Its Friday people, time to get our weekly fix in.
An ecclectic assortment today, some benga, some rumba and believe it or not, some kapuka.
First off, the benga.
For most of the week, I debated with myself on whether or not the track that I wanted to post qualified as benga. On finding this piece, I am now certain that it does. The name of today’s featured track translates to “A Rich Man Is Arrogant” – “Jamoko Wange Tek” from DO 7 Shirati Jazz whom you all know as D.O. Misiani’s boys. Shirati Jazz have a rich history and have variously been known as “Shirati Luo Voice Jazz Band”, “Orchestra D.O. 7 Shirati Jazz” and “D.O.7 Band” in their earliest incarnation. While D.O Misiani was born in Tanzania, Kenyan music claims him as its own. He died in a tragic road accident in May 2006.
Shirati Jazz – Jamoko Wange Tek
Next, I got lots of requests for this including one from M who seems to think that this guy is the business. So, here is Western Shilo from the “African King of Twist” – Daudi Kabaka in a smooth duet with George Agade.
Daudi Kabaka & George Agade – Western Shilo
Finally, a digitized “kapuka” mix from a CD that my old friend Dickie of True Blaq Entertainment passed on to me back in the day (if 3 years ago qualifies as such) when he was doing his Sunday night Kenyan music thing at Club Red in Worcester.
Some very very nice mixing and a great selection of tracks. Its a bit of a heavyweight compared to my regular posts but it is definitely worth the download. This mix covers a lot of ground with tracks from some of the original names in the genre including Gidi Gidi Maji Maji who are Kenya’s cultural ambassadors these days, that hot K-South/Bamboo collaboration “Are you ready to get down tonight?” which always knocks my socks off, a couple of tracks from the late E-Sir, Redsan with “Apakate”,a couple of ssssswwwwwweeeeeeeeeetttttt Nameless tracks including “Ninanoki”, those crazy Maasai Tribesmen and the Kleptomaniacs among others.
All in all, a hour well spent.
Click here for all the other pre-1990 East African music I have posted in the past.
+ I love Hash’s microbanking ideas: I have had something brewing in my head for about a year now but I still have not been able to crystalize the idea. I hope it doesn’t take so long that someone beats me to it.
Strictly for fun:
+ Why in the world would anyone do this? And what do you do with 400 lbs of hot sauce anyway?
+ The Beeb’s microsite Africa Lives covers Matatu culture.
Steve, you’ve chosen my favorite song from the Nairobi Beat collection. I started working on this CD back in 1986. I was living in Machakos at the time and listening to the old Voice of Kenya, that song just leaped out at me as superb benga music. The CD which, by the way, was the first CD ever of Kenyan music finally came out in 1989. A short excerpt of this song was used in the movie called The Air Up There (1994). It was very happy occasion when I visited Misiani in Kisumu in 2003 and paid him a very substantial fee for the use of the song in the film. It was on this same trip to Kisumu that I went to hear Misiani perform at Club Oasis. One of the songs they did was Beatrice #4 which I enjoyed so much that I put it on The Rough Guide to the Music of Kenya which came out the following year.
Steve, i am from Zimbabwe, tell you what you have surely done a good job. You deserve to be congratulated for it. Now thing is I like this Benga music so much that my wife complains bitterly about my continuous play of it. There are so many Benga songs from these guys I used to listen many years gone by. Nice songs which had labels like Sungura, Raki akido, Lake Victoria, KUNG – FU . More Benga Music please on your site. thans again.