TO ITEN WITH LOVE - KENYAN CELEBRITIES

Over ten local artistes who have signed with the Safaricom Kenya Live programme paid a courtesy call to Iten Primary School in their second last installment of the Safaricom Kenya Live CSR event in Eldoret.

While there, they treated the children to a day filled with music performances and motivational talks on children who aspire to be musicians.  They also presented a cheque of Sh50,000 to the school.

The artistes who called on the pupils included Nameless, Wahu, Allan Aaron, Ally B, Jua Cali, M.O.G, Phonotex Success Band, Redsan, Blavion, Freeman, Kavale and Poqpine. Also joining the artistes on the visit was Safaricom Brand Assets Manager Virginia Wanyanga. 

 

 

The artistes also donated food items to the pupils and joined them for lunch a day before the Safaricom Kenya Live gig in Eldoret. 

The visit was part of the Safaricom Kenya Live CSR programme that sees the artistes interact with children and disadvantaged populations on each tour of their performances.

Now, the finale of the Safaricom Kenya Live gigs take place in Nairobi’s Nyayo stadium on Saturday October 8.

Safaricom Kenya Live shows have also been held in major towns like Bungoma, Mombasa, Kisumu and Machakos.

 

The Nyayo National Stadium is poised to host the biggest live music concert in the country with 25 local artistes, comprising 14 Safaricom Kenya Live artistes and 14 budding talents from various provinces in Kenya are expected to perform.  

“Safaricom Kenya Live is one of our major engagement platforms with the youth, a core segment for us. We believe in involving our youth in initiatives that positively transform their lives,” said Safaricom Brand Assets Manager Virginiah Wanyanga. 

Gates to the concert will open for the public at 4pm while the real action starts at 7pm till dawn. Admission to the concert is restricted to those over 18 years only. 

To access the concert, revelers will be expected to carry an unscratched Bamba 250 Safaricom airtime, while VIP tickets go for Ksh1000.

SAFARICOM PREMIERS ITS KENYA LIVE CONCERT IN BUNGOMA

Bungoma County last Saturday hosted the first of the Safaricom Kenya Live music concerts with thrilling performances from leading artistes in the country.
After a weeklong training at the Kenya Live Academy in Eldoret, established and upcoming artistes from the region headed to Bungoma’s Kanduyi Stadium braving the rains to keep the crowds on their feet.



Kenya Live is an initiative by Safaricom to nurture music talent among youths across the country by using established artistes in knowledge sharing academies.
The initiative is also looking at enhancing the artiste’s lives music performance as opposed to over-reliance on play-back which has been a common trend in the local music industry.





Under the arrangement, Safaricom will help the artistes in marketing their productions through its online portals in what is expected to increase earnings from the trade.
Among leading artistes who performed at the Bungoma Concert are Juacali, Wahu, M.O.G, Eko Dyda, Redsan, Size 8 and Doggy G. Others are the Webuye Jua Kali Band and the late Jacob Luseno’s Phonotex Band.





“Safaricom will continue partnering with communities in initiatives aimed at improving their standards of living. This exercise is aimed at ensuring that local artistes not only gain fame from their performances but make a decent income out of it as well,” said Virginia Wanyanga, the Safaricom representative at the academy.






The music promotion campaign will see similar concerts held in major towns such as Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Nairobi.
“We wish to play our part in creating a Kenyan music industry that is professionally-run in all aspects. We want to turn music into a career out of which our people can earn a decent living, not just pride and fame. With our 16 million-plus subscriber base and one of the country’s most popular portals, we have an unbeatable medium to advance Kenyan music. The possibilities are infinite.” Said Safaricom Head of Strategy and New Busines Nzioka Waita during the luanch of Kenya Live in Nairobi last week.





He gave the example of Skiza, Safaricom’s popular CBRT (caller ring back tune) service, which only a year after launch had gained vast acceptance, becoming a new and major revenue stream for some Kenyan musicians.
Kenya Live joins a growing music portfolio at Safaricom which includes the recently-held Kenyan Classical Fusion and the CHAT and Groove Awards, which are both headlined by Skiza and a number of sponsorship opportunities, spread across Kenya.

FLORIDA 2000’S INAUGURAL MIC AWARDS

Kenya’s oldest entertainment spot, Florida Group, will be hosting their first ever Golden Mic Awards to award the stars that started and built their career at the club’s Jam Session.
The jam sessions are hosted at the Florida 2000 club every Sunday afternoon and has seen the careers most of the Kenyan artistes flourishing after creating a fan base there. It is the place where stars have been born, a place when Kenyan and East African celebrities have their roots like Redsan, Shanky Radics, Kleptomaniacs among others. Even contoversial Ugandan star Chameleone honed his skill at the club.
Michael Katana told Hot Secrets, “Today there are many forums to showcase talent but this was not the case in earlier times. Florida is the only place where talent could be seen and we are very happy that we took part.”
The award ceremony will take place at the club on October 2 and the theme is Where It All Began.

