::Kenya Christian::

Interview with Afro-Jazz artist Nita Hungu Pt.2

2009-11-27T12:30:00.002+03:00

In Part 2 of this interview with Afro-Jazz artist Nita Hungu we discuss the theme of her album, Gospel musics growing popularity in Kenya, does she listen to secular music and more. Enjoy!

::KenyaChristian:: What’s the theme of the album?

Nita Hungu: Well, as I mentioned earlier my music centres around love and life. There are some love songs on the album (man-woman love) with God being the umbrella and under that I think that Christians need to write about things that affect Christians. So like if my heart got broken as a musician I need to write about it cause I think everyone goes through these things it’s just that most people are afraid to put it out there I believe God wants to give us solutions for our everyday experiences.

::KC:: Do you find that a lot of Christian artists are not real with the things they talk about and act too spiritual, and is that something you’re trying to talk about?

NH: Well, no not really. I feel that everyone is different and has their own calling in the kinds of things they sing about. There are some people who are called to sing about the Church, other are called to sing just about regular life things. So in my case I’m singing about things that affect me Nita Hungu, like my family, community, abortion, or whatever it is.

::KC:: Gospel music has been growing in popularity in the past few years How would you explain this popularity, are more people turning to God?

NH: Well I can’t really explain the sudden craving for Gospel music, but I was reading a Nation article which was saying they even play Gospel music in the club, and I think that’s a good thing! It means we are getting the Gospel out there; I just hope it’s God. There are so many bad things that have occurred in the past and people just want solutions for that, so people are turning to God.

::KC:: So do you listen to any other kinds of music,whether its rock or even secular music?

NH: O.K well that will just be opening up a Pandora’s box but what I’ll say is I like artists like Jeremy Camp and the other artists I had mentioned. And honestly my take on listening to music is, take that music which edifies you, and music that teaches you. I won’t listen to music with cuss words you know, but I’ll listen to music that teaches me something. I won’t say that I don’t listen to any kind of “secular” music. But like I said it’s a whole Pandora’s Box, everyone has a choice, as long as what you’re listening to is Godly music. Godly in the sense that if someone can speak about love in a good way, then that’s okay; basically positive music.

::KC:: When can we expect the album Love, Life & Limb to be released?

NH: You can expect my debut album next year, which is what we’re hoping for.

Listen to Nita Hungu's debut single Rain here

If you missed Part 1 of the interview check out here

Check out Nita Hungu's debut concert at August 7th Memorial this Saturday 28th. Click here for details

Video: Pastor Cox speaks on Jay-Z dissing Jesus

2009-11-27T10:22:00.003+03:00

Part Two here

(O.K I'm not a big fan of Jay-Z, but I have followed his music.Although he is a very talented rapper, the fact is he has been comparing himself to God for a long time now. If I listed the times he has blasphemed in his music it would be very long. I think it's about time Christians started challenging and calling out these celebs, and not be intimidated by their fame.)

Video: Nneka - "The Uncomfortable Truth"

2009-11-26T13:02:00.002+03:00

Writing with Light Exhibition @ Kuona Trust

2009-11-25T16:58:00.001+03:00

Opening 28th November ‘09, Kuona Trust, 6pm—9pm

12 participants who actively attended a 14-week photography workshop at Kuona facilitated by Pro-photographer, Sylvia N. Gichia. They will be showcasing their best works from the workshop. The show aims to display the different creative artistic styles, and expertise nurtured and achieved within the 14 weeks. The workshops covered topics inclusive of abstract, street, fashion, editing and composition, journalism amongst others. The photographers showcasing their work include: Clifford Agumbi, Chao Sio, Dorota Panczyk, Edlam Yemeru, Humphrey Kagiri, Julian Njoroge, Juan Morales, Jayne Ekema, Steve Obeto, Wangari Muikia and Wachira Mwangi. The exhibition runs until 11 December 2009.

Video: Avatar "Colonel Miles"

2009-11-24T15:13:00.002+03:00

O.K, O.K I admit it, I can't wait to watch this movie!

