Tag: Le-Band news

The Million-Shilling Deal That Caused Le Band’s Breakup

Posted on by Ozymandias

The breakup of the once-promising music group, Le Band, was ultimately driven by money. The group, consisting of Fidel Eli Shammah (Charisma), Ken Mwendwa (the bassist), and Joel Maina, gained prominence in 2017 with the release of their hit song *Number 1*. The success of the track catapulted them to fame, earning them substantial income from club gigs and performances.

According to Charisma, after releasing *Number 1*, the demand for their performances surged, with the band getting at least two bookings a week, alongside mid-week club appearances. As their popularity grew, so did their rates, jumping from Sh100,000 per gig to Sh250,000.

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“We Wasted Money on Women” – Le Band’s Charisma

At the time, things looked promising for their career, which had struggled to take off since they started making music in 2014. However, as they geared up to take their success to the next level, Le Band secured their first lucrative deal – a Sh1.2 million gig at the South African Embassy. Charisma recalls being blown away by the deal, which exceeded their usual Sh250,000 rate card.

Despite this high-paying opportunity, the deal eventually led to the band’s demise. Charisma proposed that they reinvest half of the money (Sh500,000) into their music and brand, while splitting the remaining amount. However, his bandmates insisted on dividing the full amount equally.

Feeling outnumbered and believing that his colleagues were not focused on building the band’s future, Charisma decided it was time to leave and pursue a solo career. He explained that as the lead singer and primary songwriter, he was often overruled in group decisions, which left him frustrated.

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It’s about time Le Band reunited!

The situation became more evident when one of the band members got a job and stopped attending performances. Charisma, often left to practice alone, was eventually encouraged by a drummer to go solo, marking the end of his journey with Le Band.

“We Wasted Money on Women” – Le Band’s Charisma

Posted on by Ozymandias

In January 2017, just a year after graduating from law school, Afro-pop singer, songwriter, and performer Charisma was pressured by his group, Le Band, to shoot the video for their first hit song, “Number 1.” However, Charisma (Fidel Eli Shammah), who wrote the song, was hesitant from the beginning. Having started making music in 2014 alongside his friends Ken Mwendwa (Man with the Bass), Joel Maina, and Abel Kiptanui while still in university, none of their previous songs had gained significant attention. The “Sina Noma” singer had become disillusioned.

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It’s about time Le Band reunited!

“The boys told me the video budget was Sh120,000, meaning each of us had to contribute Sh40,000. I said no. We had done several songs before, none of which had succeeded, so I didn’t understand why they thought ‘Number 1’ would be different. On top of that, the budget was five times higher than any video we’d ever done,” Charisma recalls.

There was another issue too. “We were all students. I was living with my parents, and to raise the money, I would have had to borrow from them, which was tough because we were already at odds over my decision to pursue music instead of law.”

Despite his reservations, his bandmates convinced him to go ahead. “Deep down, I still wasn’t on board. Our previous videos only garnered about 400 views on YouTube. Nonetheless, we filmed the video, but there was a lot of drama. We got short-changed by the producer, and the videographer was difficult to work with. It was chaotic.”

To their surprise, the video went viral upon release, skyrocketing them to fame. “That song changed my life. Suddenly, we were stars, getting interviews on TV and booking performances. Our first big paycheck was Sh100,000, which was a lot for us compared to the Sh5,000 we used to get.”

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As the song gained more airplay, Le Band’s popularity surged. “In 2017, I don’t think any other artist was booked more than Le Band. Back then, there were three major bands: Sauti Sol, H_art The Band, and us. But Sauti Sol and H_art were expensive, so people chose us if they had a smaller budget,” Charisma shares.

With their newfound fame, the group attracted a large female fan base. “That year, we made good money, but the problem was we were young, still in school, and earning decent cash. The hype around us, especially from women, was intense. We had a big song, and we were constantly on TV.”

So, what did they do with their new fame and money? “We wasted it on women. We’d get paid for club appearances, then spend the money buying bottles for random women and paying for their rides home. We did this repeatedly. Then, when it came time to shoot another video, we had no money left, so we’d have to do another gig just to fund the next video. We weren’t saving.”

Reflecting on those days, Charisma admits they lacked financial wisdom. “We were making a lot of money, but we didn’t know how to manage it. We were also caught up in the fast-paced life of fame and entertainment.”

