Music

The tsunami that promises to sweep through the Kenyan political landscape and usher in a new breed of leaders continues to pick up pace as the Wanainchi use all methods available at their disposal to ensure that they are not excluded from the national debate. Many are turning to the internet to get their voices heard.

One example of this is the music track Tumechoka by Ill Phil Artists. Tumechoka is a Swahili word which translates into English as we are tired/we have had enough. Ill Phil Artists released the song and video online via the MARS Group Kenya website. You can listen to the track and read the lyrics below (largely in Kiswahili with loose English translations). Please share and distribute it widely. It’s free and the artists have waived their royalty rights for internet download and radio play.

More information on the MARS Group website where you can also download the file in its original Real Media player format.

 

 Tumechoka: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Intro

Sisi sote tumekuja pamoja kusema Na kuskika, hatunyamazi mashida zetu Kama kitambo,
(We have come to speak in one voice, we will not be silenced as before)

A voice against our leaders, ni kura itaongea, pigeni kura pigeni kura pigeni kura..
(Our vote will speak, Vote people Vote! Vote!)

Baken
Nashindwa niajee, kuishi kiwasi wasi nitaongea ki wazi wazi viongozi vikohozi
(Why are we living in fear with leaders who make us sick)

Na niajee, Mtaani tunawika nayeye anacheka straight to the bank,
(Why are we living in ghettos as our leaders laugh straight to the bank)

Mi na hustle ye ana manga bila hata kungangana, kwanini akuhonge baadaye akunyonge
(I have to hustle, he enjoys without labouring, why should he bribe us, later he hangs us)

Kamba shingoni ya kujitia mwenyewe, wanajifanya waelewi kula kuva
(A noose around his neck this time, he thinks he is better than us)

Yote C.D.F na round hi, Shida zetu tunyazmazi.
(This time let us end our problem)

Chorus
Tumechoka na sema tumechoka kufinyiliwa down tunasema tumechoka (tumechoka) x 4
(We are tired of being pressed down - We are Tired! x 4)

Leftie
Mshahara tunampa, na kazi hatuoni, pesa zetu mnakula na bunge mnalala,
(We pay you well but your work is unseen. You eat our money and sleep in Parliament)

Mnasema mko kazi Ndio sisi wenye vipaji, vitambi vinatokea ungedhania Ni kiriba,
(You claim to be hard at work)

Tunafinywa Kwa makini, laini shinda maini maazi kufanyiziwa
(We are oppressed)

Malazi kufinyiliwa, wanadai in the ghetto na nyimnaangalia nimekula huu usongo
(In our homes we are oppressed they say in the ghetto)

Ndio maana ninalia, nakaa hamtawacha kura yangu hamta pata, this time mkicheza tutampiga
(This is why I am crying. No vote for you from me this time.)

hiyo marando, taadhari tafakari Leftie akiwa nare mtakuwa kwenye hatari tunataka maendeleo, hacheni huo ukorofi,
(Watch yourself I am getting impatient. We want development not corruption.)

Chorus
Tumechoka na sema tumechoka kufinyiliwa down tunasema tumechoka (tumechoka) x 4
(We are tired of being pressed down - We are Tired! x 4)

Hawkins
Followed my heart through all the roads into the jungle, seen so much pressure
Told my body, just handle, this is nothing, Compared to what we thought,
Bad governance and leadership is what we fought, dark ages, black pages, rough ages
Men make history but this is to much, I earn all the money but you say I can’t touch, unajiongezea Mshahara nikipinga unanipiga, si protest Kwa Street Ndio maana niko Kwa beat nakuonya roundi hii nakutoa wewe shindwa
(You increase your salary when I protest you have me beaten – I am warning you now this time I will throw you out!)

