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Black Supremacy was established in 2003 by Simon Nzau, commonly known as Simple Simon, and DJ Last Born. Back then, the likes of King Kong were trying to do something different from the kapuka and genge that were ruling the showbiz scene.
“The two had a dream of doing something different, and in those days, reggae shows used to be events that people paid an entrance fee to rock to the music,” said MC Fullstop, who joined the establishment in 2004.
Simple Simon was looking for an MC and Last Born informed him that he knew a guy who had been emceeing for a while. They approached MC Fullstop, who now hosts the popular Riddim Up show on K24. Jah Watchman, Super Max, and Daddy Poa were also members then, only Daddy Poa has retained his membership.
By the mid-2000s, Supremacy launched an audacious plan to bring reggae and dancehall to mainstream media and in 2005, they secured a slot on the popular Kiss 100, now Kiss FM.
“Getting corporates or business people to embrace reggae music was a challenge due to the negative stereotypes attached to the fans. But since the moment we ventured into Kiss, more doors opened.”
They also distributed tapes of their mixes as a marketing tool. Their popularity grew as the brand became more mainstream.
The unit started doing shows in foreign countries and during one of these visits; they had a revelation which led to a change of name from Black Supremacy to Supremacy Sounds.
“In Africa, the name Black Supremacy is not something that can raise antennas but in the West, people are quite touchy. We’ve had people running away from us because of what they think we are. In 2009, we sat down and decided to change the name so that we can have a wider appeal,” says the bubbly MC Fullstop, who was once captured by paparazzi in a compromising situation with a female fan.
According to DJ Juan, who joined Supremacy in 2012 after perfecting his skills at their DJ school, the outfit is the biggest in the country.
“Without a doubt, we are. There is competition but we manage to stay ahead of the pack,” he asserts.
Juan has grown in popularity since he broke onto the scene and he explains that his popularity is down to his hard work and maximising on the platform Supremacy accords him.
“This is a family. So long as the DJ academy operates, Supremacy will always exist. Simple Simon has been in the US since 2012 but it’s like he never left,” explains Juan. Currently providing a host of services including public address systems, discos for hire and spinning at corporate and private functions, Supremacy Sounds also run a DJ academy.
Other ventures have also seen Supremacy open up branches in Dubai and the US, where Simple Simon operates from.
“It is quite unfortunate that reggae has lost its quality due to losing a niche crop of DJs that exclusively played it. That said, the genre is more lucrative for us nowadays than it was when we started. Riddim Up has been there for seven years and that should tell you how popular reggae and dancehall is,” says MC Fullstop.
Apart from Simple Simon, Fullstop, Daddy Poa and DJ Juan, Supremacy also boasts MC Fire Kyle in the US, John Kaloki in Dubai, DJs Smash, Raskul, Veekay, Miss Ebony, MC Jahmie and David Onyango.
“The anniversary will also be a welcome home bash for Simon. He been gone for long,” concludes Juan.
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