Scotching lascivious lifestyle

Erotic lifestyles among the youth calls for change of tact in driving the point home and the Shuga series does just that, writes STEVENS MUENDO

Forget Let’s talk about Sex, the hit 1991 track released by American hip-hop trio Salt-n-Pepa that captured the imagination of every adolescent then.

Closer home, in his Safari album released back in 2005, Tanzania’s singer Ferroz Mrisho released the hit single Goodbye, which was later to become one of the most memorable tracks in the region.

Featuring conscious lyrist Professor Jay, Ferroz took the HIV and Aids scourge head-on, with poetically penned Kiswahili lyrics — at a time when most celebrities remained shy about touching the sensitive issue, in their songs.

Starehe nilizifanyia papara, nilibadili mademu kama vidaladala

Nikienda hili, nikirudi lile, nilitaka starehe zote nizitawale

Ona sasa hata kumkumbuka Mola wangu ilikuwa ndoto, kumbe nilikuwa nakimbilia moto; Ferroz sings and plays a bed-ridden Aids victim.

In deep despair, as he gasps for his last breath, he mournfully recites:  

Sasa Mimi nipo kitandani, starehe zime niweka mashakani

Starehe nilizifanyia papara

Kupona tena mimi haiwezekani jamani Buriani kwaheri, kwaherini, kwaherini

Masela wote wa ghetto kwaherini...

In 2007, the Longombas duo followed up by releasing the award-winning Vuta Pumz hit, a social responsibility edutainment classic aimed at diffusing the HIV and Aids stigma among the youth.

DNG and Alphamatone (featuring Bruno) were to later release Funga Mshipi in 2009 before P-Unit released Usikonde (featuring Gaza), both of which carried a strong warning on multiple-partner relationships and unprotected sex among the youth.

Bitter truth

That year, Shuga, a hard-hitting three-part drama series that followed the lives of a group of cool young college students — whose bright lives and fabulous futures were balanced on a knife edge due to their love of risk and “Friday-nights”danger. The love and sex,  script explored the issues of sexual recklessness among urban youth against a background of continuing HIV and Aids infections.

The cast included local celebrities Lupita Nyong’o, Valerie Kimani, Anthony Mwangi and Nicolas Mutuma, with cameo appearances from Kenya’s hottest young showbiz talents including P Unit, Nonini, Nameless, Juliani, Jimmy Gait and DJ Adrian. Also starring was acclaimed South African actor Tumisho Masha.

With the lid lifted on the hard facts on how urban lifestyles and peer pressure among the youth have contributed to the spread of the scourge, Shuga is back. Finally, we can talk about sex in the living room.

This time round the TV drama series delves deep into the truths about sex, love and money in urban Africa using a celebrity packed cast, the role models who define the ‘cool’ lifestyles among Pulsers.

Just because she is doing the daggering, is she asking for it? So goes the provocative question that opens up the narration of the story of Baby and Violet, the two main acts in the sex and youth driven piece.

It is essentially a universal story, exploring the role of parents, role models and the people we look up to and respect. These are the ones who can either make a positive or negative impact on our lives.

The story starts with Baby in a vulnerable moment in her life. Just aged 16 and increasingly aware of her sexuality but not of its power or potential danger, Baby lives in a home that on the surface espouses good values and appears to be a safe environment, but in truth, it leaves her flailing and extremely defenceless.

Peer pressure

Like most teenagers, she can’t wait to grow up, go to clubs and taste the ‘cool’ life. Her story also explores perceived ‘invitations’ for sex through her way of dressing and the daggering (Bendover) dance. This poses the same questions that the advent of the mini-skirt did 30 years ago, and no doubt the tango a century ago.

Baby’s life intersects with Violet (the ‘wild’ character from Shuga 1). Violet is also in a vulnerable moment in her life, needing parental support and guidance and struggling to find her feet as she comes to terms with her new HIV positive status.

It is in seeing Baby begin her slide that Violet discovers herself and in reaching out to Baby, she finds her own strength.

Baby and Violet’s stories interlope and thematically counter-point each other. Both girls have absent fathers and are looking for their approval.

