Tag: P Unit News

P Unit’s collabo with Prezzo was long overdue!

Posted on by Ozymandias

You may or may not know this but about a week ago, P Unit dropped a new jam with Prezzo dubbed Hop Step and it’s so good that it left me wondering why they had never gotten into studio before.

Also read: Prezzo deserves to have a docu-series made about his life

I don’t know why but I have always assumed that P Unit has a track with Prezzo but as it turns out that is not the case. However, the latter featured in Here We Go which had the likes of Gabu, Kristoff and Magix Enga.

P Unit

Prezzo really came through on their collabo. He has a somewhat hoarse voice that really spices up a song and makes you want to listen to it over and over.

Of course, he also has a good flow and that Swahili accent is the reason why some of us won’t stop listening to that jam anytime soon.

P Unit also did  good job on this track. Although Bon Eye was conspicuously missing, Frasha and Gabu did a decent job and if you are not so keen you would not even notice that the former is not on this jam.

Prezzo
Prezzo

Just like Prezzo, Frasha has a unique voice and that is why the hook for this jam sounds so good. Notably, Gabu also had a sick verse, I was really impressed by the wordplay.

I can only hope that they will release more projects in future. Also if you are reading this Prezzo, we need new music from you man. It’s been a minute!

Watch Hop Step below.

Eric Musyoka, the iconic producer who took Kenyan music to greater heights

Posted on by David Kingsley

It’s hard to talk about Kenyan music without mentioning the name of Decimal Records CEO Eric Musyoka, popularly known as Musyox. He has been very instrumental in shaping the Kenyan sound.

Also read: Stop looking for content from new-age musicians!

In the early to mid 2000s when Calif Records and Ogopa Deejays were beefing, the award-winning producer, who is now 38, was working at Homeboyz Entertianment.

Musyoka

While at the stable which is owned by the Rabar family, Musyoka produced songs for the musicians like; Prezzo, TID, Mr Lenny, Nameless, AY, Wyre, Peter Miles, Nikki, Nonini, just to name a few.

He then took a break and went for further studies at the SAE Institute in the US in 2006. Upon his return, he formed Decimal Records and signed P-Unit.

If you ask me, I will tell you that the group that was made up Frasha, Bon Eye and Gabu is one of Musyoka’s greatest achievements to this day. He literally propelled them to greater heights.

Musyoka and Bon Eye

What most people do not know is that the three started off as Nonini’s dancers and back-up singers and by 2010 they had won several awards including a MTV Africa Music Award (MAMA). Take a moment and let that sink in.

At Decimal, Musyoka has also worked with Just A Band, Juliani, Daddy Owen, Sauti Sol, Elani, Octopizzo and many more. Put simply, there is a high chance that he has produced a jam for your favourite Kenyan artist.

When all is said and done, he will be remembered for nurturing talents and taking Kenyan music to the continental stage because he started  producing music at a time when most artists were just focusing on their local audiences.

Musyoka is one of the producers who changed the game by ensuring our music could transcend our borders and this led to artists getting so many shows outside the country.

He’s a legend in his own right and it saddens me that most people will realize this after he hangs up his boots because as they say, you never miss something until it’s gone.

Watch one of his most popular jams dubbed Furahi Day by Nonini and Nameless below.

 

Gabu brings Kristoff on board for ‘Cece’ (Video)

Posted on by David Kingsley

Kenyan singer Gabriel Kagundu, better known as Gabu and formerly of P-Unit, has released a new jam with Kristoff and it’s a big tune.

Also read: Which P-Unit member has been most successful after they split up?

The track dubbed Cece is a club banger but it is kind of different because it gives off a mellow vibe which means that it some elements of a love ballad.

Gabu and Kristoff

If you are a fan of both Gabu and Kristoff, like myself, then you should get ready to be entertained because the artists brought their A-game on Cece.

This jam is so infectious. I have listened to it a couple of times since it was released and every time I play it, I fee like I am hearing it for the very first time and that is exactly how a great song should make you feel.

Gabu has an amazing voice and to add to that, this lad has a unique ability to play around with word and make dope rhymes that will leave you scratching your head as you try to make sense of it all.

Kristoff Rainbow
Kristoff

Listening to him on this track made me miss the good old days when P-Unit treated us to hit after hit. I wish they can give us one last concert for old times sake. Anyway, that is a story for another day.

As expected – Kristoff – who is also known as Mluhya Wa Busia, also did a good job on Cece. Other than his melodic voice, which blends well with that of Gabu, he also has an impeccable flow.

The beat which was produced by Kashkeed is really catchy. I also love the video for this song. One of the things that caught my attention is its crisp quality, we’ve honestly come far as a country in terms of music videos.

Watch Cece below and tell us what you think.

P-Unit and Yvonne Darcq have linked up on ‘Bolingo’ and it’s a big tune (Video)

Posted on by David Kingsley

It’s such a beautiful time to be alive and the reason I’m saying this is because P-Unit, a group that most of us grew up listening to, is still churnfing out music. I mean, isn’t that enough reason to be happy?

Also read: Which P-Unit member has been most successful after they split up?

Now, P-Unit – which is made of Bon Eye, Frasha and Gabu, has teamed up with the beautiful Yvonne Darcq on a new song and it slaps really hard! Like really.

