Blazing Bamzi's past

BY CAROLINE NYANGA

Pulse: How and when did you get into music?

Bamzi: My father who is also part of my inspiration used to play music by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and old skool Rock and Roll. My cousin’s collection of Michael Jackson music played a part as well. I would watch MJ do his thing on video and imitate the same for fun.

P: Then what?

B: Within no time I found myself curtain raising for several groups such as Rarewatts and Vitimbi Crew.

P: What happened next?

B: I met Nazizi in Nairobi during one of my vacations. We were both students in Malaysia for two and a half years. At the same time I made friends with various deejays including Pinye and Adrian who offered me a free battle shows at JK’s, Westie and at K-Stakes.

I was featured on Phat magazine and this got the attention of producer Tedd Josiah of Blu Zebra who requested Nazizi to bring me along.

B: Disagrements with Tedd Josiah. Let’s just say that although the album sold out we (musicians) did not get anything from it. Even as Naz and Wyre continued working with Tedd I decided to go solo.

P: What of Gichboy?

B: I met Gichboy during one of my holidays. At the time he had just returned home from the US.

Within no time we recorded and released some songs from the album The Bounce is back in 2004. But as fate would have it we clashed shortly after its release when Gichboy decided to take advantage of my album. When I confronted him on the matter he decided to hold back some of my songs from the album and that marked the end of our relationship.

P: Working as a presenter?

B: I joined Metro FM as a presenter but at the same time begun recording my songs afresh with Code Red’s Red Room whom I considered as family. By 2007 the Bounce album was complete and out. I also worked as a presenter at KISS FM prior to the drugs problem.

P: Bouncing back…

B: Upon my return from the rehab – I wanted total reinvention of my music with an authentic new style comprising hip-hop, reggae and R&B which I thought DJ Stylez of Code Red would provide. He seemed disinterested in the beats yet used them to produce some of Madtraxx’s hit songs like Big Shot.

P: First show…

B: It was at a pub in Unga House in Westie. As a solo artiste I performed in Malaysia in 2003 alongside 2 Fat the biggest hip-hop group nominated for MTV Asia awards during which US musicians Shaggy and Missy Elliots were the emcees.

P: Your transformation as a celeb?

B: Nothing much has changed. I have always been the same person doing what pleases me as opposed to letting other people do the thinking for me.