Where are they now? 10 artistes who have disappeared from the limelight

There is no feeling worse than being forgotten right after releasing a hit or two that rule the airwaves.

Some of the personalities in the local entertainment industry have tried a comeback which has failed while others have been unable to survive the competition and the hustle involved in the industry writes CAROLINE NYANGA

C-ZARS

Like Julius Caesar, he came, saw and conquered the local music industry before disappearing into oblivion- never to be heard or seen again. This was on a Friday afternoon in October 13, 2006, on leaving his Bamburi home for a walk.

At the time of his disappearance the 17- year– old’s music career was not only at its peak but he was equally the hottest thing in town having won several awards like Chaguo la Teeniez and Fanta Pure Fresh Oxygen Talent Search.

His chartbuster Amka ukatike was an anthem that made him the pride of Mombasa.

Prior to his mysterious disappearance, C-zars shared stage with Jamaica’s Sean Paul, Tanzania’s Mr Blue, Amani, Redsan, CMB Prezzo, Jua Kali, Nameless and many other artistes.

A Form Four student studying at Kilindini secondary school in Mombasa, in 2005, C-zars shed tears when he learned that his hit song Amka ukatike did not win in the Kisima Awards.

It has been close to nine years since we saw or heard about the teenage singing sensation.

Speaking to Pulse on phone, his father Mr Abdulkarim Makasi says no any big artiste is willing to talk about his son anymore.

SHAVEY AND SLICE

Their emergence as the new dancehall kings in 2009 turned out to be a nightmare for Redsan who at the time held the title of the undisputable Kenyan dancehall king.

Indeed there is no denying that their phenomenal masterpiece first hit Gyal produced by Ulopa not only revolutionized the local music scene but had a massive following - something that even the Jamaicans took note of.

Although today Gyal still remains the best dancehall song in Kenya – nearly seven years after its release - being accorded immense airplay locally and remains a club banger.  Sadly, the duo have not kept the fire burning with hits. They have however come out to dispel any speculation that they have quit music altogether.

“We did a remix of Gyal in 2011 which for some reason received a lukewarm reception,” says Slice.

To make matters worse their 2013, Bayuda track done relatively in Ugandan dancehall style ended up being a flop- with minimal airplay. It is something critics termed as four minutes of bad decisions owing to the fact that it clashed sharply with the their musical identity.

Despite this their ‘manager’ Moses attributes their woes to Shavey’s negative publicity. “Although we tried hard to make a comeback but it was not been easy owing to the fact that Shavey worked as a beat down makanga (conductor) something that did not go down well with most of their fans.”

He adds that as a result of this they were unable to get shows thus hindering their growth musically.

Nonetheless the duo say are working on individual projects which will be released when the time comes.

But unlike Slice who disappeared completely from the limelight Shavey’s unending shenanigans seem to have taken the better part of him. In September 2013, he was arrested by the Kayole area chief after he was caught red handed breaking into a butchery to steal meat and money.

Opposed to pressing charges against Shavey the butcher man demanded for the sum of Sh1500 for damages but Shavie only had a meager Sh100 in his pocket.

BOOMBA CLAN:

They were one of the most entertaining comical group to come out of Kenya and East Africa.

The five Dagoreti High school students - Viq, Thome, Phillo, Erico and Peter brought you hit songs like Don’t Touch My Car, African Timer, Sina Habari, Meet my parents and Chonga Viazi. The latter released in 2009 not only became an anthem but was accorded immense airplay on various media houses including nightclubs, restaurants, YouTube and on MySpace catapulting them into household name status across the country.

But despite their success they disappeared from the limelight leaving many of their fans asking questions.

Viq explains that the group decided to invest in studio equipment ideally to produce their own videos and animations including other artistes.

 “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.

Thome explains the break came as a result of individuals being busy with other issues.  “Despite this Boomba is very much alive and we’re still in the game hence our plan to sacrifice and create time to do something.

As Boomba Entertainment, they have been producing some of the best music videos in the country besides going into documentary and commercials production and shooting a number of TV drama pilot projects as they enlarge their vision into what they believe is the next entertainment empire.

BRENDA

She burst into the limelight with the catchy chorus of 2003 hit track MosMos when she teamed up with Kenyan hip hop legend and Ogopa Deejays rapper the late E-sir.

Prior to that the though little known singer released Bad Boy featuring Nameless that was featured on Ogopa’s Chapter Three CD compilation.

The lady who had a short relationship with rapper Chris Kantai also released a love song in collabo with him before following it up with Good for Nothing in 2009 – a hit single which many believe was a diss directed to Kantai.

Shortly after the model who has also featured in various television shows and commercials disappeared from the music scene only to return four years later with the track Why which many described as a great comeback.

But two years down the line … she has been quiet with many wondering what she is up to.

Brenda explains that she is busy working on other music besides venturing into other projects.  “Music is a long tedious journey which requires time and research in order to come up with a good product,” she adds.

CHANTELLE

She did one hell of a job on the track Tokelezea – a collabo with rapper Abass Kubaff that not only culminated her into instant fame but literally went viral.

However, right after she released it, Chantelle who is also an actor in a popular television series went quiet.  The musician who got married to renowned music video producer J Blessing recently saw the light and sadly lost her seven months old baby boy.

We can only hope that she tokelezeas again someday with a huge gospel tune just like Size 8 has been doing.

CAMP MULLA

They were Kenya’s youngest musical group that rocked Africa with their highly danceable scintillating tunes and powerful vocals stamping their authority as the newest kids on the block in the urban African music scene.

Owing to their fame, not only did they get shows across Africa but also won several awards.

