celebs.....

When will Kenyan musicians become “celebrities”?

We all know how the celebrity craze has taken over. Celebrities have more television time, more radio airplay and fans than the presidents of this world.
I am a guy that loves music a lot-mostly all genres. The love that I have is way too much, that I get embarrassed sometimes to admit that I love a certain song because of the look the musician has, or the image attached to the musician.

It’s much easier to say you are Ne-Yo’s fun, Chris Brown or Rihanna’s fun. But please note: it’s embarrassing to say you feel a certain jam by Mongola, or by XYZ. Don’t get me wrong, the vocals are properly done, and so are the tracks. Everyone around you will look at you like you are “local”.

When I presented Nyota Ndogo in form of a DVD to my parents, I had already talked about her like she was the best thing to come out of Kenya. I went on and on about the vocal ability, the good range she had, lyrical content, the perfect diction and all that. It was obvious she was good.
I almost begged them to like her (you know how it is, you love someone and push her down everyone’s throat)

When the DVD started rolling, she looked like the girl next door. “Is this a documentary, or a music video?” asked my dad. This is when I realized that he was used to watching flashy videos, or if not flashy, the musicians were always looking good. Nice hair that was flying all over the place, eye shadow, the latest flashy tops and jeans with the attitude to go with it all.

Today, musicians have become idols to many young children and fashion icons too. Uganda takes the lead in this. Obsessions the leading dance cum singing all girl group made every teenager want to be part of them. From knee high boots, to low-rider jeans, and expensive human hair, with layers of make up, they were and still every teenage girl’s idol.

The disappointment on my eyes just makes me cry when i search the chats, read music reviews and society pages searching for the glamed celebrities and all I see are whacky pictures of Wahu wearing a more like mtushi faded green trouser, with two seasons off knee high boots (let’s not forget they are winter boots), and her dress top.

Jackie o shades are on, but she still rocks the small ones. I wonder why the even pay for DSTV in their homes. You would think that the E channel would teach them a thing or two about being celebrities.
Yes, there have been some moments when they try, they go to expensive restaurants for dinner, and stay in upper middle class neighborhoods like west lands and I don’t know where else, but am still waiting to hear that Redsan bought a house in Runda, or nameless is building an 8 million house in Mthaiga.

The chameleons, Bebe cool,Juliana, Lady Jay dee, Ray C,A.Y, Mwana F.A and Bobi wines of East Africa really define celebrities. They reside in mansions; have a fleet of 6 to 7 cars, ranging from Mercedes cars to Cadillac’s. Most of them with personalized number plates; they rock designer wear (what’s on at the moment basing on the world fashion market), shoot videos worth millions and live large.

It’s not that the Kenyan musicians don’t make a lot of money, we are all aware of their tantrums about refusing to perform unless they are paid what they asked for which according to them is “what they are worth”.
Nameless makes me shy away when he passes by in his surf. He earns big from the being an architecture too, or so he claims, although am yet to see the big buildings he has designed.
But we have to give it up for Prezzo the king of bling. The boy knows how to be a celebrity. He rolls like one. No wonder he has so many haters. He has made all Kenyan musicians look like amateurs. He came in to the game later than most, but he is doing his thing.

Searching for a musician that’s a celebrity, Nonny Gathoni, an entertainment reporter for citizen t.v says, these musicians have all it takes, but they just piss me off, they look to be displaced: “how can you claim to be a musician and say that you are in the show business, yet you have nothing to show off?”

She added,“This industry is all about showing off what you got and image is everything. Look at people in Uganda, I know some presenters who won’t let you go on screen if you aint all that. You have to be popping it. Its show business, it’s about flossing, let the Kenyan musicians step up to the plate.”

But still, we wonder when that time will come! When will the musicians take all the money that we give them, the love and not just sing but look like they sing and earn a living? Because by the look of things, looks like most of them are just doing it as a hobby and not a career.
In one of my many conversations about the subject, another entertainment journalist mentioned that apart from the longomba’s and a few other musicians most Kenyan musicians don’t know how to be celebrities. She added that they don’t know how to look good and the part. That’s why nobody cares about them sometimes she believes.Kenyan musicians should know that the public can be very impatient, before you know it, they have written you off as as gone if you don’t play the part you are supposed to play. They sing, make good music for us and put up nice performance, but we just can’t keep admiring other musicians yet we have our own that can do the same, and get celebritised