Is the Kenyan music industry's stardom a one time thing as comeback stars get in pitfalls?

 Pioneer Genge Artiste Pilipili Photo: Courtesy

With a sense of freshness, Channel O award winning boy group P Unit took the stage at Club Gallileo, treating the elated crowd to a thrilling throwback as they belted to the old tunes of their one time hits Kare, You Guy, Si Lazima and Gentleman before descending to their new dime Love. With Nigerian new comer group joining in to grace the rather enthralling Pulse Industry Night concert, the urban hip hop group brought their ‘A’ game with energy and versatility. They sounded fresh and did not disappoint uncharacteristic of a group that started singing over ten years ago. Only a few of Kenyan artistes of their generation has managed to keep the tempo with new school stars whose new fresh tunes has kept fans in rhythm with the times. In fact, many of the pioneer Kenyan showbiz acts have been struggling to remain relevant as they seem short of ideas on how to repackage themselves with their singing careers seemingly having hit a dead end.

Ousmane

His presence on airwaves was hard to disregard in the early 2000s. Flash forward to 2014, Ousmane hardly has his songs played on radios or TV music shows. The last time he had a performance was almost six months ago, he tells us. In the performances he has had, the crowd is mostly the youths, people who were young when he had reggae hit songs VIP Love, Little Star and Rising Sun. “Even with the growth of the music industry, what matters is good music. The young crowds relate with my songs. Those who approached me after a performance have expressed their delight to see me perform since they were young and did not have that chance,” says Ousmane. “I am still in the music scene. I won Download Skiza Tunes and an MCSK award last year,” he explains.

 Kantai

After rocking the industry with hits such as Huu ni Nani and ruling charts about ten year ago, he now admits that he does not perform in clubs or concerts but in house parties and in neighbourhoods. The Issues rapper, however, says that he will serve his fans with two albums in two months’ time, this that can propel him to where he used to be in the years back. One album will be a mixtape and another he will collaborate with Bamzigi. “I cannot say that I am stuck where I was years ago,” he defends.

Big Pin

The Beast from the East, as many call him, surprised the crowd at Pulse Industry Night in Galileo Lounge last week with his new love song One Girl. Before, he would still perform his songs and although there were hits in the heydays, he wondered about the reception of the young audience.