Unfortunately in 2013 the group with a musical style, fashion sense and origins drawn from America’s  Black Eyed Peas with hits like Party don’t stop, Take it to the floor , Fresh all day, Hold it down, Addicted and Pare was affected musically when one of their lead members the sultry-voiced Miss Karun announced that she was leaving the group in preparation for further studies  in the USA  and opting to work on solo projects.  Thee MC Africa (previously known as The Taio Tripper) also quit to pursue a solo career.

Since then for close to two years now the once favorite group has seemingly faded out of the limelight.

With two remaining members, Shappaman and Marcus and the newest artist Tiri, who still carry the Camp Mulla flag- the real question now is whether each of the old and new Camp Mulla members have what it takes to stand on their own.

Gidi Gidi - Maji Maji

Some say they are the best rappers Kenya had while others credit them for revolutionizing local hip hop music by introducing the use of vernacular language as opposed to Swahili and Sheng.

Their 2002 hit tune Unbwogable – One of Kenya’s biggest song, was not only performed live during the finale of "Big Brother Africa" 2003, but was also ranked top in Germany’s Last FM including other European countries, America and Australia.

Due to its popularity it was adopted by the Kenyan opposition during the 2007 presidential campaign. It accorded the duo opportunity to be the first Kenyans to record with South Africa’s Gallo Records besides staging shows all over the world.

With several hits under their cap among them Many Faces, Ting Badi Malo, Atoti and Ismarwa they became an international phenomenon appearing in concerts across the world.

In 2004, they were made UN Habitat Messengers of Truth for their work informing youth worldwide about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

But just when they were at the peak of their music career the two decided to take a break never to release songs nor stage shows. It is close to a decade ever since we heard anything from them.

Maji Maji who works with a local radio station explains that they have been busy with a lot of other stuff – some music related.

“Gidi Gidi Maji Maji just took a break but unfortunately it has been long. Very soon we will do something,” adds Gidi Gidi who is also involved in music production.

CHRIS KANTAI

The moment one of the best rappers in Kenya's history Kantai aka Kantadda disappeared from the entertainment scene for more than half a decade he left the entertainment scene orphaned because for a minute, he was the only one holding it down.

Apart from reigning supreme with several songs among them Kantadda and Happy recorded with STL, Kantai’s star burnt out owing to rumors and allegations about his slip into poverty and alcoholism.

But today the rapper who is also currently one of the face models of Wanfam Clothing Company says he is planning a major comeback.

To prove his intent he released Lifestyle recorded by Sound Cloud in 2012  and followed it up a year later with his debut gospel track Almighty recorded by Mswahili Teddy. 

“I haven’t lost an inch of my lyrical prowess, I am still as lethal as I was, I will be proving critics wrong,” says Kantai adding that he took a break from music in order to spend time with his son.

Kantai reveals he is set to hook up with the female rapper Stella Mwangi once again and make beautiful music together.

Lyrical Erico and Shanky Radics, Tyrical

They gave Kenyans the popular Bambika hit before sinking into abysmal quagmire for nearly a decade.

When contacted Shanky Radics admits that they have been out of the music for a while owing to the fact that he has been busy working on other projects.

“Although I have been venturing into several projects besides working on my debut album Kenyan Gold – I have also released two single Matamshi Yako Rafiki and Leo ni Leo,” he says, adding that he has no information about Lyrical and Tyrical.

DIDGE

He burst into the scene with a debut single Kitangoma - a fresh soul sound meshed with R&B and sang in Swahili, something that had not been done before. Besides taking the local music industry by storm, his music spawned a new era in the industry.

Soon after the artiste landed an endorsement from Coca Cola for the Coke Real campaign that gave him an opportunity to travel across the country to promote his new sound.    

Call it good luck or positioning oneself at the right time and place, but in 2005 he got the opportunity to represent Kenya at the M-Net’s music reality show, Project Fame in South Africa.

Although he did well endearing himself to African fans, before fellow Kenyan (Karen Lucas) Kaz voted him out of the show.

His popular Saa Zingine, the ultimate love song, remains one of the best Kenyan ballads of current times. The song was nominated for four awards at the Channel O Music Awards in 2006 where he landed nods for Best Video, Best R&B Video, Best Male Artiste and Artiste of the Year. He was also nominated for MTV Alert Artiste in November 2006.

It’s been a while since we heard from him… with many wondering where he disappeared to.

JIMW@T

As a Form Four student his Sema Nami Sweetie ( sheng for talk with me sweetie released by Calif Records was accorded adequate airplay on various FM stations catapulting him into instant fame.

The same year, he was featured by Rhaptaz, (a group composed of Gabu of P-Unit) in Paulina which became a club hit and was used in the Close-Up Dance-o-Mania competition.

The musician who also featured in Jua Cali’s Kwa Album Yangu (In My Album) and Wanakimbia (They're Running), went on to pursue a solo career. In the same year, he released his most popular single to date, Under 18, in which he featured Meg C.

Other songs include Mpaka Che with Pilipili, Tunakatika (for We're Dancing) with Wambo-E and Chakula Kinywaji (for Food Drink) with Jua Cali. His hit Sitoi Kitu Kidogo (I am not bribing) was included in the National Anti-Corruption Steering Campaign in 2008.

His latest release, Fan Wangu (for My Fan), a dedication to his loyal fans was the last before he disappeared from the music scene - owing to alcohol abuse that saw him spend the better part of his time in rehab.

Today – although he is ‘back’ and says he is set to release an album Genge Nijenge! (for Build Me Genge!) we are watching if he keeps the promise.