Chris Brown Mombasa tour: The inside story

 Chris Brown. Photo: Courtesy

It’s barely three weeks since Chris Brown released his new track, Keep You in Mind, on his Soundcloud. But it would look like a lifetime considering events that have happened around the R&B king, the controversial star whom fans have learned to love and hate, almost in equal measure. “Vibes,” he commented as he released the single that critics would argue is directed at Rihanna, his estranged lover, an affair that ended with ugly assault scenes and court battles whose wounds are yet to heal and whose harsh judgment still lingers on the minds of both celebrities’ fans’ minds.

 Chris Brown in concert. Photo: Courtesy

As the song was dropping, Chris Brown was trying hard to redeem his image following an arrest for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Chris Brown allegedly pointed a gun at a woman’s face in his Los Angles mansion and was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon but since, the district attorney’s office has struggled to piece together a coherent body of evidence against Brown and pushed back submitting the case to prosecutions by two weeks, according to TMZ. As any other celebrity would do during such a situation, he was out attending charity events – on a look-good social course. Making his first appearance since being arrested at his home early September, Chris Brown played some basketball during an appearance at the Power 106 Charity Basketball Game at USC in Los Angeles, brushing off the bad memories in which a woman claimed that he threatened her with a gun. He went ahead to say that he was done with having house parties at his home in the future and will enforce a strict list of people allowed inside, according to TMZ. Further, he said guests who are invited to the house will also not be allowed to bring their own alcohol or drugs in the future. It was at that time when showbiz rumors filled the local showbiz scene that Chris Brown and Wiz would be visiting Africa and in particular Mombasa, Kenya, grapevine that was brushed off by many. Finally, here comes the wonder star – and so breathing a sigh of relief after his case was reportedly dropped. A few days ago, it emerged that investigators were struggling to connect Brown to a duffel bag containing two guns that was tossed out of the window during Brown’s standoff with the police. According to Internet sources, in the worst case scenario for Brown, he will go to court for misdemeanor assault. All this is music to the ears of thousands of fans who have lined up for what could be the most memorable event of the year. That is not all, there are still uncertainties as the hosting team struggles to piece together the ends with some last-minute hiccups that come with the demands of hosting an A-list star whose rate card must have cost the organizers an arm and a leg. After releasing his official concert confirmation video last week, on Sunday, the event organizers – Mombasa Rocks – confirmed to Pulse that the American superstar will be arriving in the country late this week ahead of his Saturday concert in Mombasa, a show that is expected to be one of the biggest acts in East Africa this year. “What exact day is he arriving, who will be accompanying him and where will he be staying?” Pulse engaged the organizers to little avail as details remained caged purportedly for security reasons. The Mombasa Rocks officials, however, told Pulse that Brown had been paid all his dues according to the penned contract and there was no reason to doubt that the show would go on as planned. Questions are, however, emerging as to whether there are hidden powerful hands in the organizing of the show that an average event organiser can hardly pull with tunes of up to Sh150 million being quoted as a possible overall expense. Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho as well as the Cabinet Minister for Tourism Najib Balala have been linked to the event, claims their aides could not confirm when Pulse approached them. There are also two sons of prominent Coastal politicians said to have their hands in the deal that is being controlled by faces that could just be wheeler-dealers serving the big masters. Pulse can confirm that invites have already been secured for top politicians to attend the concert and hotel bookings done for the same. In fact, air travel tickets for most prominent people flying for the concert from Nairobi were reserved a week ago. Early this week, a group of foreigners working with the organizers of the event flew in to Mombasa and were booked at the luxurious Voyager Beach Resort, Mombasa. Some of them were of West Africa origin. Another group was booked at English Point on Tuesday, many were said to be Chris Brown’s key men. On Monday night, the inner circle of people putting up the event had an overnight meeting with a prominent Mombasa businessman and most roles were shared then. Some of those involved security and accommodation issues for the Chris Brown team as well as specific people to handle their transport and basic catering services. The meeting went on through Tuesday with some Mombasa events’ organizers too getting last minute calls to participate in the arrangements. A spot check by Pulse shows that most of the people who have already purchased the tickets are from Nairobi many of whom plan to use personal means to travel to Mombasa. “It doesn’t matter whether we will get affordable accommodation or not. What matters to us is that we be there for the concert,” Kevin Mutua, a Chris Brown fan told Pulse saying that he, with six friends, plans to use hired vehicles to Mombasa for the event. “I will be putting up with a friend who lives in Nyali. I just don’t see how anyone who is a Chris Brown diehard can miss this concert. It is an event of a lifetime,” said Maureen, a university student who too, together with her friends will be driving to Mombasa for the function. Chris Brown who will be in the country for the first time - after a number of international artistes’ visits such as Ne-Yo and Trey Songz - will be performing at the Mombasa Golf Club on Saturday, a show that will also see local talents display their skills. “The show is attracting a lot of attention from fans beyond East Africa and we expect it to be a redefining showbiz event in the region. As at now, all the Sh5, 000 tickets have already sold out and we are only left with a few Sh20, 000 and Sh10, 000 tickets that we also expect to sell out,” a source from Mombasa Rocks team told Pulse. “All arrangements have been completed and we can assure you that this show will be a blast. We have Mo Sound pitching up the event and with our international experience, we expect to pull off an event that will remain memorable to Kenyans,” the source added. The event is the first one in a series of shows that are meant to promote Mombasa as one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The team behind the concert has in the past worked on such high profile events in Dubai and Switzerland and this will be the first major event the promoters will be hosting here. The organizers also dismissed fears that the R&B star may fail to come following his weekend unfortunate events in which LA police waited for hours outside his home for a search warrant after a woman filed a complaint against the troubled rapper. On Saturday, Chris Brown posted: “So I don’t sleep half the damn night...I just woke up to all these mother-f**ing helicopters, chopper is around ...police out there...” According to close source, the event will cost the organizers about Sh60 million with undercover support from prominent Kenyan businessmen to prop up the organizers.

Analysts have put the total value of the event at Sh150 million.