It’s about time Le Band reunited!

Posted on by Branny

If there’s a Kenyan band that has really been missed on the local entertainment scene, it’s Le Band – the group that was made up of Fidel Shammah, Ken Mwendwa, Joel Maina and Abe Kiptanui.

Also read: Why Kenyan music groups don’t last

Most people first came to know Le Band when they released a song titled Number One with Suzziah. Actually they were even touted as the next Sauti Sol.

Le Band

They went on to release other jams such as For You, Nakupenda, Leo, Move, Sweet Lady and before we knew it, the group members parted ways.

Many people who were huge fans of Le Band, like myself, were really taken aback with the news of their separation because their music careers had not even taken off.

These guys made good music. The kind that you can listen to even when an older person is around. Some people call it clean music.

Le Band

One of the things that I loved about Le Band is that it had a good mix of talents. Fidel was a good vocalist. His voice drove many ladies wild.

Ken had a deep bass that many of us loved listening to, Joel also had a good voice and a wide vocal range. Abe was so good with the guitar. This nice blend is what made them to stand out.

While the former members of the the group have tried to pursue careers as solo artists, it is not the same. Many of us really miss the group and feel it’s about time they re-united.

Understandably, being in a group is difficult because you have to factor in the different personalities and people may be engaged in different activities when it’s time to rehearse but if Sauti Sol has done it, why can’t they also do it?

Le Band’s Charisma has teamed up with Njerae on this beautiful tune dubbed ‘Tuthi Nawe’ (Video)

Posted on by David Kingsley

Captain Charisma, formerly of Le Band, has dropped a new song with mellow-voiced singer Njerae dubbed Tuthi Nawe and we are really feeling it.

Tuthi Nawe
Tuthi Nawe

Tuthi Nawe is a Kikuyu word which means ‘let’s go with you’. As you can already tell, this is feel good song. However, it’s also a love ballad at the same time. I don’t know how they pulled it off.

Both Charisma and Njerae came through with well-thought out lyrics on this song but perhaps the highlight of it is listening to the former rap like he’s ready to give Khaligraph ones a run for his money.

He also threw in words like nipeleke na rieng which I must admit that I was not really expecting but it came out well though and didn’t seem misplaced. Props to Charisma.

Njerae
Njerae

The other thing that struck me about Tuthi Nawe is the lovely voices of both Charisma and Njerae. You will hit the replay button a couple of times and no one will even blame you.

The song was produced by Lolly P and as expected he too did a good job by providing the singers with a funky and uptown yet mellow beat.

The video for Tuthi Nawe was directed by the one and only Mike Lolly P. The thing that I loved most about it was the use of colour and how it was well co-ordinated i.e. through their outfits and the car that was used as a prop.

Interestingly, they didn’t really plan for the video shoot. They had gone for a road trip and decided to invite the videographer on the second day of their get away and voila Tuthi Nawe was born.

Watch Tuthi Nawe below and tell us what you think.

Fast rising songbird Pryshon features Kenya’s hottest pop group Le-Band in new single 

Posted on by Martin Oduor

Pryshon has dropped a new jam following the success of her first single ‘Usiku na Mchana’. The fast rising singer has featured Kenya’s hottest pop group Le-Band in new single ‘Rebel’.

‘Rebel’ was composed by SoFresh, mixed and mastered by SoFresh, written by Josh of Amos & Josh duo, Pryshon and Le-Band.

The new song is the third Pryshon has dropped since the beginning of her promising music career. She however has other projects in the pipeline.

Rebellious love story

‘Rebel’ is a bumpy pop track that is themed around a rebellious love story between real life pastor’s kids. The music video was shot in Juja, Kenya and directed by Jijo Drumbeats.

“It’s been such an honor to work with Pryshon because she’s too damn pretty and talented and we’ve been her fan since her first release ‘Thinking’ ft Nem. We can’t wait to hit the stage together to perform ‘Rebel’ to our fans, it’s a monster hit,” said Le-Band while speaking of the new collabo.

Pryshon echoed Le-Band’s sentiments;

“I love this jam so much! my team and I have been eyeing Le-Band for a long time and we’ve always wanted to work with them. The collabo was seamless and everything we anticipated it would be.”

Watch the song in the video below: