ZIADA Nairobi Worship Experience

Dec 12, 2012 (12.12.12) is an important date. For one, it is the last of the repeating dates until Jan. 1, 2101 (01.01.01) meaning for most people alive, it will be the last repeating date they get to see. Moreover, at 12:12:12 p.m., the day will offer fans of the number 12 a whopping six repeats! 12/12/12 12:12:12. Nice, ey. As if that is not enough, at 1:21:02 a.m., palindrome lovers everywhere can rejoice in the single second that marks when the date-time combination is the same read both forwards and backwards: 2012-12-12 1:21:02 = 201212-1-212102. Most importantly, 12.12.12 will mark 49 years since Kenya got it’s independence and 84 days to the general elections. 84 is not an important number unless you take 12 and multiply it by the number of days we have in a week and voila! Okay, enough of the OCD.

All these numbers will be useless but one thing will remain; and that is our country Kenya. The state with which it remains depends on us as a people. We all know what happened after the 2007 general elections and as a country, we cannot afford to go through the same again. It is this in mind that ZIADA -which comprises of award winning bands (Zidi the Band and Adawnage Band); and reknown poet Number 8 – has come up with a peace concert dubbed ‘ZIADA Nairobi Worship Experience’ on the day Kenya got it’s independence, that is 12.12.12. The event’s main purpose is to unite the country ahead of next year’s polls under the theme One Nation Under God.

 

Brilliant works of photography on the beauty of our country captured by talented, professisional and widely celebrated photographers has been lined up. This work of photography will preceed a musical event in which ZIADA will perform featuring strong leads and additional home-grown artists auch as Mercy Wairegi, Nasara the poet, Carlisto, Makena and Mwanga Band. The photography and worship experience is set to be one whose impact will linger on long after 12.12.12.

Details about the event are on the poster but here they are again:

Event: ZIADA Nairobi Worship Experience.

Date: 12.12.12.

Time: 3 – 6 PM.

Venue: Parklands Baptist Church.

Artists: ZIADA (Zidi the Band, Adawnage and Number 8) featuring Mercy Wairegi, Nasara the Poet, Carlisto, Makena and Mwanga Band.

Theme: One Nation Under God.

Entrance: FREE!!!!!! (Just bring yourself).

Also, read about the event here by Kenyanmom, here by Kawiria and here by Kifalme.

Follow (and RSVP) the event on facebook here and follow Adawnage, Zidi the Band and Number 8 on twitter for more details about the event.

This is one event you will not want to miss!!!!

Pobody’s Nerfect!

By JustAlffie

 

This is a play of words that the more perceptive of you already know points to “Nobody’s Perfect” only with greater emphasis. I’ll try make this as short and as straight to the point as I possibly can.

 We are definitely in a social media run time and it’s becoming the primary platform for/of sharing info and opinions on everything and anything. It’s no surprise that the artists of any kind use it to “connect” with their fans, followers and sycophants for that matter.

 On this post, I’d like to address especially the musical artists & their social media conduct, more specifically, twitter since that’s where I reside.

 I earlier mentioned that social media is used by artists to connect and I put that word in parenthesis because quite frankly, some of their -the artists – conduct end up disconnecting from rather than connecting to/with their fans. I’ll mention one in particular that bothers me.

 I find this really annoying. That song you did, there’s no way in hell that EVERYBODY loved it. The fact that you only Retweet the tweets that tend to compliment you and ignore those that don’t, just says you are detached from reality. Truth is, the fact that some don’t like it, doesn’t necessarily mean they “hate” you or are “haters”.

 Here’s a life lesson (for everyone):

 Friends (fans in this case) help sustain you but it’s the critics that actually improve you! Alffie

 I’ve been told time and again that I’m a critic and this quote always thrown at me: 

“Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic.” Jean Sibelius

 I find this quote to be one that portrays a person who plays victim. Another thing, if having a statue in your honour is the motivation for not being a “critic” then I guess there are so many vain people in the world lying their way into people’s good “people to erect a statue of/to” book!

