Month: December 2012

It’s the festive season and as some are buying Christmas trees, gifts and everything Christmas like, some of us are getting tarted up to the toe.

Dohty Family’s number one MC Kriss Darlin just got his tattoo done in South Africa and he couyldn’t hide his joy as he shared the photo on social media and everywhere else he could.

Check it out.

Juliani has been around and about the Kenyan hip hop scene for the longest time now. Since the genesis of Ukoo Flani till now, Juliani is till holding strong in the rap game.

Gospel has been his strong hold, though most like to refer to him simply as a conscious rapper since most of his songs are more of reality check than just ‘gospel’.

Call his music what you may, but the fact is, this guy provides the best of them. You just can’t get tired of trying to unravel his parabolic lyrics and bumping your head to his smooth and unique flow. It is this greatness that has held to his recognition all over the hip hop community in the world, landing him interviews with media houses all everywhere.

NTV’s Larry Madowo invited Juliani to his show, The Trend for an interview. In this interview, Juliani opens up about his music, personal life, relations with friends (both of the past and of the present).

If you ever wanted to know more about Juliani, this is the interview for you. He even opens up on his relationship with Mali actor, Brenda Wairimu and the fact that fans don’t think he is living the ‘gospel’ way of life. Hell, he even reveals that LC, the lass who featured in the song ‘Hela’, was his girlfriend. You wanna watch this.

This is definitely one of the hottest tracks of the year. And one of the most star-studded we have seen yet. Dora, STL, Muthoni DQ and Xtatic have just released their new single, Go Hard Anthem.

The video for the new single which will be one of the tracks off her upcoming mixtape, Dare tO dReAm, has already been shot. The video is directed by Mushking FX who was also behind the lens for Juliani’s Exponential Potential and Yvonne Darcq’s Suffocating.

As Xtatic says, “the video is about power to the females.” And Dora adds, “It’s a female-empowering song as well as a Kenyan-empowering song.” The video was shot on 23rd November in Karen and will be out next Friday. As we wait for the release, check out behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot below.
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Kenyans do love partying, and when it comes to public holidays, especially one that marks the day we attained our independence, we leave no one behind.

As we celebrated our independence here in Kenya, so did the rest of Kenyans all over the world. The joy was felt worldwide as Kenyans gathered wherever they were to celebrate this patriotic and proud day.

Check out some of the photos of Kenyans celebrating Jamhuri Day in Madrid.

Amileena has been occupied in recent months as part of the Out Of Africa musical troupe that toured Europe for most of the last half of this year.

She is now back with a brand new single, Hali Mahututi. The track was promised to be released immediately after her return and they have kept their end of the bargain. From the preview, it was expected that the single was going to be something special. And it delivers. After just a few listens, its catchiness and anthem potential is evident.

The guest artiste can now be revealed to be King wa Rap mwenyewe, Collo. A video for Hali Mahututi is set to be shot soon and released at Amileena Unplugged, her upcoming show. Check the new single below.

Bobby Mapesa put the Eastlands hood on the musical map in Kenya and proved to be another hit maker who just had the magic touch. That was until he dissapeared from the music scene.

We loved Mapesa for his lyrics and flow which exposed whatever he intended to expose clearly. This guy is not shy at all when it comes to rapping his mind out. Kinda like how Nonini was when he fisrt got into music. Remember the dirty and ‘out there’ lyrics? Yeah!

Well, Bobby Mapesa might just be planning to make his comeback and he has started this by featuring in a friend’s track. The track is titled ‘Lovie lovie’ and he has collaborated with M.O.B in it.

Check out the video below and tell us what you think about Bobby Mapesa’s possible come-back.

Kenzo and Mustafa were not so pleased with this weekend’s concert at the Multimedia University which is based in Rongai.

The two were performing at this concert dubbed as the end year party along other artistes like Jay A and Rabbit aka Kaka Sungura. The concert went down last week on Friday (14th December) during the night and all the artistes performed as scheduled.

What Kenzo and Mustafa did not know was that they were all performing before Rabbit. Kaka Sungura was infact the main artiste of the concert and he was scheduled to perform the last, just like all the show stoppers do.