Wawero Interview on RFI

2009-11-20T11:09:00.002+03:00

Here is an interview Radio France Internationale conducted with Penya Africa director Robert Wawero and producer Marko Roca. They talk about Penya artists, how Muthoni was signed, the New African Sound, who received a death threat and more!

Listen: Wawero interview on RFI

Video: Boniface Mwangi @ Kuweni Serious!

2009-11-20T10:06:00.002+03:00

“Kenya: A Nation of Bystanders"
Boniface Mwangi, whose work you’ve probably seen at the “Kenya Burning” photo exhibition and book about the post-election violence, is the director of Picha Mtaani, an award-winning photo-journalist, a husband and a father. He believes Kenya is ‘a nation of by-standers’.

Previously: Blinky Bill @ Kuweni Serious

Da' T.R.U.T.H takes a sabbatical.

2009-11-18T11:52:00.000+03:00

O.K, this was unexpected but it just reminds us how human we all are. Keep him in your prayers, I will say his music has really strengthened my faith ever since I started listening to it.

Hip hop artist Da' T.R.U.T.H. announced on his website that he is taking a sabbatical from ministry after a "moral indiscretion" in his personal life. In the statement, Emanuel L. Lambert, Jr, - aka Da' T.R.U.T.H. - said that he has apologized to his wife and family and is working towards reconciliation with the help of his church, pastor and restoration team.
In May, hip hop artist The Ambassador was released from his label after a "moral failure in his marriage."
And currently in the news, BeBe Winans arrest in February on domestic assault charges against his ex-wife Debbie.

Continue reading here and here

Kinanda Arts Festival on Jamhuri Day

2009-11-16T13:00:00.004+03:00

Description: The Nairobi Kinanda Arts Festival is a two day annual festival showcase of the best the world has to offer in the performing arts i.e. in music, dance, poetry and film all this happening over a single weekend in the city of Nairobi. The ethos of The Nairobi The Nairobi Kinanda Arts Festival festival is guided by our vision to be (the regional leader) and premium source of an authentic, wholesome live entertainment experience. The Nairobi The Nairobi Kinanda Arts Festival Festival is collective effort by a team of highly energized individuals driven by a passionate desire to celebrate, nourish and develop the growth of the local arts and culture industry.

And yes, Freshly Ground will be performing at the same date and venue. Also performing will be Eric Wainaina, Aaron Rimbui, Kanjii Mbugua, Atemi Oyungu, Maia and others.

Date: December 12th, 2009

Venue: Uhuru Gardens, off Langata Rd, Nairobi

Time: 4:30 p.m - 10:30 pm

Tickets: Ksh1,500

Video: Nneka on BBC Network Africa

2009-11-16T12:20:00.002+03:00

Been tweet-bugging her to come to Kenya,lol. Oh by the way Asa may be performing in Nairobi next year. You heard it here first!

Read more here

Previously: Music Seen! Nneka "No Longer at Ease"

Video: Holy Dave -"Bounce Back"

2009-11-16T12:19:00.002+03:00

the swagger endeleaz....

Video: Enid - "Wewe Ni Bwana"

2009-11-16T12:17:00.000+03:00

beautiful.

Sauti Sol Unplugged @ Galileo's

2009-11-12T12:17:00.000+03:00

Date: Saturday, November 14th, 2009
Time: 7:00pm

Venue: Club Galileo, Musuem Hill, nairobi

Tickets: Ksh500

Muthoni Ndonga - "Mikono Kwenye Hewa" + inlay artwork

2009-11-10T08:41:00.004+03:00

Check out a new track from Muthoni Ndonga from her soon to be released album "The Human Condition." I'm liking this one, she flows very effortlessly on it and she's doing something different. You know I'll be reviewing the album as soon as I get it, stay tuned!

