would you do the same given that opportunity, and having all that fame they had?
I bet it worked for them otherwise wangerudi Kenya but I just don’t get it what was so great there, better than what they had in Nairobi… anyway, looking at their peers back in Nairobi, like Wyre and the others, it seems they have not achieved much here
Can you cash on the fame for the longterm. If yes, no rush to move. You can’t eat fame. Musicians are only as good as their last hit song. The day you stop producing hits is the day the money stops coming.
From what I’m seeing, Christian was seriously ill and managed to get treatment without having to go through the motions of a fundraiser.
Music is a ruthless business. If one can’t hack, then ni kubaya. They were doing well enough to stay there so wako poa.
RIP Christian Longomba
The Kenyan musicians of their time, how many are still making money? Moving was a wise idea otherwise wangekuwa broke and forgotten already.
Come to think of it where did one half of Deux Vultures (Nasty Thomas disappear to? Wengine kama akina Kunguru, Mr. Lenny na wengineo waliingia chini ya maji.
Kenyan and most of the African music industry is still young. But I think going forward it may change especially the Nigerian one. I can see them lasting longer & making serious money.
Now those are names I’ve not heard in a long time. Kenya is the land of one hit wonders. In 25 years Kenyan hip-hop there’s less than FIVE people that have made a career out of it as musicians.
The word you’re looking for is ‘mismanaged’.Alot of western music have borrowed heavily from beats,lyrics,catch phrases and actual musicians for iver 100years. African managers are shįt,MSK is shįt,case in point sauti sol,(and diamond’s,though black)their manager has put them on the world map. If african producers were that ambitious,every musician would be making sustancial dineros from their career…which is unreliable so to speak,one has to sing and sell mitumbas at the same time
He would have died earlier if he remained in Kenya with the poor health care that we have
You need to understand that these guys were Congolese refugees na Kenya ilikua kupitia.
America was their target whether they had become famous or not.
Nasty ni kama alirudi kwa Burundi na Mustafa siku hizi ni chokoraa
kenyan musicians are mostly broke… think of music as a seasonal gig
Nyash is the only artist ame make come back na industry ikakubali… Dude from Klepto alitravel to US… Tuka sahau kama ana exist… Now he is the ‘hit maker’ kwenye game
There was also a promising gospel artist called Henry Mutuku that also shifted to the US and she was among the best at the time.
In the early 2000s, there was really no money in the music biz. Ilikuwa tu fame bila dough. Now avenues are starting to open up for celebs to make money, especially YouTube, which is finally giving proper royalties, and Instagram, where product endorsements are becoming very commonplace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTPYpvKOUss
Kubali ukatae, Kelly Brown is Kenya’s musical GOAT. His rise to local and international fame may not have been equaled up to the present. He was a hero as his songs could be played English service of KBC side by side with those of American pop singers without breaking tembo. During vacations from west germany where he was based, his shows in Nairobi were always sold out. His social life was however little known. It was only after his death in 1989 that it was known he craved school girls. This weakness was said to have led to his murder by a german thug whose 14 year old he had eaten several times, so we heard. the thug had warned Kelly to keep off his daughter but the girl refused to let go. The thug sent his men to pick his daugher from Kellys flat and they also killed him. Kelly’s fate was only known after the stench of his decomposing body made authorities to break into the flat. His body was repatriated to Kenya and buried at the Kariokor Muslim cemetery.
Nameless is the true King
Nasty Thomas is in Norway in the fitness industry and has a girl from there, last i heard from him he said things were not working out in Kenya, Mustafa made some hits but after the collapse of Ogopa Djs he fell off bad
Never heard of this nigga before today. What kind of name is Kelly Brown anyway??
Today if you’re actually talented, you can earn solely from music. Kila weekend huwes kosa gig tatu zinakulipa at least 100k each (pre-corona). Na kuna endorsements (Kama Khaligraph na Monster energy), YouTube, paid live engagements, branded merchandise. Once in while you’ll also receive royalty cheques from kina spotify, iTunes, skiza, na media houses across the globe.
Redsan once talked about how he’d receive emails and calls from radio stations in Europe asking where they should forward his royalties because they follow the law. Yaani the possibilities are endless. Lakini local bonobos…mtu anataka a-release one song every three years na ajiite a serious artist, washienzi kabisa. Musicians kama wa Wasafi I’m sure they turn down so many opportunities because they’re always fully booked.