This did not go well with the two. Rabbit had been passing time in his car all through the concert, only to appear backstage when Mustafa was done thrilling his fans. As he stepped down the stage, he was shocked to see Rabbit get the mic and prepare to get on stage. What’s even worse, Rabbit killed it on stage and left the fans crying for more, which never happened when the others performed.

Kenzo and Mustafa, according to reliable sources, saw this as disrespect by the organisers and deejays and they could be heard complaining on why Rabbit had to be the one to close the show, therefore insinuating that he is much bigger than all the artistes at the concert.

Rabbit was however not offended by any of these as we came to find out this morning after we had contacted him. According to him, they should be judging by the performance they pulled and in this case, Rabbit held it down like a King.

Just a few months after releasing her debut single, Oyela (Rise), Dora has featured the biggest female artistes in the Kenyan hip hop scene on her latest single.

Go Hard Anthem features Sweden based Kenyan rapper, STL; top singer, rapper and urban music artiste, Muthoni DQ and Sony Music Group/ROCKSTAR 4000-signee and one of 2012’s biggest discoveries, Xtatic.

Go Hard Anthem is the third single released off Dora’s upcoming mixtape, Dare tO dReAm. The track was written by Dora Obwaka, Stella Mwangi, Gloria Edna Mecheo and Muthoni Ndonga while the production was by Arnold Omodho and Dora Obwaka herself. Listen to the banging new track below.

Though far away from home, Attitude is still making it happen in the States. Getting Kenyan on the musical map in another state is no easy task but Attitude seems to be handling it well so far.

On the verge of unleashing his latest album, ‘Margaronaz and Marijuana’ which will be dropping in February next year, Attitude has just released his first video off that album.

The song is titled ‘Green Light’ and he has collaborated with an American rapper who goes by the name ‘Scott Free’.

The video was shot in downtown ATL (Atlanta) and is finally viewable. Check it out below.

Despite Jah Cure thrilling fans with an above average performance and therefore making the entrance fee worthwhile, it still remains that it was pretty expensive for the average reggae fan.

Though this is no problem to some of the revellers who believe in getting value for their money (in this case being potent and reliable security for a couple of Gs), most of the reggae revellers couldn’t attend the Jah Cure concert that was held recently at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.

Jah Cure will be coming back to Kenya, this time bringing with him one of the biggest reggae artistes, Duane Stephenson. The two will be performing together at the Nyayo National Stadium on the 16th of February 2013 for the World Cry Peace Tour.

More good news comes with this concert. Not only will two huge reggae artistes be performing at the same venue, but it will also be affordable for the average person.

Advance tickets will be going for Sh. 800,while the remaining tickets (if there will be any at that time) will be sold at the gate for Sh. 1200.
The V.I.P tickets will go for Sh 2000.

Now, there is no excuse to miss this huge concert. Legoooo!

So, Attitude has just announced the album launch date and released the anticipated album art cover.

His album, ‘Margaronaz & Marijuana’ (MnM) will be launched on the 1st of February 2013.

The simple album art work is now available for all to see. Here is it (click photo to enlarge).

What better way for a rapper to remain consistent and relevant to the music industry than to drop a new video mixtape every other week? I gotta hand it to this Bamboo guy, he’s really smart about his music.

Bamboo commenced his ‘Mixtape Fridays’ project two weeks ago after he dropped the first one, titled ‘chicks’. Simple beat, simple flow, for a simple mixtape.

Nothing is simple about this second mixtape though. This one, ‘Brighter Day’ goes all in. Almost like an official single. I feel sad for the rest of the rappers. Competing lyrically with a dude that will be dishing out mixtapes every week, that’s trouble.

Check out Bamboo’s latest mixtape right here… ‘BRIGHTER DAY’.

I had a sit-down interview yesterday with Kenzo where he told me how his Leavers Bash gig went down last week.

During the leavers bash, Kenzo chatted up someone who appeared to be a fan of his. The club owner told him to watch out for that woman. He wondered about this warning, asking the club owner, “is she a prostitute?” To which he was told, “No, but you just watch out for that girl.”