Listen: Muthoni - "Mikono Kwenye Hewa" (lyrics)

Bonus: "Saidia"(snippet) (lyrics)

Plus, check out some cool artwork from her album.(click pic to enlarge)

Random post. Santigold

2009-11-10T00:47:00.003+03:00

Nothing much to post of late. and when you have nothing much to post who do you turn to? why Santigold of course! lol...nah,if youve followed this blog for a while you'd know I'm a huge fan though.

Previously: Music Seen! Santogold

Video: Blinky Bill @ Kuweni Serious!

2009-11-08T20:37:00.000+03:00

Just A Band’s second album – 82 – features a song called “Usinibore”, written by Blinky Bill; a member of the band. “It’s about feeling helpless about the way things are, and wanting to do something in your capacity to change stuff. [Africans] don’t have the same opportunities as other people.”, he says.
“There’s also the political angle. I think we’re all very tired of seeing politicians who’ve been there from the 60s still clinging to power and not doing anything to better our lives. That’s something that affects all of us. If the country starts to burn like it did in 2007, we all go down with it.” He sat down with us to talk about his views on “whiny” Kenyans, and how desperately we need a new breed of politicians in this country.

Previously: George Gachara @ Kuweni Serious!

African Film Library launched

2009-11-08T14:46:00.005+03:00

Description: The African Film Library is an M-Net initiative showcasing the best of the African film industry – making the movies easily accessible for movie aficionados around the world.

The African film industry is one of the oldest – with its roots in Ain el Ghezel (The Girl of Carthage), which was produced in Tunisia by Chemama Chikly in 1924. M-Net has spent the last three years negotiating the rights to almost 600 works in English, French, Arabic and Portuguese and digitally remastering them.

The library forms an important archive of the continent’s cultural cinematic heritage, and also, for the first time, makes the African artists’ works easily accessible by a wide viewership around the globe – creating a new audience for existing and emerging filmmakers.

The library consists of award-winning works from more than 80 producers including Senegalese Ousmane Sembene and Djibril Mambety, Yousef Chahine from Egypt and Haile Gerima from Ethiopia.

Eric Wainaina presents Mo Faya! [A Musical]

2009-11-07T21:14:00.004+03:00

"They call it a slum, we call it home."

Date: November 11th to December 20th 2009

Venue: GoDown Arts Centre, Dunga Rd, off Lusaka Road

Price & Time: Wednesdays- (1 ticket for 2) - 7.30pm - Sh300 adults, Sh300 students (13-18yrs)
Thursdays and Fridays - 7.30pm - Sh600 adults, Sh400 students (13-18yrs)
Saturdays - 2.30pm & 7.30pm - Sh800 adults, Sh400 students (13-18yrs)
Sundays - 2.30pm - Sh800 adults, Sh400 students (13-18yrs)

(Tickets available at Silverbird(Village Market, Junction and Westgate) and selected Uchumi outlets.)

Video: George Gachara @ Kuweni Serious!

2009-11-06T23:53:00.000+03:00

George Gachara of Picha Mtaani gives us his views about the role of the media in Kenya, and his sober prediction about what will happen in 2012.

Kuweni Serious! is a community of people who know we can do better as Kenyans. Enough is Enough.

Video: P4CM-Catherine speaks about her abortion experience

2009-11-06T13:33:00.001+03:00

Everyday in America 4,000 babies are aborted. The number one reason that most women cite for their decision is because the timing is off, or the baby is unwanted and inconvenient to their current lifestyle. In this video, P4CM member Catherine takes you through her abortion experience in vivid detail. She describes her thought process before making the decision to have not just one abortion, but two. She explains, using medical terms, the actual abortion procedure; the shame and feelings she experienced afterward; and the redemption and peace she received once "the gospel clicked." If you or someone you know is contemplating getting an abortion, please watch this video first then pass it on.

