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Pioneer roots reggae artists Wailing Souls are in the country. The duo made up of Winston "Pipe" Matthews and Lloyd "Bread" McDonald are here for a performance set for tomorrow.
The Jamaican music stars, together with a nine-member band arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday morning, amidst tight security.
The three- time Grammy nominated group is visiting Africa for the first time and will perform tomorrow evening at the KICC Grounds courtesy of Pickney Promotions, Chini Ya Mti Promotions and Christian Partners Development Agency.
The event, dubbed Adolescent HIV/Aids Awareness Initiative, is expected to attract reggae fans from various walks of life for the live performance.
"Initially we had been invited to perform in Ethiopia in 2014 but for some reason it was cancelled. Before that our scheduled African tour with South Africa's Lucky Dube and his manager way back in October 2007 was scrapped after he was shot dead in a carjacking incident. Since then we lost hope of ever setting foot in Africa," recalls the duo. The group that has worked with internationally acclaimed artistes across the globe, specialising in roots reggae in its contemporary form.
"Our fans should expect to hear some of our legendary hits such as Shark Attack, Bongonyah, Fire Mus Mus Tail, Stalk a Sensimenia and Grabbing and Running that will take them down the memory lane," says Pipe.
The excited duo could not hide their love for Kenya. "We always yearned to come to Africa, because of its immense love for reggae music. Historically, we were both colonised by the British, making us have a lot in common," says Bread, the other half of the duo. Having been in the industry for over five decades, they are quick to give their opinion of what they think of the current generation of reggae artistes. "Nothing can change roots reggae, even with the new genres, some of which are associated with derogatory messages. That is why we will go back to studio to complete our 27th album, which will have 16 tracks and will be released next year," says Pipe. The duo, which once worked closely with Bob Marley and The Wailers band, describe their music as driven by activism.
"We sing against oppression and bad politics among others issues affecting people across the world," says Pipes. Originally the group was made up of four members, the other two being Buddy George Haye and Garth Dennis (who later on went to form Black Uhuru).
"Garth and Buddy got impatient. Instead of accompanying us to the studio for a major recording deal they opted to go for a US concert behind our back. We decided to part ways in 1984," explains Bread. Born and brought up in Trench town in Kingston, Jamaica, the hometown of Bob Marley, the two have ridden the crest of Jamaica's music for more than five decades.
Formed in 1964 as The Renegades, they were mentored by reggae icon Joe Higgs and sang alongside other emerging groups. In the 1970s, they attracted interest from preeminent reggae producer Coxson Dodd, marking the beginning of a fruitful recording career.
In the early 1990s there music featured in soundtracks including the certified gold album for Disney's film Cool Runnings. Their 1992 album All Over The World sold over 800,000 copies.
They have recorded 26 albums to date and continue to tour globally and record new songs with the vigour that they had singing in Kingston's Trench Town decades ago. Bread is an engineer by training while and Pipes a mathematician.