At that point, Kenzo had not performed, and he has a policy of not drinking before he performs. They chatted with the lady until they both parted ways at the end of the night and headed home.

In the morning he received a call from a man with a Swahili accent asking, “Is this Kenzo?” to which he agreed. When he asked who he was speaking to, Kenzo was told not to be asking such questions. The Swahili man asked him whether he knew the woman he was with the previous night. Kenzo answered that yes, he had spoken with her during the bash. The Swahili stranger then asked, “so why didn’t she return home last night? And the last time she was seen, it was with you. Listen Kenzo, I can end your life.”

Upon hearing that, Kenzo was obviously perturbed, leading him to hang up the phone. The Swahili man called back, asking Kenzo why he dared cut the phone call. Kenzo said that, “of course if you threaten my life, it doesn’t help me in any way.” The coastal guy told Kenzo that the woman who had disappeared was his wife. “Kenzo, are you still in Mombasa? If you are still in Mombasa, you’d better run away, and never come back.” Kenzo wasn’t having any of that. He told the guy off, saying that he wasn’t running anywhere, and was even extending his trip by two days.

After the whole trip was over, Kenzo thought of asking Safaricom to help him solve the issue. The Safaricom representatives found out that the SIM card that had been used to call Kenzo had been used once, then rendered inactive.

On arrival at the airport, Kenzo was called again by an unknown number. It was the Swahili man once again. He gave Kenzo a severe dressing down, but eventually, he said that he would let Kenzo go this time, but he should watch out. On consulting with Beyonce from coast, she suggested that he may be a drug dealer with connections.

Story still developing…

Yesterday, at State House, President Mwai Kibaki awarded 246 awards for distinguished service.

Iddi Achieng was one of those 246 Kenyans to receive said commendations. She was awarded the Head of State Commendation (HSC) in recognition of her services to the country from a musical standpoint.

The awards that were handed out by the soon to be former president Mwai Kibaki varied from the Elder of the order of the Golden Heart (EGH) to Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS), Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) to the HSC that Iddi Achieng was awarded.

We here at Ghafla wish to congratulate all the recipients of the prestigious awards and especially Iddi Achieng. And if you want to catch Iddi Achieng this week why not swing by the Fusion Nights? She’ll be this performing this Friday 14th December from 7 to 11pm and then consequently starting next week every Thursday Nite at Langi Langi Bar and Restaurant, Argwings Kodhek Road Opposite Hurlingham Plaza.

Ever wondered what goes on before a huge performance? What the artistes have to do to ensure that you have a good time when they perform for you?

Well, check out photos of the rehearsals for the approaching Niko na Safaricom Live Nairobi concert at the Impala Grounds.

Photos from Phatbuzz Wazup.

Cartel is back with his comedic antics in his latest track. Remember we alerted you guys earlier on the fast approaching new Cartel hit from the Katenga Entertainment studios? It’s finally here.

The track titled ‘Rescue’ has just been released as they still work on the video which is said to be, like the rest of Cartel’s videos, straight up on point and lavish. What else would you expect from a real Luo man. But do I say.

Rescue has that dance/ trance feel to it. The kind that makes you move your body to the beats involuntarily, whether you are in the mood or not. Cartel comes through with his usual hilarious persona, talking about how sly men are these days when it comes to evading the wives.

Check out the new track below and tell us what you think of this music.

The Ghafla trolls are back and this time, it is all about Jua Cali and his new acquired swag.

Here, Jua Cali rests. After a long day in the studio. What better way to clear your head than to chill with a couple of boys in the sauna.

(Photos from Pulse Magazine).

Remember DJ Lastborn? Yeah, he has been MIA from the mainstream media for a while now, but we can never forget this legend of a DJ.

He is one of the biggest names in the Kenyan reggae and dancehall deejay circles. Infact, he is quite huge in the entire Kenyan reggae and dancehall circles.

Just found out that this DJ legend has his own website. How lost have I been not to know this. Anyway, turns out that his website is also a hit, just like his famous mixtapes.

Here, click this link to check out the website.

