Escrava Esaura and Our Creative Arts Industry?

General
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I am musical. In high school, our school often made it to the nationals… performing at KICC kwa either “condom” ama “tent” depending on what the organizers had arranged for that year… one time even performing for Baba (the original) at State House, Nakuru. So when I say I am musical, I kinda know what I am saying… plus I am one of the few Kenyans who actually did “music” in high school as a course… mmmmnh… What a waste!!!

Let’s just agree that I am musical. So… Sometimes, out of nowhere a tune rings in my mind and I find myself humming or whistling to a song that I may have heard a loooong time ago (not unique to me, I am sure). Also, I am from the era where the only station was “idhaa ya redio ya VOK”… before it became “idhaa ya Kiswahili ya KBC”… which is now “Radio Taifa”. It’s like they had a FIXED playlist coz they would recycle those songs like shi+!! About 60% of those songs were ass-kisses to either Baba, or Kanu:

Ee Baba Moi, Tawala Kenya, Mpenzi wa wana…
Tawala, Kenya Tawala, Raisi…
Kenya ni Nchi yangu, sitaiwacha daima…
Wapotea mtoto mzuri kwa kunya chang’aa (Them Mushrooms)
Shida (Baraka Monshehe)
Remmy Ogalo, Maroon Commandos… … …

Those songs tend to linger on even now that we have a gazillion FM stations. Well… Out of the blues I found myself screaming the Escrava Esaura (translated: Esaura the Slave) song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Cq9z3zisQ

…and I was like “Whaaat!! This shi+ used to air on VOK… It’s been like forever since I heard that song! Let me Google that shit!” Back then, the telenovella had been translated to English, but the cover song was always Portuguese. None of us knew Portuguese so we everyone sang the title song the best way they knew how, each hearing whatever they wanted to… try it! There was nothing else to watch so usijaribu kuniambia “nyeff nyeff” hapa…

With a sense of nostalgia, I decided to try and see if I could get a clip of the original telenovella with English subtitles. I did!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-nCy7WnFwM

(the title song in this version is different, although the story remains the same)

And then… shock!! This fuckin thing was shot in 2004, and yet the quality of work: the story line, the props, the effects and all… are still leaps and bounds ahead of what our local film industry is producing in 2016!! Have you tried watching TV lately!? And please don’t even try to tell me about that Nollywood shit!!

The music industry is not any better. Save for a few talented souls, our popular Kenyan artists are ALL shit!

So, really. What the fuck is wrong with our creative arts today?!!

6 Likes
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@Gashiwn correct osungu, na mtu wa braeburn aka @nairobilay Mwambie Beethoven unajua all symphonies na tour zilikua piwa. Upuss ya shagmondo. Stopped reading when i got to ‘i am musical’.

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@Gashiwn correct osungu, na mtu wa braeburn aka @nairobilay Mwambie Beethoven unajua all symphonies na tour zilikua piwa. Upuss ya shagmondo. Stopped reading when i got to ‘i am musical’ the second time. Boss hii forum sio ya kweni muchatha.

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Now one but you

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“I am musical” is proper English. Acha kuanika ufala wako hapa… plus if unafikiri mimi ni wa Braeburn (for whatever reason), you are off by a mile!

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Sauti ya Kenya, TV ilikua ya fungua 6pm na national anthem and we would stand at attention and sing the three verses.
Radio was mw and sw with lots of background noise but we sung along to all tunes no matter what.

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I read it like it’s “I am a musical” all through sijui kwa nini…

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If you had said ‘you’re music’ it could have echoed to my appreciation, however your ghetto craving for the high table bro lol. You left out alot by repeating your asshat rhyme than expressing the message… Kubaff! This is the deep end, take it head on or drown motherfucker¡

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$$$$

Today’s artists earn more from creating “trash” than hapo awali when music was music.

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…And just like that, a person who I thought was intelligent anikas their stupidity!!! First you call me mtu wa Braeburn, now I have a ghetto craving!? Inferiority complex much!?

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Puuuuliiiz!! It aint about you, nigga!

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I see nothing wrong with I am musical

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Let me use your argument Mr. I am musical @IsMundu Now that during my time in high school I performed during cultural festivals and music festivals too,upto the national level,and I also performed for the original Baba at statehouse Nakuru,does it mean I am a musical. Should I start humming kikuyu circumcision,harvest and Tero Buru( yes,I did perform that and other tradition songs) and claim I am musical too?

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Now, if all these so called stations we have are interested in petty politricks and bringing us alehandro and selina, maning ning and ikechuku obinna; when will they get time to promote local industries?! Whole stations dedicated to western arts at the expense of our own. I’m sure many people here know more of tupac and fifty cent than they know of Chris Bitok or Aaron Rimbui. It’s saddening to a point of daydreaming JazzmanTv is an actual tv station playing strictly Kenyan productions.

A buddy of mine introduced me to benga and I fell in love hard to the point I started learning Luo just to understand what they’re singing not just grooving to the beat. This music will never be seen or heard playing on any of these stations

Oh btw, I am musical too, but musical in the sense I used to play for the school orchestra and afterwards switched to Jazz

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Finally!! Someone is actually talking about the matter at hand… @webdev… acha tu!!%

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Oooh men I used to love Sinbad. Na Tahamaki although that killer guy used to scare the hell out of me,and I was totally in love with that girl who drowned in the ocean sijui Waridi or Linda some like tht
Days of our lives

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Not 6pm but 4pm. That’s when the station would open…

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I think locally produced material is expensive and the audience seem satisfied with western media… afterall these companies are out there to make a profit.

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Am talking about 70s and early 80s.
Local content ilikua joy bringers, vioja, zingatia, mambo leo, charity sweepstakes among others.

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sera moretino parasora sukumbuke