This Rapper Is Better Than Octopizzo And Rabbit Combined….But Why Isn’t He As Successful As The Two? Kwani Alirogwa? Ghafla Uncovers The Truth

I stare at the screen of my laptop, a blank MS Word document, running my fingers across the letters like keys on a grand piano. The all too familiar feeling of anxiety greets me. It’s the ghost that haunts my writing, a constant reminder that banal words and stale sentences are unacceptable.

I felt this strain before Ghafla, before Mwalii Kenya, back when I was writing showbiz and campus stuff on Capital FM’s website. Even back then I wanted my name to be synonymous with great writing more than anything. I wanted to be remembered for being someone that brought something memorable with each article. With each release I thought popular magazines and media houses would hunt me down, shower me with praise and a job. They didn’t. Where was Saturday Nation? Where was True Love? I was dealing with an internal crisis, wondering damn, these writers really that much better than me? 

Legendary German novelist Charles Bukowski once said, “Baby I’m a genius but nobody knows it but me,” summing up the feelings of every creative person to ever live. I’ve never met an artist that didn’t see his expression as something God given, something meant to be shared and acknowledged by the world.

Everyone from underground rappers to acrylic painters want to be recognized, want to be adored for their craft, but few will openly admit this natural emotion. I care too much, a confession that I wouldn’t share with a preacher or Pope. Stop bitching, stop moaning, is what they would say. Yelling how great and talented you are will only attract a mob holding up “be humble” and “be patient” banners, and those will be the nice banners. Your confidence, this seemingly uncontrollable passion to get your work out into the world, will be perceived as egotistical and arrogant, you’ll be labeled as conceited. You will be labeled as Khaligraph Jones.

“Mario Refix” was my real introduction to Khaligraph. That wass back in 2013 when his features were hitting local blogs every week, a voracious streak of verses, but I was stuck on this one track specifically. He had proved to be a singularly chameleonic rapper, uncannily able to adopt the nuances of whatever background he lit upon. But even though. Khaligraph’s ability to convert ‘Mario’, a track done by the legendary Congolese singer Franco into a hip hop masterpiece was immaculate, it was his wordplay that really caught my attention. You can tell when rappers care about each bar, making sure each line hits listeners like a locomotive. I can imagine him sitting down filling notebooks full of lyrics. Writing is an art, and that song introduced an emcee that cared about what he was spitting to the Kenyan populace.

Lyricism isn’t the only thing Khaligraph cared about. As the months have flipped by it’s become inescapably clear that he also wants everything that the best deserves: accolades on accolades, crazy Youtube views, interviews from top media personalities, the top of every list, international collaborations, universal respect from critics, peers and the people in general.

I never thought Khaligraph was the best rapper, but I believed he was one of the most passionate. He was the most deserving of recognition and stardom. More than any other rapper in the 254. He has the competitive spirit of a gladiator. I bet the same publications I hoped would someday hire me to write for them were the same publications he wanted to deem him elite after every single track.

It wasn’t until I listened him pouring out his dreams of doing business with Kanye West that I realized Khaligraph is simply Kanye without the critical acclaim. Not necessarily in the sense of talent, but desire. What kind of monster would Kanye be if albums such as College Dropout and Late Registration weren’t successful? If the pink Polo and soul samples he loves using fell to deaf ears and he got dropped from Roc Nation, where would he be? Would there be G.O.O.D music today?

Kanye needs the recognition, the applause, in some ways he even needs the hate; it feeds that creative beast that needs an outlet. And now that he’s largely conquered music, Kanye now seems intent on prying some respect out of his haters. Shades of Khaligraph at every turn. 

My fellow colleagues ask me why I respect Khaligraph so much. I guess it’s because I realized his struggle, if we’re honest, much of Khaligraph is in all of us. We can call him a prick, egotistical guy with a fake accent but ultimately he wants what we all want, to be recognized. There was a time when I was releasing articles that I felt deserved millions of views. Anything less, I completely failed. I would be up from sunrise to sunset, skipping studies, writing, believing I had something the world needed to read. I needed to believe in myself that strongly to even create in the first place, but that also meant a life of regular disappointment when reality fell short of my own expectations. Then Ghafla gave me a lifeline. Some of my friends criticized my decision. “That blog will spoil your writing talent,” they said. In a span of few months I had been nominated for Best African Blogger. They began respecting me again.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonades. Why wait for the plane when you can still take the bus and reach the same destination? They say people who take longer to be successful end up appreciating and guarding their success more than people who got it fast. I believe that when Khaligraph finally becomes a breakout star, he will last longer than other one year wonders we’ve seen come and go

Success is a rare word that’s uniquely defined. To some it’s simply happiness (another word not easily defined). To others it’s some sort of grand achievement, an award or a salary raise. Every person has their own vision, and I find myself wondering how Khaligraph defines success. In a way he seems completely dissatisfied by his current accomplishments. It’s understandable since his rivals (Octopizzo and Rabbit) are doing great.

But as far as rappers go, he’s in position other artist coming up would give anything for. Loyal fans, groupies, respect, what else could you seek to achieve? He still wants more though. Our minds create these elaborate scenarios, we believe wholeheartedly that the outcome will resemble this image. When it doesn’t, the spirit is crushed. There’s no pity party you can throw that will alleviate the disappointment. It’s like suffocating under the weight of your own supersized ambitions.  

Khaligraph is one of the most openly vulnerable artists in Kenyan hip-hop. It’s not just the music; on social media and on his tracks he shows a side of himself that most would keep private. He walks through the world unperturbed, dressed like any other ordinary hood guy, bearing his soul, telling his personal stories and the hecklers continue to chew into him. .

Some of my articles have drawn outraged reviews from literary critics too. Some people have referred to my short stories as repulsive….highbrow pornography. But that never breaks my resolve. I always hit hard because I care more about those who call me a master of English prose. Not the other hate club. I like it when my articles detonate in people’s faces like a time-delayed explosive.

However, Khaligraph values the opinions of others, ironically he wants to please the people, which makes him a huge target for shade throwing. He’s constantly at war with the jokes.  For Khaligraph, it’s deeper than just making a track better than the last, it’s about overcoming the jokes and slights. It’s about becoming the true don dada

What, exactly, do you want Khaligraph? And then what would happen if you ever obtained it? The fans are supporting, the critics are raving, yet he’s still not pleased. It’s like he has this elusive goal that’s completely unreachable, or maybe he’s disappointed that he’s reached his goals and still feels the same void.

 Success is looked upon as a finish line, but life continues once you reach it. Nothing ever finishes. At first, I wanted to be a well paid writer, and I’ve been that for the last one year. It’s been great, it’s been stressful, it’s been confusing. I want more than the hordes of chics inboxing me and telling me how much they love my articles. I could bang them all. I do that to an extent but it gets tiring. Would writing for a world renowned publication give me new found fulfillment? Writing books? Maybe. But like I promised myself, whatever I do, I’ll do it to the best of my abilities.

Success is spending your life doing something you love. Success is being a happy bunny while doing what you do best. I’m trying to learn that I’m already successful.  Maybe Khaligraph has mildly learned that too because in the Ojuelegba Refix, he clearly versed, “I chose hip hop and I swore to never leave.”