craft and aesthetics:MISSENGUE,a piece of Pierre Moutouari's artistic garb on my mystery plate

Its Youtube version bears all the feel and touch of  age;antiquity.At a go,you feel it is old with heavy markings of the best the  technology of music production of those times could offer yet it is not until after 1979 when Pierre Moutouari moved from DRC to Paris to launch his solo career in music that Missengue got composed,produced and released amongst his many other hits. It makes you think of an antique world that bears this aura of the mystic yet the song isn't that old.It triggers in the mind a fleeting imagination of a world that existed momentarily  back in time and  then slipped away to give way to the neo-man of new and fresh and ‘exotic’ impressions and expressions that, due to human’s clamour for the new ,subdued to the chambers of relics this tune  as if at no time  the world melted with reverence when the sun of  its calm and breezy civilization reigned high with an intoxicating arrangement,smoothness of its rhythmic poetry,the saxophone... that saw music lovers dance themselves lame whenever it got played—I presume it did.

I am talking about Pierre Moutouari’s “Missengue”.

Until a few minutes ago, I didn’t know the title of this tune nor Pierre Moutouari,the Congolese Soukous artist that rendered it to the world and conquered hearts when it was still hot and the talk of town.I don’t know at what particular point in my life I got to hear it but one thing I know is that it was one of those popular songs played on KBC Idhaa Ya Taifa in the 80s and the 90s(the time of my childhood) when KBC,Kenya’s state owned radio station ,was still the only radio station around in this part of the world I call home. I am certain that at no particular point I got to follow the song since I was still a baby and the affairs of the radio looked mysterious as the adults we saw around who looked distant and detached from our child-life of play and less worries about life.KBC sounded misty and dark and radios weren’t easy to come by.My father had a radio and so we treated it with great awe and so the music and the voices we never got to see that it spewed whenever it was healthy and alive with new Eveready Paka Power batteries.

The likes of Ali Salim Manga,Khadija Ali,Elizabeth Obege...were kings and queens of the airwaves and through programmes such as ‘Salamu za Vijana’  and music programmes that were aired mid morning and at dusk played a lot of Congolese music alongside local sounds from Kenya  and the rest of Africa.It is here that I believe I got to hear about Missengue but never thought that almost 25 years  it will become the symbol of the desire for things alien and foreign yet so attractive to my toddling curiosity that would become the basis of my construction of the definition of the mysteries of life that needed to be unraveled.

Once in a while, Missengue  has been passing by; playing in my heart like song riding on the wind over the vales and trees and disappearing with the same winds ,arousing nostalgic memories of time and a world that looked so great to conquer and I wished to know so that I couldn’t wait to grow fast enough to be part of but which had disappeared into the thick folds of the emerging worlds that we never got to feel and think its potent magic the way I had dreamt I would think and feel when I eventually came of age in the new millennium.

When it plays through  in my heart,  I think of that life that was and the sun that shown the way it did then unlike  it does now and happiness was ripe and a little tender that it seems now.

This is one of those things that one never chooses to cherish but gets imbedded in your subconscious thus becoming a part of you that you never obviously know to be in  you and surfaces only momentarily to haunt life,in its wake  a trail of memories that bloom wild and unsteady like forest flowers in flash rains.

When Pierre Moutuari’s Missengue   plays,masked worlds emerge before me and I feel  a hushed frustration at my failure to having taken a look at that world when it was what it was then so that I remember it as it was then and to understand it as it was then through the lenses of Missengue.

It is a huge hidden wisdom for me why this song is big to my heart despite the fact that it has never been one of my  love affairs in my most(though sometimes flippant) conscious moments. Yet I still love it and it feels great to know that I love it and that now I have it in my player to play it loud as if it is new. Maybe the ages it has defied and the raw image of Moutouari I never got know till today might unravel the mysteries of the world that happened  and I missed when my eyes were still child. 