Baby is Violet’s neighbour.  Her home is a strict one run by her domineering stepfather, Baby is the Cinderella of the family. Her mother is completely dependent and devoted to her new husband and is eager that Baby is not a nuisance in their happy household. Baby is the one who does the cooking and the chores while her younger siblings are spoilt with love.

The only one who seems to give her any attention is her step –father’s brother, Uncle Njau. Njau is a 27–year old happy-go-lucky guy who works at a call centre. His fiancé kicked him out and he is staying with his brother till he can find another place. He continually makes sexual advances on her but she avoids the lascivious advances of her uncle.

Eventually, as peer pressure puts a toll on her, she sneaks out to the nightclub.

Upon her return from the club — in shorts — her uncle accosts her.

He renders her powerless before having sex with her —without a condom.

Then, the story starts to unfold!

Nigerian singers Banky W and Wiz Kid as well as South African singer L-Tido are already in town to team up with Kenya’s rapper Bon’Eye of P-Unit to record a title track for MTV series.

The continental stars, whose track is being produced by Nigerian film star and director Clarence Peters, will also make a cameo appearance in the TV drama alongside Nairobi-based Nigerian singer Ikubese Emmanuel (9con) and Kenyan singer Avril.

The artistes have been commissioned to write and perform the title track for Shuga: the second series of the sex and relationships drama set in Kenya.

Other artistes to feature in the soundtrack include Camp Mulla, Flavour, P-Square, Wyre, STL, Madtraxx, J Martins and Sasha among others.

The song will debut on MTV Base on Valentine’s Day after today’s red carpet Shuga premier in Nairobi.

“It was an amazing experience playing my role in Shuga. It was great discovering my other side,” says Avril.

“My character as Miss Behave the singer was more or less like Avril, the entertainer. Then there was the other side, Belinda, the offstage persona,” she remarks.

In the series, she falls for Leo (Nick Mutuma), the radio presenter. As their romance develops, they get engulfed in a love triangle with another radio presenter, Dala (Brenda Wairimu).

“It’s pretty sweet acting a role you can relate to in real life. I am a musician, Nick is a radio presenter and Brenda is easy with radio. The choice of cast makes Shuga II look so real. You must give it up to the producers and directors,” adds Avril.

Made in Kenya

Filmed in Kenya and funded by President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) and the Partnership for a HIV-Free Generation (HFG) through the youth lifestyle brand G-Pange, Shuga II does not only address the youth but also parents on the need to communicate with their children.

“The narrative explores men using perceived positions of authority to force women to have sex, gender inability of girls to negotiate safe sex, lack of communication about sex with parents and prevention with positives. It is a must watch for all,” says Rose Thuo of HFG.

“HFG put in about Sh 1.2 Billion (USD14M) for the film to be made a second time. We used the first series with a lot of success.  We set up video dens across the country where young people hang out to bring out the real story. With each episode airing, we will hold discussion sessions to find out if the audience feel the film is on point,” she notes.

Shuga I was a massive success globally. About 72 countries took up the film worldwide. It won two global awards at the International Aids Conference in 2009 and most recently at the International Entertainment Education Conference in India last year.

Young people in urban Kenya are getting exposed to sex at such an early age, thanks to exposure given to them by modern lifestyles and technology.

With university and college halls have been turned into sex dens and some university girls engaging in prostitution, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Young men, too, are playing victims to wealthy women who are more than willing to bankroll their lives so long as they ‘deliver’.

Nairobi nightlife is awash with sex at the parking lots; clubs, cars and every other little spot the young ‘lovers’ can wedge themselves for a bend over.

Not so long ago, in the wee hours of the morning, Pulse encountered a group of drunken students from a leading university having multiple sex at a petrol station.

“As much as we are trying to bring out the issue in relation to HIV and the risks involved, we are also trying to urge the youth to lead responsible lifestyle. At the end of it, Shuga II gives hope to the infected in an effort to fight stigmatisation,” notes Rose.

“Let us not keep throwing the HIV and Aids blame on each other. Lets tackle the menace together,” she concludes.