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By Sheila Kimani (@sheilakimm)
“Kenyan talent is indisputable, but untapped. We must change that. I am calling out on Kenyan artistes and producers to create tracks and work on an album with me," DJ Pinye announced.
Despite sounding very promising, these sentiments were received differently by most artistes and fans. Many even lashed out at him for not playing 70% local music in support of local art and talent.
The veteran disc jockey received criticisms following what many termed as 'Dj Pinye's refusal' to play local artiste's songs with others pointing to his refusal to play Papa Denis’ song Injili.
The Dj claimed that the video which was estimated to have been worth millions shot in South Africa, and produced by Godfather who is a well known producer credited for works such as Mafikizolo and P Square was of low quality.
According to many artistes and producers, Pinye’s reasons seemed farfetched as many wondered to what extent the video was of low quality.
When contacted for comment, Dj Pinye had stated that
“It was not my prerogative alone to decide what playlist gets a green light on his show, The Beat”
Later on, it emerged that the playlist on The Beat show was under the Dj's decision and discretion, consequently leaving artists with a bad taste in reference to Dj Pinye's name.
The news of his appeal to local artists came to many as a surprise with many asking him to play more of local music (70%) if he really believed in their potential first before making promises.
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