Pulse turned eleven this week!!

E-Sir was the earliest architect of a generation that continues to defy the times with artistry and hard work. There have been many changes since then.

From three studios to a hundred more

The early 2000s were driven by three stable studios, Ogopa Deejays, Blu Zebra and Calif Records. Well, there were more than three but these three produced the best music around. Redsan, Necessary Noise, Nameless, Amani, Nonini and Jua Cali were the products of these studios with Samawati Records supplying the rest of the A-List artistes at the time.

“We used to walk all the way across town just to get to a studio,” Circuite recalled in a previous interview with Pulse.

That cannot be said currently as there are studios all over. From a time when an artiste would be identified by a certain studio, artistes are nowadays more demanding, choosing who to work with on their own terms.

“I would rather pay much more for quality sound than play broke and get a beat I cannot work with. I have that choice,” explains gospel artiste Hopekid.

The business side of things

In an interview with Bamboo, the former K South member explained that there have been two significant changes from the time K South started out in the 90s and now. The quality of music has improved and the business side of music is now very vibrant.

“What has changed is generally the business side of music. Guys are making good money and deals, something we never used to do when we started,” notes Bamboo.

From getting paid peanuts or not getting paid at all for shows, as Fundi Frank explained, showbiz is full of artistes who would rather not perform than take anything less than Sh150,000.

Artistes like Jaguar have spread their wings and are performing in countries like Rwanda and Burundi every other day, where the promoters are not as stingy as those around.

Artistes are branding themselves to attract corporates, with the likes of Juliani, Ringtone and others posing occasionally with corporate chiefs and politicians.

Socialites

In the past two years, socialites in the entertainment industry have taken up as much print space as entertainers. Vera Sidika, Huddah Monroe, Risper Faith, Maura Malanga, Corazon Kwamboka, Vennessa Chettle and other socialites and video vixens have captured the imagination of a country, with Vera’s recent skin-lightening and boob job exploits getting as much publicity in the national - and international- media as the rampant insecurity has.

Interestingly, socialites and vixens are not confined to the secular world. “There are so many socialites in the gospel industry and the reason for my song Delilah was party informed by that,” explains Hopekid.

“They are everywhere and can do anything to be around celebrities.”

When Pulse started off, only Toxic and the Boomba Girls could be classified as vixens, the rest were just a collection of dancers that appeared in numerous, low quality videos that were mostly shot in clubs.

Video and film launches

Of the many emails and invites that media personalities receive, a good number are invites to exclusive events whose main aim is to launch new songs, videos, albums and films. Just this weekend, Hopekid, Calvo Mistari and Amileena launched their much publicised albums with Kalamashaka and Rabbit set to launch theirs today and Thursday next week respectively.

Events like Wakilisha East Africa were started to cater for these launches.

“Wakilisha was started to offer artistes a chance to officially showcase their new projects while at the same time, giving both artistes and their fans a platform to interact,” notes Willy M Tuva, the celebrated radio personality who hosts the platform.

In the same breath, the film industry is still miles behind the music scene but movie launches are now glitzy affairs that are missed by few. If the Konstantaras are not launching House of Lungula, Janet Kaniri is hosting another event across town.

YouTube

YouTube is the way to go and many have embraced it. DJs and radio hosts are finding it hard to control a market that has found a way around the godfathers of the industry who previously, could kill a career by refusing to give artistes airplay.

YouTube has offered everyone a chance to get spotted before they get noticed. Video uploads, views and instant feedback have given all artistes and actors the kind of access that was not there a decade ago. Short films are uploaded with the massive response creating instant stars. One can watch a re-run of the popular Househelps of Kawangware at their own time!

Recently in an interview on Citizen TV, Jaguar explained that YouTube has made it easier to do collabos with international artistes.

“Once you show interest, they just check your songs online and decide if you are worth the effort,” he explained.

Social Media

And just like YouTube, social media has broken ground in the entertainment industry by offering entertainers avenues to connect directly with their fans across the globe. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp are just some of the avenues that one can maximise on.

If E-Sir were alive today, he would have enjoyed the attention and feedback from his adoring fans.

On that day when the first issue of the Pulse rolled off the press eleven years ago, the only feedback we got were on radio.

End of the godfathers

As pointed out earlier, there was a time when if particular DJs refused to play your song on their show or in the club, your career would be dead as a dodo. Those days are long gone, thanks to the increase in shows and a plethora of DJs who play music from the club to radio, TV and even in matatus.

Royalties

MCSK was registered in 1983. PRiSk was licensed in late 2009 and Mdundo was operational as from December 2012. These are the royalty players in the music industry, not mentioning the different players in the film and advertising industries. Even a lazy artiste with a hit can sit back and wait for a cheque to be delivered.

As Pulse broke it down recently, there are on average around 40 Kenyan songs that flood the market every month. These hits jostle for market share that also includes a strong West African, South African and Bongo supply of popular hits.

In the early years of the Kenyan showbiz scene, 40 would be a whole year’s worth of songs. It is still a wonder that the great E-Sir worked on his album over the course of one year, as it was unheard of in those times when singles were the way forward and no single celebrity could pull a crowd as a solo act at an event.

Government involvement

Recently, Bahati had to apologise after a section of his fans were not happy with the way he had sagged his jeans at a public event. The young gospel artiste was performing at a national function aired live across the country and attended by Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts, Dr Hassan Wario.

Former Camp Mulla singer had among her guests at a listening party, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who two months before, had graced the Groove Awards at the KICC.

Welcome the supporting cast

Eleven years ago the only Kenyan celeb was the performer, full stop. He managed himself, negotiated for himself and even marketed himself. Few would have imagined that with time, the supporting cast around the celeb would grow to include a host of profesionals. If you were to talk to Sauti Sol, you would have to do it through their manager. Other than managers, there are dancers and photographers who have become an integral part of the celeb culture that Pulse unveiled eleven years ago.

photo:www.mosta2bal.com