writing for both a politically charged blog and an entertainment site while trying not to mix the two is a tad bit difficult. this is just one of those days! so i will try my level best not to politicize anything but look at the state of our musical union fairly and bluntly. i am an addict, and east african music is my fix. my mp3 player is filled to the brim with the said genres and my house is dotted with cds(some bootleg, some original) and i hardly go a day without jamming to them. i have so many lyrics memorized and the love i have for all that is east african inspires this post.
east african music has come from far(tumetoka mbali by nonini) and the sky is the limit for us all. the point we are currently at an optimum point for hitting the international scene. the music cant get better for now, a tip or push into the international arena will guarantee further growth. here is the thing is many african artists have gone international and perfect examples are west africans and south africans but all they have done is to create a buzz nothing much just a buzz! what can we do not to end up like them?
our generation is set to be the opposite. language and the uniform style of music that most of our artists make is the reason for that. truth be told a traditional african song in african languages and style can only go as far as wikipedia or cultural documentaries, real cultural sharing is with the fusions, reggae and ragga will attest to that. the jamaicans for instance fused traditional african music with western music and the result is two of the most popular genres of music in the world!
uganda’s bebe cool
some east africans are doing that pretty well eabc, redsan, peter miles, wyre, eric wainaina can also attest to that. all of them are huge in africa and redsan is also causing waves abroad. eabc and peter miles have won best video in africa award in the channel o awards and a list of other awards!
wyre is now considered to be the next akon
kenya’s nazizi
the contentious issue now is identity. many people argue that our artists are apping the westerners. the question however is do we expect them to act as businessmen or cultural warriors? Also does the audience really want want the critics are yelling for?
kenya’s redsan
music is like any other business and truth be told the larger market begs for exactly what our artists are doing and those who make the loudest noise and continue to bash our artists (phillip mwaniki) dont own even one original music cd. they are the type that lives on cynicism yet are failures in their trades.
back to the cross over into the international scene, if you have noticed the artists i have so far mentioned are ugandan and kenyan. i do not mean tanzania has nothing to offer but sadly the furthest tanzanian artists have gone is kenya and uganda. name
(name one bongo flavor act that has for instance made waves in africa?)
tanzania’s professor jay
kenya and uganda is international for bongo flavor several factors contribute to this and the major one is language. swahili is a lingua fraca for east africa but not for africa. so as wyre and bebe cool become household names throught africa, professer jay, as good as he is will only go as far as kenya or ali kiba’s nakshi mrembo will only hit in kenya. at the same time wyre’s make a choice becomes a household tune as far as in nigeria. both songs are really good but only east africans will understand ali kiba while almost everyone else understands make a choice!
watch mtv base and see the new african scene!
the song might gain respect for the good beats and all but thats it! the english speaking kenyans and ugandans fuse their local beats with english and the results are for everyone to see something exotic!(at least in africa)
i was pleasantly supprised last week to find my Indian friend watching redsan’s desire on you tube. that is the cross over effect i am talking about.
hi first lady(nazizi) and(redsan), (wyre)like the dense how she his, and the music which the make me so in my heart eg bless my room song it was good song it show more about life his going in Kenya i many ways,why have writh comment it about am down sing and a looking for somebody take from where am in city in south c, athi river
I read your posts for a long time and must tell that your posts always prove to be of a high value and quality for readers.