Boomba clan days

 

 

Do you recall the days when songs like Hallo Hallo by Wakimbizi and Choga Viazi by Boomba Clan were the biggest hits in the land? Well, what just happened to Boomba Clan after the great promise of becoming Kenya’s best singing group? ESTHER MUCHENE goes back to the drawer and brings back the Boomba Clan days

The mention of Chonga Viazi evokes the memories of Boomba Clan, the comical singing group that gave the street phrase a life making it one of the popular urban phrases back in 2009.

The Calif produced track was hilarious and after its video was released later the same year, it gave a new lease of life to the then little know South B group which then became household name across the country.

Initially, back in 2007, they had released African Time, another club hit whose low cost budget video was ironically too witty for anyone to hate on.

During that season, the beef between Kapuka and Genge artistes was so real that anyone who was not aligned to either side was almost considered irrelevant. However, with so many artistes competing for space, the only other group that posed the many threat to Boomba was Wakimbizi simply because they were doing the same kind of wit propelled songs with the likes of Hallo Hallo (Nataka Ongea Mariko), Mabeste and Jogoo. Infact, it was after the great success of Hallo Hallo that Boomba hit back with African Timer. That was at the end of 2007.

But just who was Boomba Clan before they transformed into the entertainment label now producing some of the best videos in the region? At what point did they stop singing to become music videos and film producers?

Having started out in 2003, the group comprised of five members and not three as most people believed.  There was Viq, Thome, Phillo, Erico and Peter. Having met and started the group in Dagoretti High school, they made their debut into the showbiz world with the track Don’t Touch My Car and as fate would have it, they liked each other’s singing style and decided to form a group.

“We liked to joke and fool around a lot and we decided to put all that energy into music. It was a new thing; a feel good music that was both informative and funny. It cut across a wide fan base and that way, we would win many heart,” Viq told Pulse.

“We would all bring our best to the table and that’s why the acronym Boomba which stands for ‘best’ of our music bestowed all over,’’ he remarked.

With time, Boomba Clan became a force to recon with in the entertainment scene and with enough tracks to support their act, they hit the road hard, hosting major concerts in universities and clubs in all the major towns. Fans adored them and soon, most of their hits among them Chonga Viazi, African Timer, Sina Habari, Meet my Parents and Do Not Touch my Car became disco and club anthems.

“We recorded our songs in different studios and unlike other artistes, we hired studio time and self produced and did everything ourselves,” Viq said.

And as time went on, the group decided to invest in studio equipment ideally to produce their own videos and animations. And so did the dream grow big as demand followed, with other artistes asking Boomba Clan to produce their videos.

“It is not like we stopped singing completely. We just took a break to concentrate on other things. Boomba Clan is not dead,’’ assures Viq as Thome emphasizes: “The break came as a result of guys being busy but we’re going to sacrifice and create time to do something. Boomba is very much alive and we’re still in the game. Expect a song end of this year.”

Besides, after transforming into Boomba Entertainment, the group has since been producing some of the best music videos in the country besides going into documentary and commercials production. They are also shooting a number of TV drama pilot projects as they enlarge their vision into what they believe is the next entertainment empire.