TOP 5 LUO BENGA SONGS AND MUSICIANS OF ALL TIME

Luo benga is a crowded scene. It is a boiling pot teeming with hundreds of artistes, both dead and alive, young and old, male and female jostling for space in this very competitive music world.We have legends like the late George Ramogi, the late Owino Misiani (also known as DO Misiani), The late Okatch Biggy, the late Prince July, the late Prince Kassam, the late Omondi Tony, the late Kollela Maze, The late Kodiyo, to sample but a few. We also have an emerging crop of young talents like Dolla Kabarry, George Dume, Otieno Small, Kamaliza Majengo, Aluoch Jamaranda, Reggie Kabaselle  (son of the late Ochieng Kabaselleh), Aluoch Jipanoran, Ogina KoKo, Omondi Longlilo, and the old guards like Jerry Jalamo Ka'John  and Osito Kalle to mention but a few.
We cannot all agree who is the best and I am not going to impose my choices on you. But we can agree that from the long list of Benga artists in Luoland a few names stand out and a few songs stand out from the bunch like giraffe in herd of gazelles (well, that may be a little exaggeration). We all know a good song when we hear it. No one needs an education on this. And while we admit that people's taste in almost everything differ widely, yet we know that preferences overlap. And it is where these overlap that the true genius exists.
Have a look at my top ten Benga Songs and artites of all time and see if you don't find a song you also love:
1. Nga mahero by Emily Nyaimbo.
There may be many bees in the hive but there’s only one queen. Make no mistake about it, this song may well pass for the best benga song of the past decade, at least as far as Luo benga is concerned. Emily knows how to compose songs but in this one, she pours out her soul in the lyrics. And that voice! Emily is easily the most talented Luo singer alive. You have to listen again and again before you believe it’s really a human voice you’re hearing. It could easily pass for an angels'. It is such a shame that her career as an entertainer took a massive nosedive before it even took off. You wont hear her name mentioned among the greatest singers of her generation because, for whatever reason, she stopped making music. The Ohangla wave that swept over Nyanza from the early 2000s is also to be blamed. Ohangla killed and buried Benga as we know it and rumba is barely surviving the scourge. But if you ask me, Nyaimbo is one of the greatest talent ever to emerge from the shores of Lake Victoria.
2. Anita Nyar Usonga by Omondi Long'lilo.
What a name for an artiste! But make no mistake about it, Omondi Long'lilo is the bomb and in this song he sings like it’s his last. The guitar is some of the best you’ll hear in a benga song (thanks to Ali Pesa Mbongo aka Baba Tuzo) and the composition.... I dare not comment on that. What a song! What an album! What a band! I dare anybody to mention a Benga band better than Migwena Kings in its prime. Before you rush to the comment's section please listen to some of their songs such as "Were Wuod Ogalo" and "Okoth Manganga". Listen to what Ali Pesa is doing on the lead guitar. Listen to the message Omondi Longlilo is delivering on the mic. Listen to Woud Omari's drums. You can't help falling in love with the band. It's sad that most of the band members left and Omondi Longlilo had the odious task of rebuilding from scratch a band to match its former self. But back to "Anita Nyar Usonga" the song is little longer than it should be, but that has become the hallmark of Benga since the start of  Dolla Kabarry's era. This song is probably the best of Omondi Long'lilo. This massively underrated artiste from Bondo outdid himself in this composition.
3. Diana by Aluoch Jamaranda
I don't get so hang up about love songs but this one is the shit. In this artistic masterpiece Aluoch Jamarand sings like a man possessed. The way his lines rhyme, the way he plays around with words and the way his voice rises and falls with ease like an ocean tide, makes your mind want to explode with ecstasy. Jamaranda is not vulgar or raunchy but he still describes love in such graphic detail that you can almost see it, touch it, taste it. But he doesn’t bore you with too much lyrics either. If there is such a thing as Lyrical Economics, then Jamaranda invented it. You will fall in love with this song, guaran-damn-teed. If you don’t, please check your pulse coz you may be dead. 
4. Adoche by Okatch Biggy
Undoubtedly the biggest name in modern Benga, Okatch Biggy stands out from the pack like a sore thumb. Well, almost.  The most accomplished composer and singer in the genre by a long mile, there is hardly a song this Benga enigma sung that’s not a hit. The late Okatch Biggy never wrote a bad song. He never knew how to. In fact one might argue that without Okatch Biggy there probably would be no Benga music today. And this is not an overstatement. He revolutionized the genre, popularized it and owned it. When he passed on -rather untimely in 1998 - benga died with him. Benga has never truly rediscovered its allure and glamour in Luo socio-political arena to date and probably never will. Benga has since been overtaken by Ohangla as the most popular genre of music.
Talking about this song in particular, you can’t tell whether it is benga or rumba. It is a unique blend that only a genius mind can put together. He sings about friendship, love and religion seamlessly fusing the topics like a seasoned philosopher. Most of Biggy’s songs are “dirty” but that cannot be said of this masterpiece (sorry for the repetition). Slow and modest, this song can well be Okatch Biggy’s finest… had I said this already? I can go on and on yapping about this song but worlds will never suffice to capture the true charm of it. You just have to take a listen.
5. Born smart by George Ramogi
The late George Ramogi was a phenomenon. To me, he’s the greatest Luo singer to have ever lived.  I’m serious about this. This Legend churned out great hits one after another at such a rate it puts current artistes to shame. George Ramogi’s songs are distinctively educative and decent. But in this song, George Ramogi teaches, cries, cajoles and boy, does he nag! This song does not just stand out because of the great guitar and intricate instrumentals, no. It is the quality of its composition that makes it stand out and that’s what music is all about, right?

I have heard folks allege that George Ramogi didn't write some of the songs himself. I have heard that some of the songs he's known for were not his composition, but that doesn't take anything away from the genius that was George Ramogi.  When George Ramogi passed on, most of the band members remained with the band. Most of them are still alive even to this very day. But they haven't released a single song ever since Ramogi passed. All they do is give interviews claiming credit for Ramogi's songs. If these song were truly their and Ramogi had nothing to do with them, why did their careers stall with Ramogi's death?

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