kadoda11
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 6, 2011
- 21,453
- 20,746
Kenyan event organizers and promoters seem to be trending towards South Africa and Nigeria for entertainers. Our radios seem to be playing 80% foreign music and only 20% Kenyan music the 80% being dominated by Nigerian and South African music. Everyone has indeed talked about the simple fact that these two countries play no Kenyan music at all. Last year I went to Nigeria and the only Kenyan song that was played at the club where we were on a Saturday night was Nameless Deadly which was after each member of my team requested for a Kenyan song. If I am not wrong, the DJ might have downloaded the song after we nagged him too much.
The case is different here. Nigerian promoters do not need to do a thing in Kenya to get airplay. Our clubs are Nigeria infested. Our youth know Chidinma better than they know Sage. Davido can afford to come to Kenya, charge millions of shillings for a show and get away with a 30 minute shitty lip-sync performance and we will still play his music every single day in our clubs and radios.
One of my good friends, Rabbit just launched his fourth album last Friday at one of the best planned events, yet a simple setup made just for the music. If you are a person who appreciates good music and live performance, Rabbits launch would score 101% against Davidos E at the Carnivore. There was a fusion of artists and while Rabbit is dominantly a hip hop artist, there was a lot of soulful performances.
So why do we run for foreign musicians and when it comes to our local artists we want to pay them peanuts to appear as curtain raisers in our shows? By any standards, Davido cannot compare to some of our artists yet we cannot pay the same amounts (I guess not even half) we are willing to pay for these Nigerian jokers.
Radio stations, DJs and promoters, you need to sample Kenyan music with a different vision. Kenyan artists are not on the global map because we are skipping them and we are taking our resources to the west and south, leaving our own artists fighting for airplay on TV and Radio. Heck, even Youtube is giving our artists a better platform than our own radio and TV stations.
Let us build our music. Let more people invest in the artists, let the entertainment industry stand where it belongs. Before you consider paying Davido 10 million shillings for a shitty performance, try half a million for Rabbit to give you a show you will not forget.
The Kenyan corporate should also consider sponsoring local events as opposed to waiting for the big names to come to Kenya, I guess this is another reason why promoters would opt to go for the westerners. SportPesa set a good example in January with the SportPesa Festival that was a 100% Kenyan artist affair More than 15 artists on one stage, from the pioneers to the newcomers. Safaricom, EABL and the rest need to take some notes from SportPesa.The Kenyan listener, tune your ear to Kenyan music, you will discover there is a lot more than you can imagine. Go to Mdundo.com and Wabee.com and you will realize we have a lot to offer. I recommend downloading and sampling the top ten songs on these websites.
It is time we made our own big names. Tanzania has done it with Diamond, Uganda has Chameleone and yet we claim to be ahead in every other aspect. It is all our role, let us move Kenyan music forward, let us give a chance to Kenyan artists. Kenyan promoters, we have talent. Nameless hits the stage and understands how to work with whatever crowd you provide him, both quality and quantity. Jua Cali represents nothing but Kenya and our pride in Swahili and for sure, will give the attendees of your show value for their money. Nonini has what it takes. So does Habidah, Wahu, STL, Bahati, Willy Paul you get the drift. The list is endless, lets build our musicians so tomorrow Nigerians can pay our artists to entertain them.
source :Give a Chance to Kenyan Musicians, They Have a Lot to Offer | Niaje!
mtazamo wangu:
wakenya kama hili andiko lina ukweli,basi media yenyu ina kila sababu ya kuanza kuthamini wasanii wa ndani ya kenya kwa kuwapa nafasi ya kusikika katika vyombo vya habari.inashangaza sana hata ukipanda matatu zenyu,asilimia kubwa ya mziki unaopigwa ni wenye asili ya visiwa vya caribbean.wazungu wanasema "charity begins at home".anzeni kupenda vya kwenyu.nimefurahi kuona mmeanza kutambua umihimu wa lugha ya kiswahili.:biggrin1::biggrin1:.
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