Video: Daddy Owen - "Kiriro"

2009-11-06T13:25:00.000+03:00

featuring Kerah & Allan Aaron

Interview with Afro-Jazz artist Nita Hungu

2009-11-03T23:51:00.002+03:00

If you hadn't heard of Nita Hungu before she released her debut single "Rain" on radio and TV, you would probably think she was a new artist on the Kenyan rock scene. Well, that's what KenyaChristian blog thought at first listen. But after conducting an interview with her it was clear she could not only rock hard, but also create music for those with more mature tastes. So why would an Afro-Jazz artist have a rock song as her debut single? Well that and more are some of the interesting questions we asked her in Part 1 of our interview. She also discusses her beginnings, what SOCKET is, the meaning of her album title and much more!

::KenyaChristian:: Hi Nita. So please tell me more about yourself, how did you get involved with music?

Nita Hungu:: Well, I’ve always loved music ever since I was young and as far as college I did my first degree at Daystar in Psychology and Community Development. That was not my first choice but what my parents wanted. I told my dad that music is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and he ended up being very supportive. I then went to Jetha House of Music which is a nice music school.

::KC:: When did you discover your passion for music?

N.H:: When I was young, at around the age of 13. I would record my demo’s on tapes as there were no CD’s at that time, haha!

::KC:: Your debut single “Rain” has more of a rock sound.

NH: Yes it is very soft rock. I love acoustic music, especially the guitar and piano.

::KC:: On a website your music is described more as Afro-soul.

NH: Yes, I love jazz music and basically African and Western music, and when you merge them you get an Afro sound. I would definitely describe my music as Afro-Jazz, and basically mellow, cocktail kind of music.

::KC:: O.K since you describe yourself as Afro-Jazz, why was your first single “Rain” soft rock?

NH: That’s mainly because of the guitar. When I initially wrote “Rain” I didn’t think of it as a rock-sound, but it kind of developed into that as we went along. So I just let my music flow, because I’m a free-spirited kind of person and I let my music do it own thing.

::KC:: When did you shoot the video for “Rain?”

NH: We shot the video five months ago with Sakata Media, and we shot at a very run-down garage kind of place. It was a place behind their studio and we thought it was an ideal place for a rock-kind of video and we decided to go with that idea.

::KC:: So in your single “Rain” what kind of message are you trying to get across with the song?

NH: It’s basically a cry to God for His rain of revival, so that’s the main message of the song

::KC:: Speaking of rain or lack of it, what’s your opinion on the Mau Forest issue?

NH: Honestly, I won’t put blame on anyone. We just need to go back to the basics and what made Kenya a beautiful country, whether that means replanting of trees etc It doesn’t help anyone for people to just accuse others, we just need to go back to the basics. I want to be part of the solution, and everyone has a part to play in it.

::KC:: In what ways do you think we can take part in helping save our environment?

NH: Basically replanting of trees and taking care of our water catchment areas and the resources around us. We can’t just go around cutting trees for firewood cause it's cold.

::KC:: What is SOCKET?

NH: SOCKET was an initiative formed by me and other young people who are passionate about music.It basically means “plugging into God.” Since a socket has three holes, so it means plugging into God The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. So we formed it and mentored a group of young people in music and worship. The idea was to have a concert at the end of the year to showcase our talent. We had a successful concert in August last year which featured beautifully arranged music.

::KC:: Do you write all of your own music?

NH: Yes, I write most of my own music though I also write with other people sometimes to get a different feel, and also to avoid monotony.

::KC:: Your album is entitled “Love, Life & Limb”, so what’s the significance of that title?

NH: It means giving my all to God, and its talking about my experiences in life and love and what it means to my fellow man. It means I would give my love, life and limb, my everything and surrendering to God.

::KC:: What kind of sound are you aiming for with the album?

NH: The album will definitely be live which was my focus, there will be no sampled instruments used in it. It will have a central them of jazz and tonal music; something totally out of the box.

::KC:: Which band are you working with to pull off this sound?

NH: My band is called Hue, and they do all my music. I record with Ben "Gittx" Gitau though I recorded "Rain" with Rock of Ages.

::KC:: You talked about jazz previously, so who would you say are your musical infuences and which other musical styles do you like?