Wait...I...I think it the point where I have to yield to the song and dance my all.See you on the other side of fleeing moment when the song is done.

To download the song follow the link: www.emp3z.ws/mp3/missengue-pierre-moutouari-in-lingala.html
or listen to it on Youtube via the link :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekVc4kFJQGw

Gudi Gudi:Everlast Dance Crew on point again with Kristoff and Rapdamu in a new hit

When they decided to wade deeper into the waters of entertainment and cast their new found net of making music into the water,they did it with a bang.Their first song "Symptoms za madharau" was one with bright shine of huge potential for a group  whose worth  of promise for greatness was deep and hazy that no one could actually tell its significance in changing the tale of Everlast Dance Crew itself which started as a dance crew with the aim of winning the coveted prize in the East Africa's biggest TV dance competition,Sakata, that has aired on Citizen TV since its inception a few years ago.In the crowded Kenya's entertainment scene that is packed with big sharks who own the game and where competition can be as nasty as anywhere in any dangerous sea,there was anxiety on how the market will receive this new kid in the block and if their arrival will be of any significant persuasion.Were they going to be a one hit wonder or given the their glowing talent they were going to claim their place in the crowded market place.

Rapdamu

Well,while we were debating silently about the worth of the dance crew,the team was back in the studio to cook and serve another hit.They wisely considered not going it alone but doing so by consolidating their strike by teaming with big names Kristoff and Rapdamu.And now there is no doubt that Everlast Dance Crew means business and are here to challenge beliefs and establishment that reign in the hearts of music lovers and cash harvest from music making.

Teaming up with already established household names Rapdamu and Kristoff,Everlast Dance Crew has dropped their new hit single:Gudi Gudi.It is expressive in its poetry rendered in Swahili and unlike their fast-tempo-full-of-energy first single,this song is gentle and breezy yet still a club banger as a man expresses his adoration for his girl who has smitten his heart and tries through the panegyric tone to woo her into falling into his trap.

Kristoff

Kristoff and Rapdamu have given the song the weight of their already established names and their hard to ignore talents in hit making and so far they have done a wonderful job in the song "Gudi Gudi" alongside Everlast Dance Crew who have delivered a well crafted hit and well thought  message that gives a bold ray of hope that Kenyan men are,as always has been,very much interested in their Kenyan women and their beauty amidst growing jitters among the men that the Kenyan woman is no longer the easy to like and easy to be a slave to as they used to be many years ago.

Someone would have have written off Everlast Dance Crew as a bunch of young men intoxicated with their win of Sakata Season 4 and now in their post-glory hour, were looking for ways to cling to their fading fame but that seems not to be the case .By Kristoff and Rapdamu, who are known to be very serious in their art and their associations in the industry, accepting to work with this new entrant in the industry,it means that they believe in MC Jege and his crews' ability to deliver.It is a huge endorsement.

The Kenyan industry has no choice other than to welcome Everlast Dance Crew to its big flock of very talented and smart entertainers.The crew has proved that they are a force to reckon with and given a chance,they are going to be revolutionary with a rich  tale of a journey of growth that has taken faith,passion,patience,brains and assertiveness to be where they are now and where they will be tomorrow.

Watch out for Everlast Dance Crew.My little bird tells me that their much bigger things on the way.

Stay on this page to get more details on how you can get access to the mp3 of "Gudi Gudi " and the soon to be released video of the same on Youtube.

A Letter To My Son1:Is it too late to play a father to you?

Image:Dick Gregory

Dear son,

At the onset of this cold untimely discourse, I must tell you that this is the product of failed parentage; a thing that has driven cowardice into the core of lacking values that defines my person and thus I can’t dare speak to you face to face.

Was I ever a good father? That I can’t remotely remember .But fresh in my mind are the many times we s pent watching those stupid movies the whole night while laughing and making obscene commentaries and the  tired house keeper had to  miss  his sleep on these nights because of us. Something more that I remember too is that I was here in KU-land long before I knew you will be partaking and contributing to the making of our strong elegant culture. I have been here long enough and tradition and decency demands that to you, my only heir, I have to bequeath all that I ever had. But before that, let’s take a walk down the memory lane.

