People Who Say Kenyan Music Is Crap Are Not Very Smart. Here’s Why:
Yeah, I said it. Idiots. The reason for my strong choice of words is basically a retaliation to the strong choice of words used when haters try and put down Kenyan music and the artists behind it. Poking fun at our art industry used to be a marginally funny joke, but it has now become a tired old complaint.
For someone to say that Kenyan music is crap in this day and age, shows that persons lack of perspective. Opinions such as these are based on quick observations of one or two bad apples, unfairly putting stellar acts in the same basket as those who are not even trying. I have a news flash for these kind of people: EVERY INDUSTRY HAS GOOD ARTISTS AND BAD ARTISTS. You can’t see one poorly recorded song and say the whole industry is messed up because of that one song. Be objective in your reasoning. There are many brightly shining diamonds amongst the rocks, and nowadays, you don’t have to look hard to find them in our music industry. Take for example Sauti Sol’s “Coming Home.” Such soulful voices, strong authentic African influences, with a world-class video to boot. What’s not to like about such a work of art?
When I see a prominent journalist like Philip Mwaniki continue to bash the industry with the same old lame jabs in his ‘Heat Weekly’ column, I can’t help but feel sorry for the man. Talking about how he ‘calls it as he sees it,’ spitting out tired armchair criticism as if he is a guru in the music game. When did you earn the right to criticise our artist like that, man? You are just but an event attender! Him and other armchair critics should quit talking as if they are professional Genge therapists, they are not. Also, this should spur the people who have REAL first-hand experience like the men behind Ogopa and Calif to speak up and let their REAL pieces of advice be heard.
Then there are the worst cases: the mentally colonised. For this sorry group of Kenyans, West is best. Try and tell them about anything African, and they’ll come back to you with a comment about it being substandard, but anything from the Almighty Mzungu is worthy to be praised! This kind of people are beyond help if you ask me. One can only hope they see the truth and the light at some point in their lives.
