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Sunday, September 30, 2007

KENYA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2007

This is KIFF's second year and much inproved from last year thats for sure.Documentaries,Short Features,Animations,Experimental Films all covered.Nyota's song NALIA has been used by Lupita Nyong'o for her documentary IN THE GENES,which is all about albinoism .So get down there if your in Nairobi and check it out. For more infomation go to http://www.kifftrust.org/
Lupita Nyong'o

KIKWETU MUSIC EVENT

Nyota will be there alongside Eric Wainaina,Jua Kali and many more

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Kenyatta Day - Koln - Germany - 20th October 2007

a short promo for the up coming show in Germany

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Germany Naja !!!!!!


LADY S - some things stay unknown


The first time i saw Lady S was the video 'Lovely Ladies' , she looked good, caught my eye,and the flow and style of Bishop made me smile.I saved her face from the video as a desktop, 'at last another dame in the male dominated Kenya music scene' i thought.

Next time it was face to face.Nyota had laid down some vocals on a Mwaxio 'herbal records' Hilton rhythm track. a few days had passed and i was spinning it for Poxi Pressure , yea the track was kicking Nyota's vox and lyrics as ever spot on 'na dhani ni tende kumbe ni mende' but it could do with something more ....who should walk through the door but Lady S na Pili Pili within an hour she had the job done and Jikoni Mombasa was cookin up another classic ,with her memorable aside just at the beginning of the track 'kama ule mzee akuletea noma tutamkunjakunja namweka chini ya kitanda'.I was feeling good the future looked bright.

The track would hit with a good clip and the next time we met was when she came to Jikoni with Nyota to plan the shoot but the vibe was not the same ,stories had been in the press that she was ill na kweli she wasn't the same person,and Nyota and myself were of the opinion that she was not up to it,she stayed with Nyota for a week before returning to Nairobi i never saw her again but Nyota stayed in constant contact and the hope was that we would get a clip for the track together one day we did talk on the phone a couple of times and i knew she was disappointed with me that it never came together........
Madebe


The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it
-- Omar Khayyam

the following is from The Standard
Tribute to Lady S, the ‘Calif angel’ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Stevens Muendo
Lady S (Sharon Wangwe), 24, a singer, died in a road accident along Thika Road, Nairobi, on Monday evening. Picture by Boniface Mwangi Two weeks ago, Sharon Wangwe and I were sharing dinner in a Nairobi restaurant as she briefed me on the latest gains in her music career.
There was nothing particularly unusual about our meeting. As part of my job, I often meet artistes for information about the local music industry or just for a chat.
That evening we dined, as we watched the salsa dance. "I would want to learn how to do salsa and probably integrate it in my next album," she joked, as the couples on the dance floor made seductive moves.
But Lady S, as many had come to know the leading female rapper, was probably more excited about her invitation to perform in the UK, alongside other artistes, for an annual music and cultural extravaganza. This was to be her first international concert and was by all standards a great breakthrough in her eight-year music career.
With her new chart buster Kilio, featuring Choku and Rat-a-tat, ruling the airwaves, her career was no doubt headed for the stars. At that time she was still sorting out her visa issues.
Last Friday Lady S, accompanied with Choku, came to The Standard offices to meet Pulse editor Charles Otieno and team. She was jovial and talked of a newly formed music ‘unit’ dubbed the Calif Angels (comprising Rat-a-tat and Choku).
"We are going to up the game," she enthused. I’m happy and doing well," she added.
Little did we know that the Grim Reaper was lurking and this was to be our last conversation ears
On the evening of Monday September 3, news of the artiste’s tragic death shocked many. She had perished in a road accident after a car she was travelling in with her three friends rolled along Thika road. Ironically, Lady S was planning to fly to UK for a concert that evening.
"What do you mean Lady S is dead?" wondered one of her friends and fellow musician, Nyota Ndogo, who called me from Moshi, Tanzania, where she had gone for a concert. She broke down and disconnected the call.
Another of her friends from Dubai said he had booked the next flight back home. And just like it was in her new hit track title, Kilio, the industry was in tears.
Friend and foe found it hard to the 24-year-old ‘ghetto hip-hopper’. Having made her breakthrough in an otherwise male dominated rapping genre through her debut single, Wananiita Lady S, a hit song released by her Calif record stable, Lady S easily tore her way to regional acclaim through her follow up singles Lovely Ladies and Manzi wa Mtaa, in which she featured Jimw@t.
Her song Ukimwona rose to the top of the charts, making her one of the few lady musicians in the country to climb to such levels.
It is no surprise that established musicians such as the Kisima award winner Nyota Ndogo, Pilipili and Jua Cali sought her to feature in their songs.
But when she fell ill in 2005, even her closest friends distanced themselves from her and started to peddle gossip that she was on her way to the grave. But she battled the alleged kidney ailment.
She was the breadwinner of her family in their Dandora home and had to struggle to even pay her hospital bill. Nevertheless she was determined not to let down her family.
On the same Sunday we met, Lady S had hosted a pastor and church faithful to a thanksgiving ceremony at their Dandora home to thank God for seeing her through.
"He has seen me through my hard times," she confessed as she revealed her religious streak.
So who was Lady S and why was her life misunderstood?
Sharon was only 17 when her father Wangwe, a former member of Moreno Batamba’s Orchestra Moja One Band died. Having been inspired by her father’s immense music talent, Sharon then made up her mind to be a composer and a singer so as to keep her father’s legacy. Back then (1998) she was in her first year at Luuya Girls’ School in Bungoma, where she started nurturing her rapping talent.
During school holidays she would spend Sunday afternoons battling it out with upcoming male rappers during the popular Florida 2000 jam sessions in Nairobi, where her talent was discovered.
In August 2001, rapper Jua Cali noticed her talent and recommended her to producer Clement Rapudo aka Clemo of Calif records who signed her immediately she cleared high school.
In 2003, her diary was fully booked and only the ‘highest bidder’ could manage to get her for a show both locally and regionally.
But rumours about her love life soon began making the rounds. At first, allegations were made about her love affair with a deejay, followed by talk of romantic involvement with her producer. She vehemently denied claims.
"I know people mistake me because I am very social… The truth is, some of my colleagues at Calif have been envious of my success and they have been trying to put me down by peddling all sorts of evil talk about me," she said, during an interview with Pulse in March.
In the midst of all these rumours, Lady S broke up with her boyfriend of three years who was then a law student at Moi University. When her boyfriend wanted to get his way back into her life she refused and went ahead to record a track, Umeachwa, whose title was changed to Kilio days before the release.
"For now, my efforts are driven towards my mother and three brothers. I am not thinking of any man, not until next year," she confessed during another interview.
There is this saying that gangsta rappers always become greater in their death — and this could just be so for Lady S.
Road accidents have also ended the promising careers of Kenyan musicians like E-Sir and Wicki Mosh.
As they say in the song … ‘Rests in peace young niggas there’s heaven for the gees,’ may the First Lady of ‘Calif Angels’ rest in peace.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
reproduced from The Standard wed Sept 5 2007