Son, did you know that some people thought that I was a looser? Well, I am proud too, you know, of the things that I have done and got away with. Do you remember the first time you came to this place? You were lost, tired and confused while pulling a very huge bag and looking at you I said, “That boy is pretty innocent but he is going to break some hearts.”  You never knew where to start from and the queues were too long with bodies pressing and pressing even harder you almost passed out- my father’s genes gives strong enduring offspring not like your but then there is your mother and it seems you take after her. Those fellows seated at those many windows at 8-4-4 and taking tea with buns and boiled eggs were not concerned about serving you faster and I saw your face cloud and I said, “This lad has the capacity for hatred too!”

After they had officially declared you a noble citizen of KU-land it was my responsibility to orient you before the madam and her team showed you irrelevant things that will never be much of help to you. First you had to know KM and getting there you wondered aloud why this small ka-village could be so complex than the coveted culture village. You took me by the arm and asked “Pa, is this place usually this beautiful with skirts?” Was I to be offended? No! I saw an aspect of my genes in you-you were hot blooded like your father. But we needed to focus. These skirts are too many and more pretty than the madam’s  flowers if paraded for you will take a hundred years to make a prudent choice and most probably you’ll want to take ‘em all.

Our mission in KM-land was to introduce you to the members of the “Legion of the Drink”. We had our little sanctuary, Kwa Mbugs, where the membership was free and the sweet water flowed depending on your pocket size. Back home that priest was too mean he only allowed us a sip on those blessed Sunday’s. You could never take enough to feel your head light and see the world spin around.

Forget about that for a while now and let me give you some advice. While here, son, beware of that hand out called HELB.When you don’t have it  days bleed blood and when you get it ,it is so bewitching it will make the ugliest of endeavours look so pretty you will hardly think straight. It is sweet you will want to spend it-we called it “reducing the load to manageable size”. But one thing you can be sure of it will make you miserable by inevitably driving you into being broke before you know it. Then you’ll resort to seeking for grants from foreign lands to help offset your budget deficits. Even then you will have to agree to implement the structural adjustment programs these donor fellows will suggest before you hope to see your phone blink with a message from Michael J’s famous MPESA.  

When I was to come here they sent this hand out and off I ran to Garissa Lodge to get the best of clad to help sell my portfolio to the ladies. I also went to Phone Express shop and got a phone whose value could feed any ordinary citizen of this place for a few months before the semester wound up. I was misinformed the same way you were that this was the land of plenty. And before I could tell the difference between science zone and science complex a good Samaritan came along and helped himself with my clads and my phone. Then I swore ever to use a kambambe not unless otherwise. I ran broke but that little book of life helped me but I had to contend with akala the whole semester- I have left you a similar book under my name-eat but remember the eleventh commandment: thou shall not be caught and make sure they don’t ask for an ID or else they will know you area fake and make you starve.

I remember one time I took advantage of my-all- time- tough- donor of a father and when I reported here I was loaded. On a Friday, like everybody else I went to have fun I town. Those days “bend over” had not come but we had something akin to it. My evening got pretty steamy with this hot chic making it colourful.She made me drink like fish and still she gave me a fake name. The next time I became sober it was two o’clock in the morning and I was slouching on a chair at a corner of the club with no shoes, money nor even my kabambe.She must have been in a hurry to keep my stuff away from the bad guys and forgot to take my ATM card and with it I made my second last withdrawal. There after the ATM machine resorted to cold treatment.

