I never thought we’d see this day but we are here. Ladies and gentlemen, our very own Jua Cali has a collabo with a singer who has roots in Mexico. His name is Romantico. You might think he’s new in the local music industry but he has been around for a while.
It also features Kenyan swimmer-turned-rapper Jason Dunford whose alter ego is Samaki Mkuu. As in, as a swimmer he is known as Jason, but in the rap world, he refers to himself as Samaki Mkuu. This is a topic that we need a whole day to discuss. I’m also as confused.
If there’s any Kenyan artist who has been sounding the same way since we first knew him but his music still reasonates with music fans then it’s Jua Cali. He still opens his songs with the “Jua Caliiiii au sio” line. And I don’t mean this in a bad way. I really love it.
In this song, he sounds a bit different because of the he Latino-infused beat in the background, but I think it’s still awesome. It really does not come as a surprise that Jua Cali is still Baba Yao two decades after he debuted in the local music industry.
Also read: How Jua Cali has remained relevant to date
I loved the Latino vibe that Romantico gave to the song. His part comes after Jua Cali and I feel that he totally killed it. Apart from spitting in Latino, he also throws in some words in Swahili and I couldn’t get enough of how he was pronouncing them.
Jason Dunford, alias Samaki Mkuu, is also proving to be a force to be reckoned with. I think Kenyans are about to start taking him seriously. He really delivered in Baila Baila. His lyrics were in English and Swahili. However, I don’t think he put so much thought into the words that he used.
Like there, a part that he says “Tunaenda kazi kujiskuma, wale wamelala watatekwa nyara” Anyway, we’ll let it slide because Swahili is not his first language.
The video was shot in Kilifi. I loved the locations and how the stylist blended the locations with the singers’ outfit. It almost feels like the video was shot in some Mexican coast. Okay, now I am pushing it.
Watch Baila Baila below and tell us what you think: