Luo benga is a crowded scene. It is a boiling pot teeming with hundreds of artistes, both dead and alive, young and old, males and females jostling for space in this very competitive music world.We have legends like the late George Ramogi, the late Owino Missiani (also known as DO Missiani), 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, 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 heard of gazelles (...

Igwe Prezida Bandasson is probably Kenyan’s biggest name in the rumba music scene. The founder and leader of Patron Musica has been a major influence on the Kenyan Rumba scene for close to a decade now. He started purely as a rumba musician and when many upcoming artistes took jabs at him for sticking with rumba because he couldn’t compete in the more popular Benga, he bridged into the genre and outdid them on their own turf. Such is his versatility. He can sing in four languages with mind-boggling ease, even in the ones you would think he stood no chance to excel in like Lingala and Swahili. Bandason has awed many fans with his ability on the microphone. His high toned voice blends so well with the guitar and slow rhythm of rumba beats. Since 2010, the maestro has continued to churn out album after album of quality music at an enviable rate. Little wonder then, that he has thrust himself into the music elite so fast attracting attention from as far as Congo. You have probably...

No matter how you look at it, Gor Mahia failed last season. They won no major trophy, lost arguably the best coach the country has yet seen. Numbers do not lie. Compared to 2015 season when Gor Mahia almost swept all trophies on offer while playing some of the most breathtakingly beautiful attacking football Kenya has yet seen, 2016 was a year to forget: no trophy, beaten by our major rivals and docked 3 points for crowd troubles. Things couldn’t have been worse. Coach Ze Maria is as clueless as they come. His defense minded game plan, over-reliance on crosses and long balls: an adherence to the much maligned ‘direct’ or ‘route one’ approach has taken Gor Mahia decades back and the numbers are telling. Compared to Nuttal’s final season (2015) when Gor Mahia scored a record breaking 60 goals, they only managed a dismal 35 goal tally last year (2016) despite fielding almost the same players as the previous season. Consequently Gor Mahia’s goal difference for the season dropped from ...

Over the last couple of years the Lingala language has gained and continues to gain unprecedented popularity in Kenya . Many Kenyans now can speak fluent Lingala. Some even sing in the langauge! I'm talking about Papa Fololo, Igwe Prezda Bandasson, Awilo Mike of Jamnazi Africa, Fofona Bangali and myself, just to name but a few. Part of the reason for this popularity is: Lingala is easy to learn (For Lingala-Swahili similarities, click here ). I mean, it is ridiculously easy. So easy, in fact, it takes just a few months. Forget about the Lingala you hear in songs that's bedeviled with iterations of Lingalized French (Hahah, what does that even mean?). I'm talking about Lingala in its purest form here, the one not polluted with foreign languages. Well, before I bore you to death with detail, I'm happy to present you here with 20 popular lingala words and phrases I thought you could be interested in knowing their meaning. Let's get right into it, shall we? 1. Bolingo...