KERI HILSON FOR REDSAN'S OCTOBER ALBUM LAUNCH

Ragga heartthrob Redsan will be relaunch his Versatility album besides American siren Keri Hilson in October. This comes after launching the same album last December launched his flanked by Jamaican sibling duo Brick and Lace.
The Yule Pale hitmaker explained why his album hasn’t hit the streets yet since then. “There were massive delays with the management and distributors that were handling the album, even I don’t have a copy,” He said.


The album is the fourth attempt by Redsan released under Dutty Sounds Records, Monalisa Entertainment and Miami Vibe.
“The album, like it’s name describes the diversity in the genres of music and artistes featured in it.” The album boasts of collaborations with music industry heavy weights like Brick and Lace, AY, Collo, Shinde of Tattu and Kiss 100’s Sanaipei Tande.”
Redsan's US based management company Monalisa Entertainment and Miami Vibe are responsible for Keri Hilson’s concert in Nairobi.

Brick and Lace during the December launch

Keri recently told MTV News her travels to Africa would influence her next album, No Boys Allowed, slated for a late-2010 release.
"I've been to Nigeria, I've been to South Africa, three cites in Africa [in all]. I gather music from these regions, and African music is very drum-heavy. It was very inspiring. I'm definitely going to be using some of that inspiration."

ALL ABOUT REDSAN, BRICK AND LACE

Bricka and Lace on stage


Redsan

Ulopa

P Unit's Bon 'Eye'

Ogopa DJ's Marya

Angela 'Shinde' Mwandanda of Tattuu

The crowd

Nalia a.k.a Lace

Nyanda a.k.a Brick

A Dancer on stage

Jamaican sisters rocked Carnivore on Saturday night where they performed at Redsan’s album party.
Nalia and Nyanda rocked the crowd with their hit songs Never Never, Bad To DiBone and Love Is Wicked.
Redsan, he man of the night also performed singles off his fourth album Versatility and some of his popular hits songs from his other albums Like Apakatwe and Leo Ni Leo, to a mammoth crowd at the Carnivore grounds.
If you missed the show catch all the action of the album party on Kiss TV next week.

Brick and Lace to perform at Redsun’s album launch

In what will be a first in the Kenyan music scene, ragga maestro Redsan will launch his album this weekend and will have Jamaican beauties Brick and Lace perform as well.
The album party will go down December 19 at the Carnivore's Sima Saloon.
This will be the Step On It star’s fourth album titled Versatility released under Dutty Sounds Records. His other three albums are Seasons of the San released in 2002 under Ogopa DJ's label, Red in 2004 under Southwest Records and Pioneer released in 2006.
During their trip to Uganda last year, the girls were said to have lived the celebrity lifestyle from sleeping in luxurious suites to drinking pricy liquor, and feeding on costly meals at classy restaurants. It will be a tall order for Redsan to pull off this feat.

Redsan and Nameless are serious MTVbase contenders

We have it in good authority that a male musician is most likely to win the chance to be in this year’s MTVbase Making the Video Challenge with Shell project.
The two in close contention for the annual TV reality show, Nameless and Redsan are said to be enjoying high ratings as their music is said to be the most requested on MTVbase so far, our source said.
Last year, Mrs Nameless – or if you like Wahu - and Uganda’s Bobi Wine made a global TV debut on MTVbase with their song ‘Little Things You Do’ mentored by US director Melina Matsoukis. And the year before that, Nikki’s ‘Kipofu’ was directed by little know American director Taj Stansberry.
This year’s winner for the chance to make a video for a new song will be announced in May. MTVbase Making the Video with Shell is an initiative aiming to uplift the African music industry by sharing best practice and forging collaborations between local music video talent and top international video directors.

Redsan and Nameless are serious MTVbase contenders

We have it in good authority that a male musician is most likely to win the chance to be in this year’s MTVbase Making the Video Challenge with Shell project.
The two in close contention for the annual TV reality show, Nameless and Redsan are said to be enjoying high ratings as their music is said to be the most requested on MTVbase so far, our source said.
Last year, Mrs Nameless – or if you like Wahu - and Uganda’s Bobi Wine made a global TV debut on MTVbase with their song ‘Little Things You Do’ mentored by US director Melina Matsoukis. And the year before that, Nikki’s ‘Kipofu’ was directed by little know American director Taj Stansberry.
This year’s winner for the chance to make a video for a new song will be announced in May. MTVbase Making the Video with Shell is an initiative aiming to uplift the African music industry by sharing best practice and forging collaborations between local music video talent and top international video directors.