So, Lutan Fyah was in Mombasa for quite a while courtesy of Ken Ring (Swedish based Kenyan rapper) as they shot the video for their collaborative track, ‘poverty’.

STL was also part of the video and the entire brief holiday that they had. Lutan Fyah then passed by PiliPili FM which is based in Malindi and git to be interviewed by Mkhwasi Papa and Captain Swaleh.

Here is how the interview went down.

So last night there was a party for the launch of a new music scratchcard service named Mdundo, and all the top celebrities were there. Frasha, Eric Wainaina, Mbuvi, Wendy Kimani and others performed at the event. Alongside the Mdundo launch was a small fashion show conducted by Closet49, a brand new fashion website.

There were multiple sections in the venue. Abbas and Bamboo were chilling in a shisha bar, while Octopizzo and I were having a small chat right outside it. During our chat, we were approached by one of the fashion designers, a man named Miss Jay. You may also remember Miss Jay as Jackson Irungu from Tusker Project Fame season 2 and 3. He was a skinny, dark guy with a high voice who tried for TPF twice, but failed at the initial stages both times. Here is his photo:

Image courtesy CNN.

So Jackson, aka Miss Jay, came to chat with us, and this guy is one interesting character. First of all there’s the fact that he refers to himself as ‘Miss.’ Also, he is a self-confessed gay fellow, who wears lipstick, had on a female hairstyle, and was wearing women’s clothes. I’m very liberal and don’t have any problem with gay people, so I entertained his presence, and Octo seemed cool with him as well. But suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a guy named ‘Roba’ came with an iPhone asking to quickly take a photo of the three of us, Octo, Miss Jay and myself. We took the photo, only to see the iPhone being handed back to Bamboo. When Octopizzo saw this, he was enraged. “I just knew it was Bamboo who sent for that photo to be taken!” he said. I tried to calm him down, but he was having none of it.

He immediately confronted Bamboo in a shouting match, demanding that the photo be deleted. As you may know, Abbas and Octo had beef not so long ago, so Abbas had no qualms about joining in the fight. The shouting match continued for about 10-20 minutes to the bewilderment of the pretty white girls who were hanging with Abbas, and it was about to come to blows, but everyone recognized they were in the presence of business partners, so Octopizzo said that he was willing to take it outside. “If he wants a fight, we’ll give him a fight, we’re not scared” Abbas said, albeit in sheng. Octopizzo proceeded to the parking lot to wait for the two to come down.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Bamboo and Abbas were engaged in some business chat soon after, and they did not go to confront Octo outside. They all went there separate ways and the violence was avoided.

A listening party for one of the year’s most anticipated hip hop albums, Urban Prayers, was recently held by Rigga. The rapper’s sophomore effort is set to drop on 16/12/12 with pre-orders being taken here.

Rigga’s debut album, The Awakening, came out in 2007. Since then he’s been part of Hip Hope with Juliani and did school tours with the group and K-Krew. He has also been a member of ChitChat with Astar and Dee. Rigga has also been in school studying and is soon to be admitted to the bar.

Urban Prayers is produced mostly by Jaaz “That Guy” Odongo of Sound Mind Studios. Jaaz’s work can also be seen in the work of Fena Menal and The Freedom Mixtape. In attendance at the listening party were Njugush from K-Krew, producer Tim Rimbui, DJ Pinye and DJ Fresh from KenyanGospel.com among others. Click on the album artwork to enlarge.

Like I said, this is the year most long lost artistes are getting back to their music and things happen. Kantai has done it, Attitude did it, Mr. Lenny is still on it and now, Rat a tat is doing it.

The female rapper blew to fame through Calif Records back when it was still in it’s toddler years. Nothing much is known about her absence in the music industry, but right now, all that doesn’t matter. Rat a tat is back.

Infact, she has just dropped her latest music video for the track ‘The One’ in which she has collaborated with rapper, The Herbalist.

It seems she followed suit by leaving Calif Records, along with the other departed artistes. She did this new song at Herbal Records, which also came up during Calif Records’ time.

Check out Rat a tat’s new video below.