Nairobi: The city of showbiz dreams

The odds of Kenya’s biggest entertainers got boosted when they moved to the capital. Nairobi, it seems, is the ‘real’ theatre of dreams. GRAPHIC | NATION

What you need to know:

  • The odds of Kenya’s biggest entertainers got boosted when they moved to the capital. Nairobi, it seems, is the ‘real’ theatre of dreams.
  • Although Chipukeezy was ready to take up “any job” in the green (now extremely dirty) city in the sun, he soon found out about the Churchill Show and decided to audition for it.
  • Armed with two trousers, two shirts and Sh800, the wild-eyed Jalang’o landed in Nairobi in 2002 full of hope and ready to break a sweat.

Judith “Avril” Nyambura

Born and raised in Nakuru, the Ninaweza hitmaker relocated to Nairobi after being called up for undergraduate studies in Art and Design at the University of Nairobi. But it was during the maiden Jaza Lorry Initiative launched in Nairobi by The Kenya Red Cross Society in 2005, that Avril met Emmanuel Banda, who at the time was a talent manager with the now defunct Ogopa Deejays recording label.

It took two more years for Banda to convince Avril to take a shot at music. When she finally did, she recorded the single Mama and debuted as a fresh, sexy curtain-raiser to the headliners of the day.

Since then, the curvaceous 30-year-old songstress has won music awards left, right and centre and has also ventured into acting. Through her publicist Lisa Ang’iro, the singer told Buzz that she views her musical transformation in Nairobi as “no big deal”.

“My client’s innate fighting spirit and her penchant for hard work would have powered her success regardless of where she was based,” Lisa says of Avril.

******

Vincent “Chipukeezy” Mwasia

The celebrated 26-year-old comedian was languishing in poverty and hopelessness in Tala, Machakos County, until he decided to relocate to the capital to look for work. With his trademark wit, the celebrity comedian now describes his move to Nairobi as the best decision he ever made.

“It also gave me a chance to escape from my mum, who was insisting I become a nursery school teacher!” he quips.

Although Chipukeezy was ready to take up “any job” in the green (now extremely dirty) city in the sun, he soon found out about the Churchill Show and decided to audition for it.

After a couple of unsuccessful auditions, the funny man landed a spot at the live recordings of the show at Carnivore Restaurant and became a staple on the episodes aired on NTV, with his tales about Ukambani, its musicians and life.

Chipukeezy now goes on international comedy tours complete with his own scriptwriters, who help him customise content for each city he performs in. That is, if he’s not busy hosting a radio show or emceeing at a corporate gig somewhere in Nairobi.

****** 

Jean-Pierre “Kidum” Nimbona

“Every human being has an engine that drives him to success or failure, wherever he finds himself in,” Kidum waxes philosophical, downplaying the effect Nairobi had on his musical destiny. He offers a peculiar example of how human beings can succeed while surrounded by adversity.

“There are people in Syria minting serious money despite the war simply because they see the war as an opportunity to supply arms and ammunition to warring parties,” he says.

The Nitafanya singer has bagged many coveted awards, the most notable being the 2012 East Africa Male Artiste of The Year KORA Award. A citizen of Burundi, the astute vocalist — he is also a solid drummer — fled to Nairobi to escape the political instability that rocked his country in 1995.

Admittedly, Kidum was already playing to sizeable audiences in Bujumbura with his Electric Power band. But truth be told, he remained unknown to the rest of Africa until he moved to Nairobi.

Kidum’s Zouk music has, with time, become so addictive and his stage shows so infectious that the world has taken note. When Buzz spoke to him recently, he had just returned from an East African tour with his Nairobi-based Boda Boda Band.

****** 

Felix “Jalang’o” Oduor

The alumni of Nyangoma Boys Secondary School in Bondo, Siaya County, now owns a marketing agency that’s handling television advertisements for some of the country’s top brands. That’s in addition to all the emceeing gigs he gets every month.

The communications student at Daystar University recently rubbished his dropping out of school after class eight as a “silly Internet rumour” not worth his justification or denial.

Armed with two trousers, two shirts and Sh800, the wild-eyed Jalang’o landed in Nairobi in 2002 full of hope and ready to break a sweat.

“I had to be a man and make life work,” he said in a recent TV interview.

While brooding over his desire to be an actor, Jalang’o initially took any odd job he could find; from packing chewing gums into packets, to washing cars and demolishing buildings for a construction company in Nairobi.

He has now single-handedly built his unique comedy brand, a successful marketing agency and a new hotel which is rumoured to be almost complete.

Buzz also found out how, with his earnings from show business, Jalang’o paid for his siblings education up to university level, building his mum a comfortable home in the process.

***** 

Eunice Njeri

Despite a series of misfortunes that the newly-married now-separated gospel singer has suffered lately, she continues to represent the face of authentic worship music in Kenya.

She claims she is owed millions of shillings in royalties by a telecommunications company which handled the distribution of her music. And this is coming hot on the heels of her divorce and her bank account being wiped clean by hackers while she was on an international tour.

Still, the Unatosha singer remains strong and is capitalising on all the opportunities Nairobi has afforded her since her relocation from Nanyuki in 2004. The tourist town of Nanyuki hosted Eunice for more than two decades since her birth in 1983, but did little to reveal her musical genius.

In a previous interview for Zuqka magazine, the soft-spoken artiste admitted to this writer how Nairobi “opened her eyes” to the business of music. It is also in Nairobi that she met top gospel music producers like the late John Nyika, Billy Frank and Dr Eddie, who helped uncover her musical potential.

******

Samuel “DJ Lyta” Mwangi

If you’ve commuted in a matatu, you’ve probably heard his name being dropped on the music mixes frequently played in public service vehicles. What an ingenious way that Nairobi provided an aspiring deejay to build his brand! DJ Lyta grew up in the lush villages of Murang’a where many people, like most rural areas, walked barefoot, and where de-forestation was still a word in the dictionary.

“I definitely wouldn’t have blossomed in Murang’a the way I have in Nairobi,” Lyta admits.

After his primary and secondary school education in Murang’a, the celebrated street deejay moved to live with his dad in Kayole estate, in Nairobi’s Eastlands area. That’s when he started experimenting with Virtual Deejay software to record his music mixes. He used to “burn” his mixes into compact discs which he then distributed to matatus plying the Kayole route.

Mwangi explained to Buzz how the sheer lack of cyber cafes in Murang’a in 2012 would have made it impossible to, for example, burn his mixes on compact discs for distribution.

He further added that Nairobi clubs also provided the perfect training ground for his career as an aspiring deejay.

“Where in Murang’a would I even find a decent joint to exhibit my spinning skills?” he asks.