 A wise man once said that “the art of keen and accurate observation is often mistaken for criticism” and in the present day, it’s even mistaken for “hating”. Only the wise take these as lessons and seek to improve.

 Dear artist:

 

1. Get over yourself. You are not perfect. Not everything you release will be that good.

2. Not everyone who says they don’t like your new music hates you. Chances are they just expect MUCH more and MUCH better from you. Granted, there are just those that just hate but some have genuine and valid opinions. Listen, respond. You’ll be better for it.

3. Learn to respond to critics. Something like, “I’ll look into that and thanks for listening. Listen to more of my music and let me know your thoughts” etc, will gain you a loyal fan that will eventually improve you. Sycophants do nothing for you other than give you a false sense of security and accomplishment which consequently destroys you. You should however be wise in picking who to respond to because some just want a pointless fight/beef/tweef.

4. Your fans may not be schooled in all the music tricks, keys and the like but it’s for them that you do your music and as such have a say as to how good (or not) you sound, so respect their opinions. Believe it or not, you need the fans, they don’t need you!

NOTE: These points, in one form or another, applies to everyone in the social media world. Pick your piece and work on it.

 Nobody’s Perfect! You are not Nobody so guess what? You are not perfect either! But remember,

Though you are not perfect, you must always seek to be perfected!

 This is just one of those you, the artist, needs to work on.

There are many other issues to address on social media conduct for artists, something their managers should know and inform artists on because they play a big a role in building their brand.

 “Pobody’s Nerfect” is a phrase I got from DMAUB, an artist that many don’t know or even heard of and that I’m not even going to try and introduce you to. All you need to know is that this is not my phrase and integrity calls on me to cite the owner.

  

About the Author: Alffie is a blogger and a poet who was born after his time before his time. In his mind is faith, friends and family. He loves arts, music and football. Read more of his impressive work here http://onalfred.blogspot.com/

Guest Post: The Death of the True Love Song

By cdooh

A couple of months ago I had lunch with one of my best friends at the Prestige Plaza. I told her of my blog and how many post I had up and stuff. She was a bit impressed that I had kept it up for as long as I had, she’s had a blog more than 3 years ago but had only put up like 4 posts.

 After the lunch, while we were walking to her car, I asked her to do a guest post for me, she’s a writer/journalist and I really do love reading her stuff. She said that she couldn’t (she’s lazy) so I asked for ideas for a blog post and she said ‘Write about the death of the true love song’. At the time I didn’t understand what she meant, I’m a baby, but I went to school and all that changed.

My first semester’s over and me being what I like to call a looker, I saw-and did- a lot of stuff that you may read about on my blog some day. One thing I did see is that for sure the love song is dead. What do I mean by that?

 Well think about it. These days we have so few good love songs any more. The lyrics have become blunt and transparent. There’s no more subtlety, no more cool suaveness in the way love is talked about. Think about it what was ‘I want to hold me in you arms like a spanish guitar’ is now ‘You get me so excited, I’m hot, come on, I’m ready’,

‘I’ll be your cloud up in sky…I am your angel…No matter how far or near.’ becomes ‘I love it…ever time we touching…I’m put you to bed, bed, bed’ and ‘Once more you open the door and your here in my heart and my heart will go on and on’ now sounds like ‘I shouldn’t have let you hit that, now I can’t forget that…So good, so good…so oh shit damn’

 See what used to be subtle is now right there, out in open. Even the quality of the music has gone down. Songs now are quickly forgettable, like my mum loved tell me ‘These songs of your days just last one month and they’re gone’. She’s right while writing this I had to go back and listen to some more recent tracks I’ve taken snippets on. Okay it was the same for the older tracks but I found I could still remember most of the lyrics to those.

