Quit Complaining. Kenya Had High Profile International Concerts in 2012. Here are the Top 10
In the last couple of years, Kenyans have increasingly complained about the lack of international artistes holding concerts locally. But in the last year, the country has seen an influx of artistes coming in for shows.
There might be complaints about the artistes relevance but most of the artistes who came and who have made this list were at least relevant at some point in their careers. Not forgetting that we still have more performances from Demarco, Jeremih, May D and MIMS still coming up by the end of the year.
10. Incognito
Okay, they’re not that popular locally but the few who know them really like them. And they’ve managed to stay fresh for over 30 years.
9. Lutan Fyah
A list of nine is weird. This is the filler. I don’t know anything about this guy except that the Ghafla! editor, Kone Sekou, has a hard on for him.
8. Jah Cure
Okay, do reggae guys ever become irrelevant at any point in their careers? The music always sounds the same through time anyway. Cure is set to make a return to the country next February in a year that promises to have another star-studded line-up.
7. James Ingram
Ingram is jus about a relic. In an interview with Classic 105’s breakfast presenter, Maina Kageni, he could not even remember some of his songs but you have to admit, the guy is on his way to legend status.
6. Johnny Gill
He might have been heavier than you remember him as a member of the boy band, New Edition and LSG. But when he was big back then, he was huge (musically).
5. Etana
Probably the freshest of all the performers, she only started out in music in the early 2000s and is currently at the peak of her career with the heaviest of her accolades coming in the late 2000s and an album set to come out 2013, a follow-up to her 2011 record.
4. Joe Thomas
Probably one of the most mainstream and recognizable artistes who landed on our shores this year. He has had the biggest success in the most recent times, with seven Grammy nominations in the early 2000s and an album as recent as 2009.
3. Tarrus Riley
One of the most popular in songs in the country right now is Sorry Is A Sorry Word. It might be partly because his performance at Carnivore is still fresh in people’s minds or because he is just one of the most popular dancehall/lovers rock artistes right now.
2. DJ Cleo
Surely, the best event this year, Cleo came to Kenya at the peak of his popularity and he made it worth it with a 2.5-hour set punctuated with the introduction of Teddy Bears, the youngsters that took the night’s honours as the best performers.
1. Erykah Badu
She is the highest profile and most accomplished artiste who performed in Kenya in 2012. Four time Grammy winner from 19 nominations and a total of 16 awards out of 57 throughout her career, she totally proved her worth with a no frills, two-hour performance that can only be rivalled by DJ Cleo’s 2.5-hour frills-filled set at Fahrenheit in June.