NH: On top of the list definitely would have to be Jonathan Butler, because I love how he plays the guitar so well, and Michael Buble who also does jazz. As for musical genres I like any music that has a broad spectrum of instruments and I also love classical music like Chopin; basically early romantic era of classical music.

::KC:: I've noticed Kenyan music music is moving more (or back) towards live instrumentation, would you agree?

NH: Yeah, gone are the days when you went to a gig and just listen to playback and people will accept it. I think people are yearning for live music again, like the benga's etc And I think it's a good thing because people will start to appreciate our own authentic music again. I also think Kenyan music is really growing and is going to another level and I'm really happy about that, with people like Aaron Rimbui, Kanjii and Mr.Hellon who are setting the bar really high, I think it’s a great thing that’s happening

Look out for Part 2 of the interview coming soon. Keep it here!

Watch the video for her single "Rain" here

My first Kwani? poetry performance...disaster?

2009-11-03T23:50:00.000+03:00

So, I just came back from doing my first performance of poetry ever at Kwani? I have been attending Kwani?(and other) open mics for months now and I decided it was finally time for me to get up there and perform! If you know em I'm mostly a big procrastinator(I'm seriously working on that) and I had been putting it off for some months now, but finally decided to do it. So i gathered up the courage and printed my favorite poem I've done so far, called "Passion Juice at Java," and one by Blair Wingo called "Allow Me to Re-Introduce the Christ" which I love! Anyway, so thing is I hadn't really practiced before going there, just on the same day I rehearsed for a few hours. So I hadn't memorized the poems and was going to perform by reading off a paper. Well, anyway I get there just before it starts and was last to register, I greet some folks I know and settle down to watch the performances.

Well I've never been really a public performer but tonight I was feeling confident and had barely any hesitancy, in fact i was feeling happy. Well, so many people performed like Nuru Bahati, Kennet B(featured poet), some Kiswahili poets and others. So as the open mic was coming to a close I was called up as the last performer. I was feeling all so confident until I actually hit the stage, then disaster! Nerves suddenly jumped out from behind the stage or something and attacked me! Goodness, I don't know what went wrong I did a horrible introduction of myself and the poem I was going to do, and plus people were talking when I was trying to perform.

OK since Cindy(Kwani MC) said i could only do one poem I decided to do Blair Wingo's poem cause as i said I love it! Anyway I barely got through the first verse until I had to stop. There was some guy shouting weird stuff and I was soo nervous, hand was trembling, and it was just not going the way I thought it would! I had to stop three times before I could even get anywhere with the thing; poetic disaster in the making! Anyway Cindy finally saved the day and calmed down the crowd and put her arm around me while I performed and I was finally able to get through it even though I kinda rushed a bit. While I was performing parts in the poem where I mention Jesus as being the True and Holy One there were people shouting "even Muhammad!" "Also Buddha!" uwongo!" and other such things, it was a bit crazy!

Anway after I finally finished the poem I was so relieved and got good applause.Cindy gave me a hug and I was like wow! I was just not expecting it to go downhill like that. Anyway afterward interestingly people started coming up to me and telling me how they loved the poem, others said good job, others wanted to know more about the poem(I gave my copy to someone),others if I'm saved, another one came up to me and said he wants me to feature on his CD compilation, and perform at his event. Wow! I definitely didn't expect that reaction

Anyway on the drive home after asking God why it went so bad, I realized that even with everything that went wrong I believe God used me in all my nervousness and meekness to touch a few people. I can only see the trees but God sees the forest, and He knows what He's doing. I believe He used me without me even realizing it to spread His Word and affect other people. And that;s when I realize tonight wasn't a disaster but actually one of my best nights ever, I stood up in my weakness and when I spoke God's Word through that poem God showed His strength.
Disaster? No, victory!

Video: Avatar - Trailer 2

2009-11-03T23:48:00.002+03:00

Can't wait!...hope its not disappointing.

Video: Emmy Kosgei - "Ongeureren"

2009-11-02T21:53:00.010+03:00

featuring Lin. I like this...

Previously: Lin "Brand New Eyes"