Kinanda festival

Considering how difficult it is to make it in the music industry ,let alone be taken seriously, I am really glad that an effort is being made to provide artists a platform to display their talent, so much so, to people who actually appreciate this talent. Its extremely paramount that we create forums where artists are able to display their works publicly thereby creating an atmosphere and culture where artistry is accepted and embraced, such a forum as I discovered is the kinanda festival, a monthly event that seeks to do just that. This month's edition was held at the kifaru gardens and its an amazing place to be. If you love music, love to mingle and meet new people with interest similar to yours ..and maybe a great place to set the ball rolling on your love life(..wink,wink, nudge, nudge)and regardless of the heavy downpour that bombarded us that day.. I had an awesome time discovering new bands. The festival also gave me an opportunity to hear musicians I have always wanted to hear play live (one Dempsey Omwenga’s voice is to DIE FOR!the first time I heard him on radio I seriously thought it was John Legend.. he is that amazing!) I'm really glad I got to hear him sing.

Nina Ogot was also very impressive .What I loved about her is that she was very interactive n involved the audience in her singing.. her ‘dala’ rendition was particularly fun to listen to. Of course Aziza did not disappoint with their harmonizing, fusing together cultural elements of music and modern ones..the violin was a nice touch.

This was also a chance for me to hang out with old friends:

Marcus Olang(One Fm breakfast presenter) Enos of Aziza band

Wambui and Brian of Elani and a friend, Maureen.

I definitely had a grand ol' time. I can honestly say that after attending this month's festival I don’t see how I'll ever miss another one..You guys should definitely check it out.I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did.(oh n entrance is 200 bob ONLY!)

Here are more pics of fabulous people in attendance

Gathoni Mutua caught my eye with her fancy earings

marcus olang' definately has a way with the ladies....

GUESS WHO'S BAAAACK?!!!!

Oh what a difference 6 years make!..Remember Jamani?
He was on the cusp of hip hop stardom, riding high in the wave of his lyrical hits such as haters, kiswahili, among others. Clearly he has established himself as a notable presence in the Kenyan hip hop scene and the success from previous hits has clearly defined his skill and has made him a kenyan popularizing figure and now.. he is BAAACK!
Picking up where he left off. He continues his evolution from local hip hop star to a well polished star with his single:" Munene", that I absolutely love.He sets the tone as he makes a play to regain his old fans while acquiring new ones.

Well...cos we are cool lyk that, here are some exclusive behind the scene pics from his video shoot which was themed old skool..a very fresh concept if i might add.. and I honestly can't wait to see what he comes up with next. He is a breathe of fresh air...hope you share the same sentiments...J'mani much love and support from Uhidaya

The sensitive side of Nameless

I'd like to thank God, my friends and family, Oprah(what? she is very relevant) and the kind streets of Nairobi which I am proud to say eased up on the traffic this week so much that we made it to the interview in time! (Yes!in time! Thank you! Thank you for the standing ovation try and contain yourselves...we'll be here all week, don't forget to tip your waitresses). So while everyone else was busy preparing for the interview, i tried to imagine what meeting him for the first time would be..and i know what you're all thinking..that i have attention issues cos I wasn't actively participating...but I don't. anyways I imagined Nameless(i probably forgot to mention we were meeting Nameless..but now you know:-))) would cruise into the scene in his ultra cool, expensive car and step out clad in flashy designer wear and his trademark dark glasses followed by his really huge bodyguard and shield his eyes from the flashes coming from the paparazzi 's cameras as the bodyguard fought them off. Thinking back, the bit about the paparazzi would be overstretching the situation a bit. I guess I watch too much TV.
I was right about two things though, the BMW X5(the bit about the really cool car) and the dark glasses which by the way he was quick to clarify that they're not cosmetic..HE ACTUALLY NEEDS THEM TO SEE!!! sorry to disappoint those that thought they were for swaggerific purposes.. . and in my books imagining all that has got to count for something right?

So, Nameless! Everybody knows Nameless and it would be really weird if you didn't and it would probably be best if you didn't reveal it in public(if you want to maintain your social life of course). You all know him from megarider, salary, sinzia, prisoner, that really cool colgate commercial when we were younger(*sigh*..good times!!!). Our boy Jamani was chatting up Nameless when we arrived
and this is what we gathered from him

The highs...

Nothing ever beats the first time: the first eye connection, the first kiss, the first argument the first time i got my first pair of heels(sorry...i tend to steer things in my direction even when it is very unnecessary..but I'm working on it) and for Nameless it was no different. Hearing his song on air for the first time was priceless and when we asked what he was doing at the time he heard it, he told us that he was at a boring night shift at the office and when he heard it he could not believe it and after that he had a really hard time convincing his friends that it was him and not anyone else, but with time they figured it really was him(funny huh?).

The highlight of his career however was winning the MTV awards and especially because he wanted to make Kenya proud.He says he spent that whole month praying and convincing people to vote and he was so thankful for the support from friends, family and of course his fans. He also had his song featured in the FIFA 2010 world cup and even though he wasn't paid he was quick to add that he was grateful for the exposure and the opportunity to work with other international artist like Shakira, R.kelly, Fally Ipupa, Kelly Rowland among others.

The lows...There is an amazing quote i love from Moliere that says 'unbroken happiness is a bore. It should have its ups and downs' and for nameless the road accident that he was involved in with fellow artist E-sir was a big blow in his life especially cos they were just starting out and E-sir had a really bright future ahead of him.

Naturally, it is an artist's dream to expand his fan base into other regions of the continent and beyond and Nameless has managed to do so having featured in the FIFA album(as mentioned earlier) and having had numerous collabos with Uganda group Blue 3, Kidum among others.

"...home is always best.Sometimes people make the mistake of trying to get out so much they forget home. The balance is what I always try to maintain my roots like P-square got it right"

Here is something you didn't know about Nameless... He is sensitive! Imagine that? That is not to say he will cry a river and drown the world(In fact he insisted we write it in caps lock that NAMELESS DOES NOT CRY!) He is in touch with his emotions, and will be affected by what others say about him(which is is only human if you ask me) and also, he writes his own music!yes he does..so all that sinzia magic that you love to hear is a hundred percent nameless, ISO certified and everything.

when we asked who he thought was the next big thing "...definitely Juliani''. Dude has rhymes and Madtraxx is also doing really well for himself."

What drives him?

"The passion for life . the fact that you only have one life to live and you don't know how long you have to do it so you have to live it to the fullest."Couldn't have said it better!

Where does he shop?

He shops in Deacons, Identity but mostly he shops when he is traveling (and they say men do not go on shopping sprees?)

when we asked what he thought of the skinny jeans trend that most guys have recently embraced he stated that he approved but not the extremely tight ones that cut of blood circulation and make it hard to walk..
In concluding..
After spending an incredible amount with him we realized how much fun Nameless is...not to mention what a regular mwananchi he is.In fact if I lived in a a parallel universe and I had no idea who Nameless was, you would honestly have a hard time convincing me he was a big time successful artist. He is a hard worker, a loving dad and husband and an amazing artist. So kudos to Nameless..we salute you!
here are more pics of him...

*the photography is the work of Mark Munkunya*