Manuel Ntoyai
Kunguru
Eric Onguru aka Kunguru hit the airwaves with hit songs such as I Will Never Let You Go, African Woman and Baby Don’t Go when music production powerhouse Ogopa Deejays ruled the roost in the region.
After taking a hiatus from music, Kunguru turned to banking to focus on what he called professional growth, he has been trying to come back and this time round, he promises to be really back.
“We had different challenges when we took a break, now we are back with Mr Lenny working on a project under Ogopa Deejays. We have already done the audio and the video shoot is underway. Once ready, the world will know we are back,” he told Spice.
XYZee
Music duo XYZee arrived in to the music scenes in the early 2000s with what felt as a breathe of fresh air, surfing on the Mandugu Digital music label wave that had engulfed East Africa.
With songs such as Panda, Tingisha and Tafuta, Lexx and Santos took over. After doing their thing for a few years though, the two went separate ways. Lexx has been trying to pull a comeback from his base in the US.
“Unfortunately, after leaving Kenya people tend to forget about you and the creative space doesn’t hold on for long. So, while here (US), I try to do music and share it with fans who appreciate what I do. However, a section of the media does not bother to play our stuff,” he said via phone.
Meg C
Songstress Meg C hit the airwaves with her song Nipe in 2006 and courted media attention after dating former Harambee Stars talisman Dennis Oliech. She took a break from music in 2007 to get married and has been trying to make a comeback but with little success.
She gave the comeback a stab in December 2018 with a track called Habeeby that has so far garnered just 16,000 YouTube views.
Mr Lenny
He is known as the king of collabos with a mindas touch. He enjoyed the limelight with smash hit Wasee Remix with Vinnie Banton and Mr Googz in 2001 and then on Kamata with late rapper E-Sir.
After taking a break, the mellow-voiced Lenny came back under Grandpa Records in 2014 and went straight to do a collabo with Visita titled Randa Randa, which was well received by his fans. “When we started, things were all good.
When I took a break to concentrate on my family and business, people assumed that was the end of Mr Lenny. But music is a bug that once it bites you, the rest is history. I am back in business and the projects under Ogopa Deejays will soon confirm just that,” he says.
Nazizi
She earned her place on the high table in the early 2000s as one third of music group Necessary Noize with Wyre and Bamzigi. But it was her hits with Wyre Bless My Room and Kenyan Girl Kenyan Boy and Let’s Get Down with Prezzo that catapulted her to stardom across East Africa.
After a prolonged hiatus, the self-titled Kenya’s First Lady of Rap came back some years ago as part of reggae group Reggae 5 with Lavosti, Jahpila Indaba, Levysill Gideon and Ras Mtapa.
The group released a few songs under Everblazing Records, but later disintegrated. Recently, Nazizi was featured in the latest offering of Coke Studio Africa music project.
DJ Mantix
When it comes to street deejaying, DJ Mantix has been on the game for more than two decades. He won the Chaguo La Teeniez awards in 2010 and 2011 and his reggae mix Hepta Reggae 12 packed in compact discs has been labeled as one of the hottest music mixes in Kenya.
Currently, Mantix plays in clubs and private parties. “When I started deejaying, the likes of King Lion Sounds ruled the scenes, but I did my part, which opened more ways for street deejays. The only thing that have changed for the better is the use of technology, making work easier and also reaching out to audiences,” he says.
VBO
Naskia Utamu and Kamoja Tu were some of the songs that kept speakers bumping in clubs in the mid-2000s, thanks to VBO and Bobby Mapesa. The duo, known as The Bugz, broke up to pursue individual interests. With Mapesa still having some visibility, VBO found it hard going solo.
“My album Bandare is out. Kenyan music was suffocated by foreign acts and that is when most of us had our careers going under. Now it’s a good time to be back, with the new wave bringing back the vibe Kenyans love,” says VBO.
Gidi Gidi Maji Maji
The duo was such a hit that their song Unbwogable was used as a political campaign anthem by Rainbow Alliance for the 2002 General Election. Later, the duo (Joseph Ogidi aka Gidi Gidi and Julius Owino aka Maji Maji) released Many Faces, which catapulted their already famous brand into international scenes.
After their brief stint in music, the two bowed out to pursue other interests. Currently, Maji runs Ghetto Radio as owner-cum-presenter with Gidi at Radio Jambo as the morning show presenter.
Tattu
The all-girl group comprising Angela Ndambuki, Angela Shinde and Debbie Asila was a popular music outfit in 2000s before their break up. Angela Ndambuki went into the corporate world and furthered her studies to become an Intellectual Property lawyer.
She also serves as Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) Board vice chairperson and at some point served as the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO. Debbie Asila went into media, becoming a radio presenter at Kiss 100 with Shinde getting into the public relations sector.
“This is music, you never know what happens,” Ndambuki told Spice about their comeback. The group was known for the single hit Teso.
Pilipili
His music and trademark blonde hair made Pilipili a household name in the Kenyan music scene in early 2000s, with his big break coming with songs Kamata Dem and Morale ft Ratatat.
While under Calif Records, his star shone even brighter with other of his hits including Ukimwona, Ni Wewe, Mpaka Che and Twende Ndani. Pilipili would later start his own studio Chilli Inc while concentrating on his family life.
Mr Googz
Moffat Omari aka Mr Googz is one of the best singers to break out in the 2000s. His song Wasee with Vinnie Banton received a lukewarm reception in 1998, until they remixed it with Mr Lenny.
It became an urban anthem. Googz switched to gospel music in 2005 and released his first gospel album His Love a year later. He has since become a pastor, but in between preaching and his family life, he still does music with his latest release Big Up getting considerable airplay.
Longombas
It was one of the hottest urban music outfits in Kenya in the 2000s. Made of brothers Lovy and Christian Longomba, the duo ruled the airwaves with hits such as Dondosa, Vuta Pumz, Chukua and Piga Makofi. After a blissful decade of churning out hits, the two immigrated to the US, where they released the hit Quuen.
Years later, Lovy got into religion and he currently touts himself as a prophet with his Revolution Church of Jesus Christ. Christian’s music ambitions also stalled as he went through challenging health issues. In 2015, he went through multiple surgeries to remove brain tumours.
Boomba Clan
Utachonga viazi became a popular phrase after Boomba Clan released the song Chonga Viazi in the late 2000s. Made up of Viq, Erico, Thome, Philo and Peter, they had their work produced and packaged in a hilarious manner that captivated many people.
The outfit later changed to Boomba Entertainment with Thome directing other artistes’ videos as the outfit went deep into music and video production.
Sema
Sema (Sanaipei ‘Sana’ Tande, Pamela ‘Pam’ Waithaka and Kevin ‘Kev’ Waweru) was a Kenyan music trio born out of the Coca-Cola Pop Stars competition in 2004.
They hit headlines and offered hope to many Kenyan music lovers with a soft spot for R&B. Their growth was also catapulted with the emergence of Homeboyz music label, whose support structure was key in capturing the elusive urban audience.
After exciting their fans with hits such as Leta Wimbo and Sakalakata, the trio went their separate ways in 2005 after releasing just one album, Mwewe.
With only Sana having found success as a solo act in music, karaoke hosting, radio presenting and acting, nothing much can be said of Pam except that she’s been struggling with alcoholism. Kev completely went ‘MIA’, never to be traced.