The song dubbed Bolingo, which is a Lingala word that simply means love, has been receiving massive airplay since it was released a few days ago.

Yvonne Darcq
Yvonne Darcq

I don’t know what to make of this song. All I know that is I couldn’t stop listening to it. It has this mix of Lingala and ‘morderness’ that will get you on your feet dancing. Don’t even get me started on the energy that’s on the beat.

The second thing that I love is the hook. It’s too dope and easy to master. I could have written it here for you guys but my knowledge of French and Lingala is not worth talking about. Anyway, Yvonne Darcq totally aced it.

Of course, the P-Unit guys also delivered in this jam. I was not expecting anything less from them. However, if I had to chose one of them, I’ll honestly say that Frasha carried this one home, especially where he is singing in French.

The video was also on point. From the simple shoot locations to the styling to the choreography, I mean what’s there not to love?

P-Unit
P-Unit

Now that I’ve told you about all the things that I love about this jam, I can’t fail to point out that is sounds a lot like a collabo that P-Unit did with Alicious back in 2013 dubbed Mobimba. Look it up.

Watch Bolingo below and tell us what you think.

Which P-Unit member has been most successful after they split up?

Posted on by David Kingsley

I recently came across across a fire mix tape by P-Unit and it got me thinking, what if the group was still together? Would they still be relevant today? Would anyone bother to listen to them? Who has been the most successful?

You could argue that Bon Eye, Frasha and Buganya – the trio who make up the group – are still together since they occasionally release songs as P-Unit but deep down you also know that the group is long dead.

I’ve always been a huge fan of P-Unit, probably their biggest fan in Kenya. From the days of Si Lazima, Kushoto Kulia, You Guy, to the most recent single dubbed Fire. I just love their music!

They treated Kenyans to several hits before they decided to go separate ways in 2015. After 14 years in the game, P-Unit members had decided that they wanted to pursue solo careers.

At the time, it seemed like a bitter pill to swallow. However, when they started releasing their solo songs, I realized it wasn’t such a bad idea.

Since 2015, Gabu has released songs such as Dirunk, Wabe, Be Nice, Simple Lover, No Spine, Mastory just to name a few.

In 2017, he teamed up with Steven Ogechi, CMB Prezzo and a couple of other guys to establish Kompakt Records which is among the most revered record labels in Kenya today.

Gabu
Gabu.

Frasha, on the other hand, has featured in dope collabos such as Shigidi, Dandia, Wale Wabaya, Uongo, Kuthibu, just to name a few.

In 2017, he contested for a Member of County (MCA) seat in Athi River, Machakos County but lost.

Bon Eye stayed away from music sometime after the group split up. However, he had a change of heart in 2017 and decided to help Eric Musyoka run Decimal Records.

Since the group slit up, he has released Bad Boy featuring Avril and featured in hits such as Drinx Na Mayenx, Appetite and Wamlambez.

As you can tell, each of the group members has been doing his own thing since the group split up and this begs the question, who is the most successful?

To be honest it does not really matter. In as much as we want the old P-Unit back maybe they figured out that the only way they would continue to be relevant was by splitting up and it has worked for them.

As such, we should celebrate Bon Eye, Gabu and Frasha equally for the roles they’ve played and continue to play in shaping up the local music industry.

P-Unit
P-Unit

Alvindo’s ‘Taka Taka’ is almost hitting a million views but it’s still trash

Posted on by David Kingsley

I was recently astounded when I discovered that Taka Taka, a song by an up and coming musician named Alvin, alias Alvindo, is at 910,000 views on YouTube, just 90,000 views shy of the 1 million mark.

Any Kenyan musician, save for Sauti Sol, Willy Paul, Otile Brown and Nyashinki, will tell you for free that getting a million views on YouTube is such an uphill task. Most of them of dream of getting there organically. Of course, there’s always the easier option of buying views. Hi Octopizzo!

To put this into better perspective, I’ll give you some examples. You know Machozi, one of the songs that made Bahati a household name? It’s still stuck at 945,000 views 5 years after it was released.

Talented singers like Phy, Dela, Wangeci, Fena, P Unit, Masauti have never crossed the one million mark on YouTube despite all the great songs that they’ve composed over the years. I’m sure they dream of that day! It’s coming people!

Phy’s Taboo deserves a million views

As such, you would understand my frustration when I learnt that Taka Taka is almost hitting 1 million views barely two months after it was released. Mark you, the song does not even have a video.

To be honest, this was such an effortless song. Alvindo made a beat on his phone and came up with the lyrics after his girlfriend dumped him. To this extent, you can argue that the song had some inspiration. He included some abusive words and the song was good to go. There was no thought process behind it, none at all.

You see, I’m not in the habit of celebrating sub-standard content. It is for this reason that I feel that it should not have as many views. Kenyans seem to be glorifying trash music at the expense of magnificent content.

In as much as the beat, which was later polished by Magix Enga, is on point I still feel that the song is below average and should not be getting this kind of attention.

And no, I’m not jealous of Alvindo’s success seeing as Taka Taka, which is Swahili for trash, was his first song. There’s a level of mediocrity that I can stand, this song stretches it too far.

But then again, you could argue that the song was so bad that it had to stand out. What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Alvindo with Khaligraph Jones