Your grandpa was a great guy but he never taught me the art of keeping a lady for more than two weeks nor did he tell me that they were the most complicated species. I thought this place was like the village where conquest was guaranteed: two "NOs" and the third one always a “YES”. But I realized these sisters were keen on men; were complicated; were very sophisticated; intelligent and very beautiful I realized that in the game of love I was a small time player and they got my game under control. I barely kept these sisters for two weeks. They always pushed me to the brink of becoming heartless but how does it profit you to sell your heart to the devil and become an angel of destruction and pain.

Putting on trendy clads was an indication of ability and they told me that ladies preferred guys who were loaded. What fun would, after all,one get from a broke fellow who’s shopping contained more toilet paper rather than juice and other things the ladies preferred. A lady rejected a friend of mine because he was always carrying sukuma and she thought dating him meant becoming a rabbit of some kind. A few years later I realized these ladies preferred our smartly dressed brothers who dressed official as if on job hunting spree. I got tired of pleasing them and I thought of shifting to the Eastern village to enjoy my last days in peace and manage with my pitiable pension settlement.

Son, at this juncture I would strongly wish to tell not to feign love. How I wish that I could in the same way tell you to fear falling in love. But never mind. Just make sure that you have your eyes open to see the faces this love is always making at your ignorance. When sure enough that you have fallen in love tread carefully and give your heart to somebody who will keep it safe for you till come for it one day. As much as I would like to think of this place as a man-eat-man society there are plenty of good people around and be careful not to be indebted to them. You might not be able to pay back well enough.

On days when I wasn’t breaking CASB rules by “dangerously tapping electricity” to soften the stones in the name of beans I got cheaply from Githurai, I was in KM taking my point five. Then I thought point five was for guys and ladies went to Meguro or Culture Village. But there I met another lady, a point fiver like me and we connected pap! Later I realized that she was a gentle soul and better than me so I feared taking her debt and I ran away before telling her my fake name.

My son, if you can afford it, love and cherish good roomies who are memory makers. They will always be bent to make your stay here a memorable thing by offering you lasting experiences even when they have not asked if you really needed such memories. My roomy was the exile master and many a times I found myself sleeping walking between Nyayo campus and Eastern village sometimes late in the night. I was, against my wish forced to spend the night with a gentle friend who at night would snore like a thousand engines of KQs airbuses. And then he would say a lot of nonsense while sleeping; things he would never say while awake. Since then I swore never to be awake while others slept or listen to what others said while asleep on days when even sleep demanded for bribe I could not afford. One day I learnt of a trick for repossessing the room from my good friend. He never liked omena so I took it upon myself to make his stay in the room a good experience. I fried the things and he kept out of the room but at one time I feared I might suffer from malnutrition. It meant that I had to make the delicious meal every day, and I can tell not to go down that line too. 

I have remembered something too. When I first came here there was this thing called matriculation. We were offered free sodas and I took two instead of three. Am pretty sure some unlucky fellow missed this lavish treatment. We were then told to not keep our eyes off first class honours. I swallowed the good words and soon found myself in the Africana section in the Moi library. The position I took became mine and soon I realized I could score babes coming in and going out. I got destructed and on waking up the semester was gone and people were fighting for chairs every where in the lib and reading area. It seemed wild ghosts had taken possession of the rooms and the proud owners had to run for safety in the library or the reading area.Nakumatt was deserted and thieves thanked the heavens for such a rare chance. I read hard and next time I went for my result slip I had few As and Cs and Ds. I thought Second Class Upper was more appealing and I quit the library all together.

Let's put side the stories. My will.Eheh!I am leaving you my sharp knife for chopping “sakuma wiki” all semester long and I hope  it last you long enough before you sharpen it again. Have the salt and sugar tins. I always went out to hunt for these essential commodities every semester end and make sure you keep the tradition going. But a word of caution: don’t hunt for salt and sugar from that lady you are fancying nor tell her how broke you are. If she asks for bus fare to take her home-even if she won’t take note of you the following semester-find it even it means you taking route eleven home. If you don’t, whatever happens will be your own mistake. Pay my debt with mama sukuma in KM and please don’t go to the Nyayo 1 common room with those expensive shoes you have. They might use them to clear my debts at the pool table even before you have time to floss around in them.