I haven’t even mentioned the worst part of it. For all purposes right now I here by declare mood music DEAD. You know what I mean, music that sets the mood, the mood that may just get you laid. These days, at least as far as I can tell, and I can tell quite far, mood music is ragga. Just put on bend over and PAP!!! mood set. I don’t really know why this saddens me, maybe because I’m a romantic or something, or that I’m just sensual. Bend over, and other songs like it (back it up-both versions, hot wauk etc), just lead to a rather rushed encounter or maybe its just me. Most people prefer these instant mood-makers and I have to admit there rather fun to dance to but please keep them outta the bedroom.

All this does not mean that there aren’t still some good love songs. Let me give you one or two of my favourites

when I see you- Fantasia

Most of Alicia Keys music particularly her album ‘Element of freedom’

These are just my thoughts, and I may not be the right one to be putting them across because generally I hate lovey dovey music (RnB, blues everything related) but I’ve given it quite a bit of thought. So if you have a contrary opinion, don’t be afraid, comment. Peace

THE DAY’S:

Appreciation: Sid, otherwise (now) known as Cdooh for this post. He blogs here and here

Quote: Dear Scientists, quit looking for a cure of Cancer and look for a cure of PMSing. Regards, All Men. – Sickolia

Music

We do two shows a night for five weeks. A lotta times we’ll go upstairs and sing until daylight–gospel songs. We grew up with it…..It more or less puts your mind at ease. It does mine…..Gospel music is the purest thing there is on Earth – Sir Elvis Presley

I know, I was and still am shocked when I read the person who said those words. Was it really Elvis? I think people who will find themselves in heaven will be shocked when they find (first) themselves, then the people we all think are on a hell bound bus with no brakes. Music is now a necessity in life. With the discovery of a fourth state of matter came the addition of Music to the three basic human wants.

One Saturday mid morning, I opened the radio and to my surprise, this is what I heard, “Hii ni 106.7 Citizen….” Immediately, the panic button was pressed and the disaster management protocol activated in my brain. Whenever such things happen, my brain sort of works at speeds that rival the speed of light to make sure there is minimum body damage. What I know is that I went deaf for a few seconds, quickly reached for the radio’s off button before I could hear any other bullcrap from an S. K. Macharia station. When the panic was over, came rage and I knew, to safeguard myself against such an event happening again, I had to undertake the next step.

I quickly formed a Commission of Inquiry to investigate Who/What, When, Why and How someone/thing switched the National  Family radio to Citizen FM! The Commission is still conducting its hearings and several family members have been reprimanded. When dust had settled down, I asked someone who could withstand the station to put on the radio when I had left the room and change the station to a Greatrnk friendly station. On coming back to the living room, the radio was playing John Legend’s Refuge (When it’s Cold Outside). What do I hear after the song ends, “That’s John Legend and you are on Radio 316!!!”

OMG, I thought to myself, since when did John Legend sing a song eligible for play on a Christian radio station? John Legend, just like Joe, only sings about sex. Do not get me wrong, I love his music. But surely,  Let’s Get Lifted, She Don’t have to know, So High, Green Light, Quickly, Cross the Line, Satisfaction etc are either about sex or some hidden meaning I am yet to decipher. I could forgive a Christian station for playing Jordin Spark’s One Step at a Time or Faith but not a John Legend song. Heck, play Kanye West’s Jesus Walks. It has the name of Jesus in-not only-the song, but also the title!

A few years back, I watched Cece Wainan’s More than what I wanted video. A year later, I am told Cece Wainans is a Gospel artist and that song is gospel. #HowNow? I  cannot remember what I saw in the video but I think I saw a girl and a guy on a boat and there was nothing gospel about it. The thing I am driving at is, how contemporary can a gospel song be? Does a song pass for Gospel just because it does not have the Fcuk and Issht words? Is a song gospel just because it is inspiring even though there is no mention of God. Can we convert issht love songs to gospel songs by interpreting the (S)HE to mean GOD? I leave that for you to decide.