AMANI


BAOBAB FAMILY cd released.Nyota Ndogo recorded the track Yatima for the project




CD Release: Baobab Family & Friends !!The new Sampler Baobab Family & Friends is out now! Best Reggae Music from Germany, France and Kenya!CD Release: Baobab Family & Friends !! It is out now: the looked-for Sampler Baobab Family & Friends is ready for sale! In order to support the Baobab Family, artists from Germany, France and Kenya porvided one song each for us and and there is even one song on this CD recorded especially for the Baobab Family! That gives every colleague and supporter of the Baobab Family heebie-jeebies and we are very happy about this successful and ingenious song, that will be – at least for us – the absolute hit this summer! Thanks a lot to all the artist for this so encouraging and honest song! Apart from that, you can also find on this CD:
01. House of Riddim – Respect 02. Culcha Candela – Give Thanks 03. Dub Incorporation – Survive 04. Sebastian Sturm – Tell them the truth 05. Nattyflo – Strandleben 06. Uwe Banton und Ganjaman – Kommt, seht, hört 07. Jamaram – No place to run to 08. Irie Révoltes – Soleil 09. Mono & Nikitaman – Tausend 10. Hassan J (Baobab Family Heimkind) – Zunguka 11. Jahcoustix – Afreeca 12. Santeria – Zeichen der Zeit 13. Pyro – Jetzt 14. Maxim – Stark sein 15. Sara Lugo – Old Roots Rastaman 16. Nyota Ndogo (Kenya) – Yatima 17. Nosliw – Es ist an der Zeit 18. Mellow Mark – Was geht ab mit der Liebe? 19. Martin Zobel – I know you
The CD costs 15 Euros. The full proceeds of the CD are for the planned childrens home in Homa Bay in the West of Kenya. As the childrens home in Mikindani is only for boys, we want this one especially for girls who have lost their parents and live on the streets. For further information: http://www.baobabfamily.org/Die-naechsten-Ziele.401.0.html?&L=0.
You can now order a Sampler here : www.baobabfamily.org/CDshop-Formular.620.0.html

Nyota Ndogo at 2007 Fiesta Boda kwa Boda Concert


UFISADI

Kenya: Sh10 Million Kitty to Boost Musical Fight On Corruption
East African Standard (Nairobi)
9 August 2007Posted to the web 9 August 2007
James Ratemo Nairobi
An anti-corruption agency has launched a Sh10 million kitty to fight the vice through secular music.
The National Anti-Corruption Campaign Steering Committee intends to engage top musicians to spread anti-corruption messages across the country.
The committee's director, Mr Polycarp Ochilo, said the programme aimed at sensitising and educating citizens on the dangers of graft.
"Music is key in the fight against corruption as it delivers strong messages that are easily retained Music is the language of the soul because it speaks to the heart, communicating to the mind and feelings of the person," Ochilo told the Press in Nairobi.
A team of nine top musicians, coordinated by the popular Homeboyz Entertainment, have compiled 10 songs dubbed 'Simama! (Stand) Together Against Corruption.
Relevant Links East Africa Crime and Corruption Kenya They will present them in 21 road shows across the country. During yesterday's launch, musicians Nameless, Wahu, Jimwat, Juacali, Mr Lenny, Wyre, Atemi, Nyota Ndogo and Suzanna Owiyo were present.
The inaugural campaign will be held this Saturday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, where the musicians will stage a live performance.
It will run until the end of next month, and would be preceded by another one involving religious musicians.

Nyota Ndogo - NALIA