One excerpt reads, “I think I’m the black sheep in the family: my mother is a doctor, my father is a businessman and they are more conservative in a particular way…” She also gives some beauty advice, “A woman shouldn’t leave home without eye makeup, even before your clothes, they notice your eyes.”
“He inspired me and in that film I really learned more than in any film school and I realized what it means to work with actors and directing it was really first training.”
What the future holds for her? “I’m very hopeful about the future, but knowing that I make a difference myself. I believe that people can plant trees and should conserve, recycle and re-use things. We have to be careful and sensitive; like in my film Pumzi , we have to be the mother of Mother Nature and if we are not, then she will stop mothering us.”
EXCLUSIVE:25 TOP KENYAN URBAN HIT SONGS OF ALL TIME 25 TOP KENYAN URBAN HIT SONGS OF ALL TIME
This is just a list of the mega-hits, and not necessarily our rating of Kenyan local productions. They shook the airwaves and got everyone singing along.
(Note that these songs are NOT presented in any sort of order,not even alphabetical)
1. Unbwogable .
A contender for that No.1 spot, this is definitely one of the most celebrated Kenyan hit songs. Gidi and Maji had every Kenyan feeling untouchable way before Bonecrusher’s Never Scared .This megahit etched itself permanently in Kenya’s modern pop culture.
2. Tafsiri Hii .
This is debatably Kenya’s first real hiphop song, and by far the most original. But most importantly, it introduced this talented trio to an audience that was ignorantly thirsty for what they had to offer.
3. Liar .
This was perhaps the greatest debut single of the decade. The entire Kenyan music scene stopped like freezetag and turned to see who was the little girl behind this track. Wahu’s naive narrative style, the catchy,memorable hook, and the local scene’s hunger for a ruffneck chick made this song an instant classic hit.
4. Julie .
In the remake Redsan sounds like a genuine teenage boy truly lost in love.
5. Githurai (Wasee).
This single was so huge that even to this day all the artistes involved are still struggling to prove that they are not 1-hit-wonders.
6. Kuna Dawa .
It is still not clear to many Kenyans why this song did so well, yet it is the most popular gospel song, even surpassing other famous secular acts in sales and airplay on radios and, ironically, in pubs and night clubs.
7. Ninanoki .
At the time, it was very hard to go an entire day without hearing this song being played somewhere. But noone was complaining. Nameless and Amani teamed up to serve 3mins and 28secs of adrenaline rush that evidently boasts the title of the track.
8. Soma Lebo
After releasing this hit, Ndarlin P could never rise above it,to this day.
9. Hallo Hallo .
This song has ‘timing’ to thank. Kenyans were just from mourning the passing of E-Sir and people were hungry for local stuff. Then Wakimbizi show up with a song whose animated video is almost as rediculous as the lyrical content. Hallo Hallo was just too absurd to ignore.
10. Atoti .
Wiki Mosh coined the most popular nickname for any bootilicious girl from Western Kenya.
11. Mos Mos .
Recorded during the last days of the late E-Sir, Mos Mos trailblazed for songs capitalizing on contemporary dialogue craze. And there was the added bonus of Brenda’s introduction.
12. Ting Badi Malo .
If it were to be released today this song probably wouldn’t have been as huge,but at the time, the whole country was anxious to learn Dholuo.
13. Akisema Atakubariki.
Jemimah Thiong’o had like 6 mega hits the year this was released. But Akisema stood out above the rest.
14. Wi Mutheru by Allan Aaron.
You just can’t afford not to move your feet.
15. Compe .
This was not even close to Bamboo’s best work, but it worked magic. A year later, the rhyme-witted Michelle released her female version.
16. Dunda .
E-Sir’s kid bro Habib, and the then Sanaipei’s ex-boyfriend-to-be, Manga, came up with their own popular language that even had Catherine Kasavuli trying it on air.
17. Manzi wa Nairobi.
Everyone was asking, Nonini ni nani?
18. Malaika by Redsan
19. Juu tu sana.
P-UNIT proved that they are more than just Nonini’s protege creation and that they could stand alone and deliver.
20. Mwikhulu .
Mwana wa mberi was worn out over being the only widespread tune from Western kenya. Rufftone’s Mwikhulu displaced it and paved the way forpopular gospel.
21. Sweet Love.
Wahu rounds up her homegirls to deliver a compact feel-good fusion of soul,reggae, and local blend that prompts The Game to brand her the Kenyan Lauryn Hill. It is understandable how one would mistake Wahu’s love in the song for romance,until she clarifies ‘Sio kama mapenzi ya kawaida, penzi siezi kuelewa-kuelewa-kuelewa kabisaa-aaa-aaa ’. Simply put, she raised the bar for female artistes, and the recognition: MTV crowned her the queen of Africa.