THE DAY’S

Bonus:

1. Someone asked me between Lacrae and Tupac, who is better. My first reaction was WTH is Lacrae? I told the guy, it is insane to compare Tupac with anybody else apart from Biggie, and he still beats Biggie. If Lacrae is that good, I would have heard of him…..Yes, I do not know much about gospel artists but I know about Papa San and Kirk Franklin. I will be listening to Lacrae’s songs to make a better judgement.

2. I am walking with someone talking about music when he blabbers that “Jordin Sparks is among the best RAPPERS and he would go see HIM if HE were to come to Kenya!” I know there is a time when one is 80 years old and all you want to do is die. That is what I wanted. To die and get away from this evil Earth with all this bullcrap we have to accommodate from idiots. What I did is that I made sure no one had heard him speak apart from me, then maintained a three metre radius between me and him so that if he happens to say some idiotic phrase, no one would connect me to him.

3. The two most abundant elements in the World are Hydrogen and idiocy.

Where did the Vowels go to?

If photography is allowed to stand in for art in some of its functions, it will soon supplant or corrupt it completely thanks to the natural support it will find in the stupidity of the multitude. It must remain to its task, which is to be the servant of the sciences and arts, but the very humble servant, like printing and shorthand, which have neither supplanted nor created literature – Charles Baudelaire

The World has become so electronic that the probability of not using a pen in a day is approaching 1 with every new day. (This reminds me I am supposed to-online-file my tax returns before the deadline in five days and the KRA website is behaving as if it was created by an eight year old learning web design). People are now doing more reading and writing on soft copy than on hard in an effort to conserve the trees. The effects of that has seen a breed of young people doing something that makes me so angry that the latent heat of vaporisation for my blood is almost achieved by the fast beating of my heart.

On a typical tiring day, I will head home with earphones on my ears listening to music and alternating between facebook and twitter as the driver of the mat is busy negotiating routes with the least traffic snarl ups. At this time, all I want to read is something that will entertain me and in the simplest manner possible. I do not want to get a facebook update with 400 characters (most likely, I will not read it). But that is a bit forgiveable considering how bad the next crime is.

Someone will post an update/comment, write on your wall or inbox you with words that have no vowels in the name of writing or is it typing in shorthand. ‘WTH s thz lol thng nw!’ How am I supposed to know what the words in bold mean? Considering it costs you nothing more to write words in full on facebook, I expect most words to be written atleast in full. I only forgive the teenagers for writing such bullcraps and voweless words in the hope that they will outgrow the practice immediately their age no longer begins with a 1! My brain reaction to a non-teenager using such words is to quickly send a message to my eyes saying ‘quickly abort, save yourself, do not read this issht.’ Ironically, twitter restricts a tweet to 140 characters only and hardly will you find such non-sense on twitter.

I am not entirely against shortening words but the practice should either be done sparingly or if you are still a teenager . Words like WTH, WTF, LMAO, GTFOH etc are better written in short than in full so these do not form part of the voweless words I am talking about. Notice, I have not included the Laugh-Out-Loud initials. And for the dudes out there using the lol initials, you are no worse than a dude who watches soaps! You should all be sentenced to 10 years of marriage with Conjestina or Semenya or both. Desist from that. For the 67% of girls who use it as a period in a sentence because you do not know what it means, well now you do. Use it appropriately or better still, DO NOT USE IT AT ALL!!!

THE DAY’S

Quote: The best way to make your wife scream when you are having an orgasm is to call her and tell her where you are, who you are with and what you are doing – Papa Shango

Cool Blog: The Princess Project (Kenya)

Bonus: You are in a mat going home when you feel like breaking wind. You realise that the music is very loud and if you can time the beat, you can successfully pass the gas without anyone noticing. You try it with success! It is so cool that you want to do it again, now for fun. And for the second time, it is a success! You successfully do it four more times before coming to your destination. As you alight, you notice everyone looking at you with bad eyes. It is then that it hits you that you have been listening to music with earphones on your ipod.