Chorus (repeat)
(We are tired of being pressed down - We are Tired! x 4)

Jahfarel
Nabado wamesahau tumewapa hii works, Kulounge bila shukrani hatowi pesa zao
(They have forgotten that we are their employers, they are greedy and laze about)

Dem lying dem saying but they just destroying with false prophesies of a better tomorrow,
(They are false prophets and liars)

Na hii wakati, Ni Kura itaongea pigeni Kura pigeni Kura
(This is the time. Our vote will speak. Vote! Vote!)

Ending Chorus
(We are tired of being pressed down - We are Tired! x 4)

One busy Saturday when I was around 10 years old I was standing in a shop on Biashara Street in central Nairobi that sold food in bulk. Wholesale. I watched as man walked in and proceed to buy 14 (I counted them) cartons of Weetabix each carton holding around 24 boxes of the stuff.

I have never been so jealous or impressed in my life.

All those bars of Weetabix for one guy? What a hero; what a show-off. My mother reassured me that he probably was not going to eat it all himself but was most likely buying stock for his shop but I preferred my vision of him surrounded by boxes of the stuff and having it for every meal.

Back then the most popular kid amongst us was a guy who not only OWNED a proper football but used to dish out free Weetabix if his team won. Unsurprisingly my brothers and I (although on the opposing team) regularly ensured that his team always won in the end. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! I loved the stuff.

A few years later when I got home and proudly announced to my older brothers that they were looking at the new captain of the school under-13s rugby team I was promptly informed that I can not call myself a rugby captain unless I could eat 8 bars of Weetabix in one sitting using only one packet of milk (around 0.4 litres).

I made it. Just.

I am not sure why I was so obsessed with those brown bars of cereal. I have my theories but that is for another post another day. The strange this a few years I thought back one day and realised that I had not eaten any Weetabix in over 5 years.

I am not sure when I stopped, I just did. Basically I had grown up and, in a way, out grown the obsession. It used to be important, it no longer was.

The point behind my Weetabix story is that as a 10 year I never fathomed that a time would come when my thoughts wouldn’t be dominated by Weetabix. In fact the sole motivation for becoming an adult was so I could eat Weetabix when I wanted without having to ask anyone. At the time it never occurred to me that that would be unreasonable.

That contrasts sharply with my flirtation with “Gangsta Rap”. From the very first time I heard a Gangsta Rap song (probably around 13 when NWA were busy telling us to “Fuck the Police”) I knew in my heart that although I loved this new, brash, in-your-face type of music at the time, a day would surely come when I would look at it with disgust. In fact I used to excuse it to myself as one of the excesses of immature youth. I was young, I was growing up, I was immature and thus, I was allowed to like it. But even then I knew that one day I would just have to recognise it for the nonsense it is. Till then I could go around singing along to Snoop’s DoggyStyle from start to finish and feel only slightly guilty.

And it wasn’t just me. At times it looked like the whole of Kenya had this fever. Every estate had a guy who would could describe the geography of Los Angeles like he was born and breed there, “you drive though Compton, pass Inglewood, and get to South Central” and of course us muppets who had never been to the USA would nod our heads wisely like we were talking about Ngummo, Ngong Road and Kenyatta Market.

I must admit that falling out of love with Gangsta Rap took a lot longer than I anticipated when I was 13. In fact although Gangsta Rap songs were quickly out numbered in my collection by the time I started university it wasn’t until much later the ridiculousness of the whole situation slapped in me in the face.

Live8! Concerts around the world to fight for Africa, MAKE POVERTY HISTORY, wear a white band. Woo Hoo! Simultaneous concerts around the world with the blue ribbon event in London. Now there were many ridiculous things about Live8 and especially the London concert. One was that the organisers constantly turned away African artists who wanted to perform. Instead they were, belatedly, give their own little concert miles away in the Eden Project, as my pal T said, they threw us in the only jungle left in England. OK it is their country. But when even brilliant black British artist such as Lemar were turned away things were thick. So a look at the line up to check out the black artists and who do you come across.

Our good friend Snoop Dogg.