22. Sitaki by Mercy Myra feat. K-South
23. La Di Da by Necessary Noize.
Uko ndani ya Carni na ashu mfukoni,sema....Umezusha na makarao wamekurusha ndani,sema....Umeingia K1 na minipack za Safari,sema....Iwe ni bima mathree,wasee mbaka mtaani,.... If you can’t fill in the blanks you are either not Kenyan, or above 45.
24. Holidae by Nameless.
This song was Nairobi’s anthem for 3 straight years.
25. Haiya by Harry Kimani.
His drug problems and 4-year hiatuses aside, this man from the slopes of Mt.Kenya can deliver good music,if only he can stay out of rehab long enough to compose 3 verses.
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EXCLUSIVE:Naughty Nutt's take! As a response to the euphoria surrounding the Abbas-Chiwawa beef, UMOJA ENTERTAINMENT GROUP (UEG ) went out to settle it once and for all. UEG sought the opinion of Hip-hop head Naughty Nutt. Nutt analyzed the dis tracks released by the two artists from a lyrical standpoint. Please note that the views presented in this article do not necessarily reflect or represent the opinion of UEG and its affiliates.
It is sad that these two tracks (Strike 1 & Shotz) are what have been delivered by arguably our finest lyricists.No offense,but this is way below what was expected.
Strike 1 is the most atrocious. Instead of focusing on the supposed beef, Chiwawa goes on an ego caressing rampage;
mi ni mbaya zaidi, mi huingiza fridge baridi
Chiwawa shud have known better than to spend an entire 2 mins of his dis track massaging his own shlong.
Now to the business at hand-the lyrical punches. By today’s standards,Chiwawa ’s blows (to borrow Abbas’metaphor) are too weak like 14 days.The once most promising Kenyan lyricist is now reduced to releasing nursery barbs like mi si fan wa a-bus,mi ni fan wa mathree . Clearly this is not the same Chiwawa who skuld the then teenaged Kleptomaniacs thus:
ka nyi u-sniff cocaine mjue mi u-sniff gunpowder,
ndio maana naspit fire na sauti yangu iko louder
He should have perfected his skillz by now. Has he mellowed over the years, or was he just not really that hot in the first place (btw, turns out that cocaine-gunpowder line was delivered years earlier by Onyx’s Sticky Fingaz)
One slip-up chiwawa cud have avoided is committing the one sin even his most adamant fans admit he is notorious for: repeating rhymes. We know toka sana is yur signature,and we are cool with that.But come on playa,how many times u gon use P2 in the same song.
And as much as its all bout keepin it to the wax,some of Chiwawa’s jabs are a little unconvincing:
ulikua f***** up mbeleni ujue nani alikuokoa,
unauma mkono inakulisha ukidhani utatoboa
Really Chiwawa….really? Na ukizaliwa kwa hii rap game Abbas alikua form four!
Don’t get me wrong though,this Strike 1 track is hot. I can see why some fans are making comparisons to Canibus’ 2nd Round . Make’s one think if that wasn’t Chiwawa’s original intention.
Now to Shotz. From Abbas ’ tone it is clear even to the deaf and blind that he is still dealing with other feelings. The hurt from betrayal is screaming out in his lyrics. It’s like his insecurities prompt him to reassure himself with lines like
Abbas nimetua jo na walami wasupuu na wadame wa Kenya ma-model wasupa
At some point you even pity the guy. I seriously thought he was going to cry on record when he spits kutamani dame yangu ni tabia uta-stop . But that’s his personal life.We are concerned with the bars.Lyrically, Shotz is way superior to Strike 1.Truthfully speaking,as much as it was below the standards set by Abbas himself,there’s some weight in Shotz that Strike 1 can never measure to,even when dripping wet.This does not say much about Chiwawa,seeing he forced Abbas to battle on his knees and with the weight of a painful divorce on his dorm.But still Abbas emerges the champ,even though its clear he did not put that much effort into Shotz.He just bounced Chiwawa’s punches back at him,and luckily for him it worked.But I’m longing to hear the genius Abbas who delivered Angabanga , n the venomous Chiwawa who was introduced to us by Bamboo in 2003’s Innovator-masterminded The Dis Track .Take real shots at each other pple,n stop playing around with rhymes that make us doubt if you two are even really beefing. Word!
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