End of P Unit? Shocking truths about the group and Frasha's new solo career

By end of this week, in front of 200 invited guests including musicians, fans and corporates, P Unit's Francis Hamisi aka Frasha launches his new brand, a solo career that will see him manage his entertainment life separate from P Unit.

It will be a listening party, an invite-only intimate affair at Michael Joseph Centre, during which the self-titled King of Flow will launch his new songs, a project he has secretly been working on for months.

There is more! Pulse can now reveal that the versatile rapper is going into talent management, TV production as well as video production in partnership with Basement Media, a new entertainment stable based in Nairobi.

Two of the artistes he has signed will be at the party, along with 20 fans who have been picked randomly on Facebook. The party has been christened 'I-am-Frasha'.

The new move confirms the speculation Pulse has been running for the last two months, that P Unit, one East Africa's entertainment bigwigs, and Kenya's music pride, is changing faces.

"Yes, I am going solo. The launch opens a new chapter in my music career of 14 years, the same duration P Unit has been in place. It is a change that we all knew would happen one day and now is the time," Frasha told Pulse during an exclusive interview early this week.

"We have been consulting together as P Unit. Every one of us feels that we need individual growth. I will be operating in partnership with Basement Media and besides music, I will be unveiling my new projects that include talent and events management, video production and TV business," he revealed.

"This does not mean we are dissolving P Unit as a group. It is only that each member wants to focus on their solo projects even as we keep the P Unit brand intact," he clarified.

Even though Frasha and his fellow P Unit members Gabu and Bon-Eye maintain that their unity as P Unit remains and that they will continue doing shows, it is no secret that many of their fans do fear that this turning point could be a sign that eventually P Unit will be no more.

The three held a lengthy secret meeting at the Caribbean Restaurant along Wood Avenue on Sunday night to discuss the future of P Unit, after Frasha broke the news to the other two that he was launching his solo career.

It was not an overnight decision as Pulse can now reveal that as early as October last year, Frasha did hint that he would be moving on.

In fact, behind the scenes, Frasha has been working on his new album and has recorded a number of collaborations with top artistes among them Eric Wainaina, Rabbit, Collo and Kristoff.

During the Sunday meeting, just as was the case in previous meetings that were not attended by the group's management team, the group members discussed details on how to handle the publicity that could threaten P Unit as a brand in the wake of the new development. They also discussed how to work as the stakeholders behind the P Unit Publishing outfit, a brand they have been co-running as business partners.

"We will be available to work with anyone who wants to work with us as P Unit. That is what we want to make clear. This is not a breakup as some blogs have been claiming. World over, we have artistes who belong to groups and still run their solo careers such as the Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, Fergie and many others," Frasha said, defending the move.

The three childhood friends formed the genge hip-hop group in 2003. With the assistance of award-winning rapper Nonini and Decimal Media CEO and Producer Musyoka they released their debut album Wagenge Hao in 2010, a 17-track collection that had hit songs such as Kare, Hapa Kule, Una, Juu tu Sana, Kushoto Kulia and Si Lazima in which they featured their godfather, Nonini.

Even before the album dropped, the group was recording huge success with every release of a single and by 2007, they had become a showbiz powerhouse winning the Boomba Group category during the Kisima Music Awards that year.

The same year, they took home the Best Group, Best Song (Si Lazima) and Best Collaboration (Si Lazima) at the Chaguo La Teeniez Awards and gave a repeat performance in 2008 winning in the Best Group category at the Chaguo La Teeniez Awards and the Kisima Music Awards. They went ahead to receive MTV Africa Music Awards nominations in 2008 and 2010 in the Listener's Choice and Best Group categories respectively.

Their 2011 Gentleman release, recorded by R-Kay and featuring Sauti Sol earned them continental recognition and by the time they were releasing You Guy (Dat Dendai) in 2012, they had become one of the biggest Kenyan music exports.

Mobimba, their 2013 dime (featuring Alicios Theluji) did not disappoint and neither did their latest releases Love and Weka Weka, the latter having been released about a month ago.

"We have had many great achievements but winning two Channel O Africa Music Video Awards two years ago was really big. Our strength has been in our unity that is founded in our friendship, which runs beyond music. We are childhood friends and our families have been there for us throughout the journey," Bon-Eye told Pulse this week.

"We consulted and are happy with what Frasha is doing. We see this as growth both for P Unit and individual group members. After 14 years in the industry, I believe it is time to shake things up a bit. You can't do things the same way every time and expect different results," Bon-Eye noted.

"P Unit is now a registered publishing company and we have been into music distribution among other things for quite some time," he remarked.

Bon-Eye says he will continue to focus on his company Sustainable Construction Consultancy Limited, which has deals across East Africa.

"I run the company with my wife and a friend of ours and besides having a serious contact at the new Garden City Mall along Thika road, we are currently running other projects in Rwanda and Tanzania. I also run two other companies and besides my family keeping me busy, that is where my focus is now," Bon-Eye revealed.

Gabu has also ventured into business now running his CML fashion line and a holdings company that deals in Government tenders.

"Our success is the sum total of years of dedication, transparency and self-belief. We have always been honest with each other and we are never shy to caution each other so that we can become better people," Bon-Eye told Pulse.

"We are tight friends. Our fans should not panic as we will still be here, a better group," he concluded.

Bon-Eye's wife Elizabeth Wangeci, has been playing an active role in the group's management since the two tied the knot at Enashapai Resort in 2013.