Now as Lola rightly says it is obvious to any rational person that Gangsta Rappers do not speak for African American community, leave alone Africans and all black people on the planet. But when Snoop got on stage at Live8 he had an opportunity to do something, to be somebody. Of course he didn’t. All he did was show case just how stupid this whole Gangsta Rap thing is.

For one he was the ONLY artist as far as I can remember who did not mention Africa at all when he was on stage. Not a word on AID or Trade on injustice, nothing. Perhaps he needs to attend TED Global Secondly he was the only artist (apart from Madonna I think) who could not refrain from swearing on stage. Fuck this, fuck that, motherfucking this.

What makes it even more disheartening is that some of these guys have brilliant minds. You do not pull yourself up from the floor of society to make millions without engaging your brain cells. I just wish they would engage them productively. I was listening to Chuck D talking on the BBC a while ago and he was talking about how he happened to be on the same plane to Australia as 50 Cent and spent a while talking to him. According to Chuck D, 50 Cent is one of the most intelligent people in the rap game today. Yet a few hours later 50 Cent was in front of a large crowd of 50,000 plus people and urging them to all shout, “KILL THAT NIGGA” as he (50 Cent) asked what he should about some of his rivals in the rap game. Now having a stadium full of kids shouting KILL THAT NIGGA is, as Chuck D pointed out, not healthy.

However Gangsta Rap especially in an African context is full of illogic. For one Gangsta Rappers want us to believe that they live the hardest lives ever. Now I am not one belittle another man’s experiences (and having seen inner city Manchester close up for many years I know that “developed country” means a different thing for a crown prince who flies in a private jet to Argentina to play polo than it does to the young kids of Moss Side who do not even have a playing field in their school) but KM has a great quote from a K’naan the rapper born in Mogadishu, Somalia,

If i rhyme about home, and got descriptive/
I’d make 50 cent look like limp bizkit.

Mogadishu –v- Compton = no contest.

Secondly, Gangsta Rap sells itself as ghetto/street music but Gangsta Rap as far as Kenya and the parts of Africa I have been to is not the music of the street. That is reserved for reggae a.k.a freedom music a.k.a revolution music a.k.a Roots a.k.a Dub. Call it what you want, that is the sound of the street.

Thirdly, and in many ways the most serious, the disrespecting our sisters. That this has somehow come to be labelled a black thing is the biggest disservice that Gangsta Rap has served on us. In fact the disrespecting of women by Gangsta Rap is one of the biggest signs of male disempowerment in society this world has to offer. Again on the BBC a few weeks ago when this topic was being debated I heard another Gangsta Rapper who apparently is meant to be quite articulate, Xzibit, give the most nonsensical and ridiculous justification for using NIGGA and BITCH/BYATCH etc in rap music. Luckily for the sane amongst us the BBC also had the great Fats Domino in the studio to talk about proper music as well as share some thoughts on just how misguided the youth of today are!

Luckily we have gurus of very good music amongst our midst and even more so good music is everywhere around us in every genre including rap. Personally I have had it with “Gangsta Rap”. I should have stuck with the Weetabix.

You know how you always end up doing the same thing over and over again? It doesn’t have to be like that. Check this out:

I have eaten at Blanco’s, the food there is (in the words of a friend) “bloody good and out of this world.” You order Matumbo at a fancy restaurant and it comes looking so classy you just have to smile. If you do not trust my culinary opinions (perhaps because I nearly started an international diplomatic crisis over chevra) check out what the professionals are saying [PDF of Review of Blanco’s by Daily Nation’s food critic Gastro d'nom].

I’ve heard good things about Sauti as well although I have never heard the pleasure of hearing them do their thing.

I won’t be able to make this particular evening, I have a date with history but you go ahead and let me know how it was

The following article is from hipFox

In the words of Marcus and Chris of The Jam on Capital FM, is true or is it bullcrap? Let me know what you think.

Dandora, Kenya - In a strange turn of events, would be burglars got the shock of their lives when they broke into what they thought was an empty house only to stumble into the home’s owner who was getting a midnight “valentine” present from his wife.

