I get so incensed when I read comments where we as Kenyans apportion blame to "the others" because we just won't accept we are full of sh*t. Pardon my language, the gravitas of this matter demands that I write as I truly feel. There will be lots of caps in this post because I will not stifle my thoughts for fear of suffocating. This post will be long and arduous, because ranting is taxing. Indulge me.
I love what events like Godown Gig are doing. They are holding free shows yet paying artists. Big up Muthoni and the Blankets crew, ensuring every month Kenyan artists have a platform to play. Choices Baricho Road, KI Clubhouse, Alliance, Goethe, and all the rest that ensure musicians have money to cater to their basic needs first so that they can channel their energies to growing, and releasing music. There are clubs and churches everyday that support the arts, don't stop. DON'T.
I attended Fafa this weekend thanks to Manciny and those tickets were bloody expensive but THE ROOM WAS BRIMMING WITH HUMANITY. Sold out! I know caps shout, my exact intention! There were CEOs there, even the Botswana ambassador because a designer from his homeland was showcasing. The Kenyan CEOs in attendance were were all dressed by Kenyan designers. I did not hear of a Kenyan government official acknowledged save for Dr Dorothy Nyong'o, wife to Kisumu County's senator. Where do I begin?
Ah yes, crux of the matter. See image below
It wasn't the status that got me worked up but the comments. The same ones you hear everyday calling Kenyan music crap because all these guys know three bands and five celebs that they all publicly hate but dance to when high as a kite. I like to avoid conflict because I am a natural pacifist. So I shared the status with my response.
That however would not salve my conscience. The need to speak up gnawed at me. So I opted to post two responses on Kollo's status. I am coping my responses verbatim because that is exactly how I feel. See below:
"I'm just gonna be the one to say it,
art is a mirror and if you think our artists are regurgitating crap then
surprise, it's your own reflection you see! Let's just interrogate ourselves.
We speak sh*tty Swahili but go bananas when someone butchers the
queens language.
We
are out here learning sijui French and Mandarin because "those tourists
need us to understand them". Why should we expect more of our artists when
we will not DEMAND more of ourselves? The few artists you claim to love, do you
support them religiously to ensure that they can pay their bills and THEN
AFFORD TO RECORD MORE OF WHAT YOU CLAIM YOU LOVE? Nigerian, Tanzanian music etc
is huge because first they support out of patriotism then demand for quality.
They are so many budding musicians out here, in Taita taveta, in Kisii, in
Turkana, in West Pokot, in Mombasa, in Kisumu, heck hata papa jiji letu, FIND
them, tell them you love them, buy that one song they have, call your favourite
radio station tweet them even until they block you!
Go
to that deejay or that club that will play that one song you love. The one song
your supposed favourite Kenyan artist can afford to record because he already
paid rent (euphemism for basic needs). Then after you've done all that, hope that your favourite artist is
gracious enough to dedicate three hours of their day rehearsing, writing,
reading, researching, growing, jogging and gyming and learning all the tenets
of music from vocalization intonation to instrumentation.
And is brave enough to wean themselves
of your stereotypes so they can actually create stuff their parents will love.
We just need to stop acting like we
don't hate Kenyan stuff, we do consciously and sub-consciously. We sold our
birthright to the highest bidder and now we are neo-colonial slaves acting like
we are steeped in freedom. Some of the comments here reek of that mentality. To
get, demand, most of all of from yourself.
I choose to search for artists I like,
whether they sing in a language I understand or not. I will do my bit to
support. Do your part. People kesha outside malls to buy albums, legally
download music they love. You are the change you seek; if there is one, just
one artist you love whether ni wa ohangla, benga, katitu, mwanzele, rhumba,
bango, genge etc, do the same. And watch the market slowly but surely react to
that erstwhile* latent demand for quality."
I am not excusing musicians, but we cannot be
consciously apathetic. Who will break the cycle? Embrace your position as a
change maker, be pro-active. The musicians will then go back to the drawing
board and learn their musical history and in turn regurgitate that "newly
espoused Kenyanness" you are claiming hawana. But first interrogate
yourself, how KENYAN are you?"
We spend thousands every weekend drowning our sorrows, but will not fork out money to pay for music. There are free shows almost every week but all I see are the same "groupies", and expatriates who dance themselves lame genuinely appreciating the richness our musicians have to offer. Where are you? Where the hell are you?
If you spent 500, no 300 bab EVERY MONTH paying for a show, or an album, or airtime to legally download music of those your favourite artists, do you think there would be a vacuum in the market for amazing Kenyan music? Marslow law anyone? Musicians would have fiscal wind beneath their wings.
I am overly biased, I have been in a band, and my life is teeming with creatives let alone musicians. I know what these guys are going through. Heck I rehearse every week wondering if I'll ever record after I'm done offsetting those recurrent monthly bills. Those are the things I grapple with yet at-least I have something I do to sustain me and mine. What about budding unemployed artists? Who has time to dedicate to their art when they have bills? NOBADY!
Diamond, yes him of the "millions for a show" fame, started with one You-tube video. ONE. Just let that sink in. I am sure he had sang for years before you heard of Mbagala. Sit with any established artist and ask them how much of themselves they had to invest when nobody, NOBODY believed in them.
I sing here and there and people ask me, "when will you stop wasting that voice and record?" I smile and saying I am working on it. This is how most musicians respond in their heads ---->>>> "Do you know how much money it costs to record an album that can get played outside of Kenya? 200, 000 + to please you ego-centric music connoisseur. Sorry, potential fan. And then I pay for rehearsal space and my band after I am done paying for my plan B degree in-case you DECIDE my music is sh*t. Koz a job never hurt anyone. Sit down."
My aim, is to have songs that WILL garner views and listener-ship all over Swahili speaking countries globally let alone the Kenyan diaspora. Taarab is huge is Arabia, just so you know. It costs. I save to have fare for weekly rehearsals that may amount to naught, I drink water, I sleep sufficiently, I exercise and walk to increase my lung capacity and ensure my voice has sustaining power. I avoid sugar and cold stuff, heck even dairy! And I haven't even recorded, music is still a hobby. Now pray tell, what do you think those ones whose music YOU DO NOT request on radio etc undergo to sound so good? YOU HAVE NO IDEA!
My point? All the greats we know, have invested blood sweat and tears to breathe life and form to their ideas. If you are not willing to spend your money to help them sustain that, shut the f*ck up. No seriously just stuff it. Gyms are expensive, eating healthy is expensive, "finding your own style" is expensive, voice lessons are expensive, learning an instrument is expensive, MUSIC SCHOOL IS EXPENSIVE!
R Kelly who btw has seemingly sang since Elvis walked the earth doesn't worry about the basics.
That's why he can dedicate hours of his day chiselling his human temple, let alone his almost palpable voice vessel and mind to achieve that gruelling feat all of you bow down to. Nobody wakes up great, ten thousand PLUS hours were sank in! Ask Beyonce how many hours she sings and dances for a day, when prepping for a concert.
Ruminate on that before you start complaining. I am done ranting. By the way dear musician, stop thinking those people who religiously tweet you are your biggest fans. Nenda mashinani, you will be amazed by the support you can garner at the grassroots. The people who toil day and night will support your hustle if you are deserving because they know what it means to be loyal. Wachana na ranters wa social media. WORK ON YOUR CRAFT DAY AND NIGHT AND GROW YOUR FAN-BASE. Grow it!
And finally Kenyans,
Kibali
