and now musician, Nick Mutuma, will be releasing his first single ‘254 anthem’ this evening.

Reaching this milestone, the actor, who needs no introduction, said the song will be featured on the 97.1 One FM segment ‘Hit or Miss’ this evening, 20th March 2012, from 5.00pm.

Nick has been busy with his acting career, featuring in a host of shows including ‘Changes’ and ‘Shuga: Love Sex Money’. He is also the brand ambassador of Dance 4 Life.

Word on Twitter has been that gospel singer and charity enthusiast Jimmy Gait is gay according to one of his followers named Michael Maina…(is it just me or are all Mainas gay?….#justsaying).

This were however desperate allegations by a desparate homosexual man in need of another man. The man claimed that he had a ‘thing’ with Jimmy. Most people have always speculated about Jimmy Gait’s sexuality catalyzed by his dressing (very skinny jeans and colourful attire). Well, that’s just the new generation fashion for you. Hate it or love it.

Jimmy told Word Is that he has a girlfriend whom he loves so much and has never had any desire of a man and that even the thought of it sickens him. He also said that he once had a male stalker and it sounds like it is now a routine. With what I see in the streets of Nairobi these days, I’m not surprised at all.

We have nothing against the gay community but everyone would really appreciate it if you guys didn’t ruin successful lives.

Remember Bob Marley’s ‘One Love’ hit single? I don’t think there is anyone in this world that hasn’t heard of it. Anyway, the message from the song is clear and strong…

“let’s stay together to maintain the love”. It is this exact message that beautiful Kelmah and reggae artiste General Pype have brought once again.

The video for the Kelmah’s ‘one love’ is simply original and realistic and so are the lyrics. Talking about and showing what happens in Kenya on a daily basis, the violence in general, they are simply creating awareness through music. Reggae music.

Using kids and a baloon to express love among the community, ‘one love’ is well delivered.

Kenyan songstress Mimmo has released her latest single titled ‘Nakupenda’. The 2008 Kisima Award winner, who also happens to be a news editor at Hot 96 FM, revealed that is a song off her upcoming album ‘Finding Me More’.

Have a listen to the new single right below and tell us what your verdict is…

Kubamba Krew DJ Johni Celeb is the latest celeb to involve him self into charity work. He’s partnered with

Food 4 Education Trust Fund to offer lunch meals to primary school children in Ruiru town.

The meals are offered at Prevailing Word Church which is about 300m from the school.

We should be applauding our celebs who give their time and resources to the less fortunate. This is the way forward and we should emulate them.

Let’s support this initiative as they only rely on donations from well wishers. 

Kenyan gospel group Be My Faithful ones (BMF) have just announced that the release of their highly anticipated album ‘Rise Up’, scheduled to be out today has been postponed.

Patrick Maina, a member of BMF simply wrote on his Twitter feed:

‘Our sincerest apologies to everyone and all #TeamBMF, due to unavoidable circumstances the album will not be out today but it will, #Pray4us.’

In 2009, BMF was nominated at the annual Groove Awards in the new artist/group category and the song ‘Njoo’ was nominated in the reggae/ragga song of the year.

In 2010, BMF was nominated again at the Groove Awards in the group of the year category with the song ‘Mpenzi wa Surprise’.
BMF has also worked with different children homes and organizations for charity events, most notably Mathare Child Development Center(MCDC) and Cheryl’s Childrens Home.

Checkout ‘Mpenzi wa Surprise’ lyrics here >>

Have a look at their previous video ‘Mpenzi wa Surprise’ below…

US rapper, Nas sang that hip hop is dead and even tried to justify the reasons but if you listen to Khaligraph Jones new single,

‘Everyday’ then you will dispute Nas argument.

A Kenyan born and brought up in Kayole, Jones raps about the hardship we go through in life and how bad governance is affecting the common man.

This brother has the lyrics and the sky is the limit for him. You might think he’s an international artiste because his flow and lyrics is out of this world.

Musicians are always surrounded by people who want to tell their story. Whether it’s a publicist, a manager, an agent, a label rep, a journalist or a friend, it seems no one hesitates to share their take on you and your work. But the most powerful voice is your own, as TechCrunch states.

As the SXSW 2012 was underway, Twitter unveiled Twitter for Musicians and Artists, a page offering tips on how musicians can use the service to connect with their fans.
Even if you’re not a world-famous musician, many of the suggestions given are practical and could help you bolster your career. These include the basics such as including photos, tweeting from events, using hashtags and most importantly (we think), replying to your fans!

Tweet your music

Twitter declares that it provides more authenticity and creative control than any other online medium, describing itself as “the artist’s voice empowered”.
Of course, artists who see Twitter as their “true” platform for interacting directly and authentically with fans, and for breaking news, aren’t just building a following — they’re driving attention and traffic for Twitter itself.
Twitter has been periodically rolling out how-to pages like this, starting with a general Twitter 101 page for businesses, and, more recently, specialized sites like Twitter for Newsrooms.

Have a look at Twitter for Musicians and Artists