Otherwise, I wish that you have enough troubles to let you denounce your comfort zone and learn to hustle liken other men who ever think of having children and taking  other peoples’ daughters to sing them lullabies before they  go to bed. During our time we had the pleasure of staggering from Mbugs in KM at noon but now beware of that man called Mututho.He has made us an endangered species. If a must t you must cool your nerves go nocturnal but till midnight.

Son, during boring lectures sleep and let others do the group assignments for you. After all, this is KU and we know better than any body what impunity means. How you make your As matters not but if you don’t know how to make use of MP3s don’t ever think of them not unless you have practiced your marathon skills well enough to enable you take off from the vicious invigilators or otherwise you’ll go to Hague like Taylor. My handwriting was large I never managed to make compressed folders. But lots of notes I photocopied from friends-though I was in KU most of the time- and then exams we did the HARAMBEE way.

Soon they will be giving me all the power to tarmac and before that I wish to get myself some few coins. This is Nai-robbery, you know. So, see you son.

From

Loving sleepwalking buddy

Great-daddy-for-life

 Charl Chotto

EVERLAST DANCE CREW OFFICIAL DEBUT TO MUSIC KINGS

To have a dream is good. To get on the rocky road of attaining the object of one’s dream is another thing. When one takes to the loneliness of pursuing a dream and stays at it till they get it is worth smiles. It is excellent best. We celebrate. However, after achieving that success, what happens next? That is the bigger picture over and beyond the ordinary reason for taking a journey in the first place that faces many who to dare to dream and chase their dreams.

I have been watching  this ingenious video and enjoying the ingenuity of the script that has captured the very soul of the song title “Symptoms za Madharau(Symptoms of Spite):the things that make you know that you are despised rather than being considered worthy by those we relate to from personal relationships to professionals ones.Pacho Entertainment and Mc Jege have stood tall and definitely earned their place in the exclusive club of great hits-makers by this multi textured video with an inspiring slum setting which communicates hope amidst struggles and deprivation as the screen act shows. Lighting and angles of capturing the videos of the different scenes are superb and with an exotic video graphics touch.

The Afro beat in the song is quite smooth, fresh and quite exotic. It is definitely a club banger with a witty touch of humour as the lyrics and the video satirizes those little things we are done to when the people we are relating with see nothing of value in us.
The lyrics:( “Hizi ni symptoms/Za madharau..../hizi ni symptoms/Za madharau/kabibi mrembo lakini kwa nyumba maneno....” )which are churned out in the refined setting of an excellent studio setting with a producer who knows his game and the signature Luhya accent will lure you to definitely love this song and to want to listen to this song again and again, even if  thousand times.

Well, at this point I know you must be wondering what song am I referring to. I am talking about the hit single “Symptoms za Madharau” by Everlast dance crew that won the Sakata Dance competition Season III that aired in 2013 on Citizen Tv.

Everlast Dance Crew has broken the jinx of fame and the dilemma of ‘”What next”  that comes with achieving something great that takes a mixture of nightmares, doubt, anxiety ,excitement and hope to attain. They are no longer the dance crew you once saw a few years ago on Tv and was on the verge of being forgotten like many one hit wonder stars always are.No.

They have reinvented themselves and given themselves new bullets to fire at life and success by getting into music-making and serious entertainment rather than stagnating in simply dancing and enjoying the fast fading fame that came with winning the 1 million shillings cash prize in the third edition of Sakata Season III.

They are simply great. On a scale of 1 to 5, I generously give them four stars for this release that is rich and diverse in the mixture of sounds used in its making. Everlast Dance Crew is the act to watch for in 2016 in the global entertainment trends.

Follow Everlast and their debut song “Symptoms za madharau” on youtube by following the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd0ZdwOup3Yhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd0ZdwOup3Y or downloading the song from mdundo.com