Tag: Kenzo News

ONE ON ONE: Kenzo Matata reveals where he has been and shares his thoughts on Gengetone

Posted on by David Kingsley

Kenyan singer Kennedy Odhiambo, popularly known as Kenzo Matata and famed for jams like Mama, Mama Milka, Zam Zam, Kidogo Tu and Nyoso was a household name in the mid 2000s to the early 2010s.

Also read: Kenyans don’t give their musicians enough support

After topping charts for a long time, Kenzo left his stable – Ogopa Deejays – and his fans have been wondering where he disappeared to but as it turns out he has never stopped releasing music.

Kenzo Matata

We reached out to Kenzo a few days ago and he told us that he has been around it’s only that he has not been pushing his music. We also spoke about Gengetone, his musical journey, latest song titled Prayer and future projects.

He revealed that his mum bought him a guitar before she died and that was a sure sign that she wanted him to follow his dreams though she often encouraged him to maintain good grades.

Kenzo also spoke a bout his latest song titled Prayer and he revealed that he met a Germany-based Kenyan producer known as Hopetone Blaze and they have been talking and that is how they ended up working together.

Kenzo

I also wanted to know his thoughts on the Gengetone wave and the singer told me that although he wouldn’t hesitate to work with the artists who are pushing the sound, he also doesn’t want to do something just for the sake of it.

Kenzo’s story is really. He wanted to be a footballer but ended up in a gospel group which he later ditched because he did not want to live a double life.

One day after he performed at a wedding Lucas Bikedo of Ogopa Deejays approached him and gave him his card and asked him to give him a call and that was how his musical journey began.

Listen to the full interview below.

Kenyan musicians who’ve been struggling to make a comeback and what they need to do

Posted on by David Kingsley

Kenyan musicians who were household names 10 years (or so) ago have been struggling to make a comeback in the last few years. However, their efforts are neither here nor there. It’s almost as if they are wasting their time.

DNA

Truth is, time flies. Maybe you treated Kenyans to a big hit in your heydays. For one reason or the other, you decided to slow down or take a break as you bask in your success. Maybe you just got lazy, who knows?

Somewhere along the way, perhaps after 5 (or so) years, the musician decides to go back to studio to record songs. More often than not, what motivates them is the fact that their bank account are not as fat as they used to be.

They hurry to release the songs. However, the songs don’t do well. They can’t even get 10,000 views on YouTube. This comes as a shock to many artists who were big back in the day. They find it hard to believe that their fans have moved on.

You see, 5 years is such a long time. Hundreds, maybe thousands of new musicians have cropped up since the old guns took a break. Naturally, some of them won the hearts of music fans.

As such, when the old guns make a comeback after so many years, they find it hard to penetrate the industry. Perhaps they sound the same way and this makes it even harder.

Instead of releasing many songs that no one bothers to listen to, these old guns should come face-to-face with the fact that they are no longer the household acts that they were a decade ago.

In so doing, they will come to the realization that they need to work with new-age musicians to regain relevance and break through in the local industry.

Accepting that you are no longer at the top takes a lot of humility. Actually, it’s a laudable act. The sooner most old guns realize this the better.

Some of the old guns who have been trying to make a comeback include; Mr. Lenny, Kenzo, DNA, Nonini, Kendi, Kenrazy, Big Pin, Julani, just to name a few. I hope one day they will get an eye-opener.

Watch DNA’s latest single dubbed Lokko below.