John Kamau, 29, got an ipod from his older brother who lives in Kansas, USA as a christmas gift last December.

Lacking a radio set or receiver of any kind, John was lying next to his wife in the darkness of his living room and was holding the ipod in his hands while his wife had the headsets on her ears listening to romantic music that John’s brother had also sent from the US.

John had used the ipod to get his wife into a more loving and giving mood and was smiling from ear to ear when the wooden window behind him was suddenly smashed into pieces.

One of the pieces landed right next to John’s head on the floor almost popping his right eye out.

He says he turned and looked up from where he was lying on the floor with his wife to see a man’s gigantic foot rise up and almost crash his face in.

It was at that moment that John’s held his hands up as a sign of giving up.

But before he could even say anything, the two thieves, not knowing that the owner of the house was lying on the floor with his wife, got scared and ran back out via the window apparently thinking that the light from the ipod was a ghost.

John immediately put on his clothes, left his wife and trekked the 12 miles to the nearest police station.

The cops, who’d never seen an iPod before, confiscated it and sent John away calling him a liar and rich with imagination.

John’s brother later sent him another ipod, calling it “better than those Kenyan cops”

Thanks M4 for the link!

This past weekend I had to take two train trips in just over 12 hours. 3 hours there and 3 hours back. On top of that when I got there I had to take a 45 min bus trip there and back. Basically I was travelling for over 7 hours. It wasn’t all bad though because I had my iRiver H10 (better than the iPod, sexier than the Zen). I have ten playlists on the H10 which I change regularly. I normally go through each one at least once … yes I am a music surfer. But not this time. For over 7 hours I listened to the same album over and over again and it turned a mediocre trip into a good one, especially when I had to leave at 9am.

The album was Babyface’s Grown & Sexy. I do not understand why people are sleeping and hating on this album. (Especially when the most popular alternative seems to be silly lyrics shouted by a one Mr. Cent.) Grown & Sexy is brilliant. It is classic Babyface. If you do not like Babyface you might as well declare a fatwa right now. If you do, then get this.

But … there always is a but isn’t there. Halfway through the album I was nodding my head to the music but I still felt there was something missing. It was Babyface … but not Babyface as I know it … there was something missing. For a while I could not place what it was that was missing from this album. Then it hit me. Babyface had not apologised yet. No one NO ONE does apologies like Babyface. The man must mess up constantly because he turned the apology into an art. Back in the day we used to mess up just so we could send our girl a Babyface track. Remember:

So i’m
Never keeping secrets
And I’m never telling lies
I wanna make it up to you

But all is not lost because on track 7 Babyface is back on apology A form. The song is even called, “Sorry For The Stupid Things”. (Does exactly what it says on the tin.) Check the lyrics

Sometimes a man
Just don’t be a man
It’s not an excuse
It’s just how it is
Sometimes the wrong
Don’t know that they’re wrong
Sometimes the strong
Ain’t always so strong
Sometimes a girl
Is gon’ be a girl
She don’t wanna deal with all the drama in your world
God knows I don’t mean to give it to you
So girl I’m sorry for the stupid things I wish I didn’t do but I do
Oh so sorry, oh no, oh so sorry

It’s our fault, we are whack, we wish we more like you, you are prefect, we messed up. You are superior!

Prefect!

Babyface is king!

Step aside 50 Cent, Barnes is back!
The rap world is still shaking from his ground breaking single The Anfield Rap and not to mention his headline act at the 1990 World Cup.

“I’m in the house like a Manji bisquit…”

The greatest lyric in a Kenyan hip-hop song ever.
by K-South (I think, Msanii_XL can probably confirm )

I�ll always regret never having the opportunity to experience Nina Simone live in concert. As far as full, rich, inspiration, lives go she is an example to us all.

Last month E-Sir and now Wicky Mosh. How many more of your people have to die before we realise that we need to do something about Kenyan roads NOW.

R.I.P guys