The Peace Petition Tour to Dandora: A Hip-hop perspective

 

Over the weekend, the country’s most influential rapper Juliani , teamed up with his friend and fellow dread-locked London based rapper Emannuel Jal from South Sudan, as well as the award winning photo journalist Boniface Mwangi, to take a group of Kenyan media men and women to a tour in Dandora. Though it was dubbed a Peace petition tour, I opted to look at it as a Hiphop pilgrimage of some sort.

This tour to ‘D’ the birthplace of Kenyan Hip-hop (otherwise known as Hiphop City), started at around 1pm in the heart of NCBD (in-between Kencom and Hilton Hotel), it had us pierced us through Juja Road-the pass way to hoods in eastlando such as Pango, Mlango, Mathare, Moi Forces, Huruma, and finally DANDARA. 

We stopped at Dando’s Shell petrol station, where we were Joined By Juliani, Agano and other Ukoo Flani Mau Mau members who drove in with swag in a convoy of two vehicles, one of them being Juliani’s new sleek Mercedes Benz C240. Dressed in a pair of silver sneakers, blue-faded jeans and a white RBG t-shirt covered by a green collared white converse jacket, Juliani seemed all set. His grand entry had me thinking of lines like Nataka kudrive  Macedez/Lakini mafans hawataki kubuy ma cdz and Tumaini siku moja chapa utakuja ku ingiza/Utakuwa ndani ya cedo uki ishia kula hepi from his Mtaa Mentality single, and Roba’s (of Kalamashaka) verse on Tafsiri Hii respectively. 

 

Soon after the arrival we started our tour on foot to Dandora dumpsite, where all of the city’s garbage find a dwelling a place, while here we had an opportunity to interact with hoodprenures who are making a treasure off all the trash on the dump site- amongst them being a dude called Woko and a group of ladies calling themselves Cobra Squad (No relation to Alfie Mutua). Juliani spoke fondly of the dumpsite as being a source of income to a number of people in the hood, he also termed it as the place where they could come for ciphers with Agano and others to horn their lyrical prowess.

Juliani with Robert Alai at the dumpsite

Mdoda of Mzuka Ent with Agano

I got into a quick chit-chat with Agano the one half of Wakamba Wawili and Ukoo Flani Mau Mau member, who revealed to me that Kama of Kalamashaka was in the U.S working on a solo album that will soon be out. We also spoke of the tracks he had recorded before the 2004 Kilio Cha Haki’s lead single Fanya Tena, which featured amongst others Juliani and Kitu Sewer. It was interesting to see the beautiful ladies that we were with, notably Rozan (Jal’s publicist) parading designer’s attire on the junk. As we left the dumpsite to the Mau Mau Camp, a kid singing Juliani’s Hela paused and called out “Juliani, ata sisi pia tuta fika”-If that’s not inspiration, I don’t know what is. I learnt that the Dumpsite will soon be transferred to Ruai area and the vast-acreage piece of land be transformed into a park.

Once at the Mau mau Camp we were ushered in by Hip-hop sounds that were blazing so hot you could hear Fire Brigade sirens, not to mention the aroma of Nyama Choma and Pilau. At the entrance, who was better placed to welcome us than one of Kenyan Hip-hop pioneers, Roba a.k.a Otero of Kalamashaka (To put it to record, am no groupie, but on this occasion I got star-struck).

Inside the venue we met other media personalities like Tim Njiru (formerly of look and learn, art Scene, N’Sync etc). The smash DC na Sisi played just long enough to allow the event to kick off. Juliani took to the stage bigging up his hood Dandora where he was born and bred, Ukoo Flani Mau Mau for nurturing his skills, Muthoni (Grongi’s sister) who was the hostess, and the hommies he grew up  and schooled with especially Pablo-who was in attendance. He also gave a brief history of how the camp came into being before inviting Boniface Mwangi for a word or two.  by this time Emmanuel Jal had already stepped into the venue straight from the airport where he had landed a few minutes back. Bonny’s (Boniface Mwangi) reference to Kitu sewer “Generation ya condom kupasuka kwa ku totosheka” sent everyone to stitches.

Despite a power blackout and heavy showers, the event still took place seeing a thought-provoking discussion regarding Kenya’s future-that brought back memories of Kalamashaka’s verses of yester-years, as well as the launch of an sms petition for peace, under the Kenya Ni Kwetu banner, (a collaborative project of Juliani’s Kama Si Sisi Iniative, Boniface Mwangi’s Niko Tuko, and Emannuel Jal’s We Want Peace campaign). This petition via a text code 595, is seeking to get 1 million text submissions pledging to up hold peace in the run up and after the 2012 General elections.

As we were leaving I got into a discussion with Mdoda of Mzuka Entertainment,  on ways to market and promote Positive Hip-hop. A definite good story to write about, for another day though…