Music
- Monday, August 299 Kenyan neo-soul artists
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The mainstream audience in the urban parts of Kenya generally prefers something with an inspiration message, hence the popularity of reggae, or a danceable beat and rhythm, one of the reasons Naija music is so big. Unfortunately, this need is also the reason for neo-soul's niche position. Thanks to the internet, it's practitioners can expect to have a larger fan base abroad than at home; in South Africa, for instance, which has a more appreciative audience for this and other more chilled genres of vocally-technical music, such as jazz (despite being the African capital of house music), but also among Africans in the diaspora (Europe, America, etc.).
Nonetheless, the "home" audience for cool live music is growing, and is now large enough to support the careers of a handful of notable artists. From time to time some of their tracks/videos/albums catch our attention and remind us of who's keeping the neo-soul flame burning in Kenya. So, here are a few that we've seen or heard recently (or at least not too long ago) and liked, a couple from established names but most from new faces, as you would expect from a niche genre that's only really just starting to blossom:
POZI - BEAUTIFUL GIRL
We start with Pozi (Frank Mwangi Macharia) and Beautiful Girl, as it was the video for said song that prompted us to put this piece together. This is his first single from an album whose title he says he can't disclose just yet. We're fairly sure anyone who hears this track will wonder, as we did, who's on guitar. It's a young dude by the name of Fadhili; new to us, but we like his fret work.
Nice song, but the video is arguably even better. It was shot by Brian Kyallo Msafiri of iamthefuture (a production company that specializes in animation, film, graphic and architectural animation), with animation by Mark and Omari. You've seen Brian's work before; remember the video for Muthoni's track Mikono kwenya hewa?
WENDY KIMANI - RUMOURSWendy went professional after becoming the First runner-up at Tusker Project Fame 2, and although her recording contract with Pine Creek Records ended a short while ago she's getting close to wrapping up a new album, which should include the track above.
Incidentally, Wendy's video was also shot by Brian Kyallo Msafiri.
LIZ OGUMBO - MARO PA MOREWe've profiled Liz before, but we're dig this song and video enough to include it here again, and we're fairly sure you won't mind us doing so. Besides being a neo-soul artist, Liz is a fashion designer (House of Imani) and used to be a model.
Maro Pa More appears on the album Ken Soul, and the video for this single was by DYMK Films, a production company in Nairobi that specialises in Film, Video and TV production, Graphic design and Web design.
STAN - WANGECIWangeci is from Stan's (Stan M. Nganga) 2009 album Kenya Debut, one of those rare albums where the quality of the tracks remains consistently high all the way through.
It took a decade for Stan to find a producer and studio on the same wavelength, but he found what he was after in Wawesh and the Eastlands based Penya label/studio.
The video was directed by Jim Chuchu, director, photographer, third member of Just A Band, and co-founder of Kuweni Serious.
VALERIE KIMANI - VILLAGE GIRL
Valerie Kimani usually does more R&B/jazz than neo-soul, but who's complaining when you have a track like Village Girl? Valerie shot to fame after winning Project Fame (East Africa's reality TV show) in 2006, and a two-album recording deal with Gallo Records in South Africa. The experience made her a household name in Kenya almost overnight.
Village Girl, a duet with Ugandan R&B/soul musician Maurice Kirya, is from her debut album, Baisikeli, and although that came out way back in 2007 we don't care 'cos it sounds as fresh as the day it was released.
DELA - KAMA
Fast-rising star Dela Maranga aka "The Voice" roams beyond neo-soul into reggae, hip-hop and even disco. Not sure Kama actually qualifies as neo-soul, but we're including it anyway because she is easily one of Kenya's finest vocalists, she writes all her own music, and 'cos we love this track.
Kama is one of the tracks on Paukwa, another top-stuff-all-the-way album on Penya.
EVE - GIVE ME LOVE
Give Me LoveMore R&B than neo-soul, but we're including it anyway 'cos we're expecting some pure neo-soul from her soon. Eve Dima is a newcomer and natural talent who was already singing Malaika and Abba songs at the age of 4. By 6, when she could credibly hold a tune, she was being willingly thrust before audiences to sing at social events and family gatherings. Still, she didn't pursue music seriously until recently. She's back in Nairobi now (after uni in South Africa), working on her as yet untitled debut album, which she says will be ready for release before the end of the year. Give Me Love is the album's first single.
CAROL ATEMI - SPEECHLESS
Carol Atemi's been singing since the age of 10, but stepped onto the scene via an all-girl group INTU. She then became the assistant vocal harmony provider for Eric Wainaina's band, and performed with him in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zanzibar, at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands among other places.
Speechless is from her solo debut album Hatimaye (it means "finally"), which she released on Gatwitch Records, Emmanuel Jal's label.
HONORABLE MENTIONAMILEENA - THINGS YOU DO
It's early days yet, but we're including this track by recent Tusker Project Fame finalist and aspiring recording artist Amileena Mwenesi because she's got a big, rich voice that we expect you'll be hearing a lot more of, even if, going by the various styles she covered during the show's run, you won't necessarily be hearing it on neo-soul tracks. She's already being called the next Miriam Makeba; different country, altogether, but listen to that voice and you know what people mean when they say that.
