DJ – Lenoir : International African Mix Vol 1 (GetMziki Exclusive **)
Creative courtesy of GetMziki
If you’ve lived in the Bay Area (Northern California normally just San Francisco/Oakland area) for a while, then you’ve probably heard or seen DJ Lenoir. I really cant say much about Lenoir as a DJ because I moved to Oakland just when he was kind of winding down his DJ career to focus on other businesses he had. However I can talk about being in the Bay about 5 years ago and going to all these Dancehall parties that he sorta had pioneered around the community with another DJ called TOKS. The first time I met Lenoir I told him, dude you need to make these African Mixtapes, no one was taking advantage of the fact that all these Junguz were loving these Congolese, Angolan, Cote Dvoire songs. Lenoir slept on this for over 4 years to come up with this Street attack that I find not only unique but a massive statement to the potential of African music in the local US communities.
One thing most people don’t know is Oakland/San Francisco is probably one of the most diverse cities to live in. Honestly on any Friday or Saturday night you can go to a club called BAOBAB in San Francisco and the club will be packed with Junguz jumping and puffing to Lingala and Coupe de Cale. Anyway not to bore you with how cool my city is, the reality really is that I strongly believe African Urban and alternative music will take the US scene by storm in the not so near future. Its just a matter of time. African artists and African entertainment industry insiders are slowly but surely getting their shit together – and soon you will be going to a DELA concert in NYC, a SAUTI SOL, a KAYSHA concert… It happens in San Francisco and NYC right now more frequently than not.
So When Lenoir came knocking (a native of Congo DRC) I had to open up the door and open it up wide. Mostly because I respect the work he has put into the community in the past with my boy Louis, and also mostly coz I think he understands African sound slightly better than many other DJs I hang out with. This mix is not about the skill and or versatility. A lot of Kenyan DJs compile mixtapes to showcase their DJ-capabilities. I think there comes a point in time where the Mix should be about the music and about the sound or flow. Lenoir could definitely have done with a little less of the the sound effects (too much dancehall DJying can throw you off Len) but overall I think maybe its just a new style – and possibly a new way to get people here to appreciate all these new eclectic sounds.
And for that I designed his CD cover for fun 
I started with the version on top and ended up with this one here:
Enjoy the mix below:
ps. If you have sent us a mix in the last few months please send a track list our new policy insists that you furnish a tracklist to make it easy on our users to find tracks through the site. We eventually will link tracks with your tracklist for people who want to download the singles.
Track List:
1.FERRE’S INTRO
2.DROIT CHEMIN – FALLY IPUPA
3.SHAYO BIGIANO – OLU MAINTAIN
4.SUDDENLY – D.BANJ
5.YAHOO.ZE – OLU MAINTAIN
6.G’BONO FELI FELI – D’BANJ & MASTER
7.DO ME – P.SQUARE
8.FALL IN LOVE – D’BANJ
9.NO ONE LIKE YOU-P.SQUARE
10.ZUENA – RADIO & WEASLE
11.BREAD & BUTTER-RADIO
12.YORI YORI-BRACKET
13.NO EASY-P.SQUARE & J MARTIN
14.PUSH IT-BRICK & LACE
15.POLE-SWAHILI NATION
16.UP INNA DANCEHALL-ROCK CITY
17.ZOUK ZOUK-MAGIC SYSTEM & JOCELYN
18.FIONA-KAYSHA
19.JE SAIS QUI ELLE EST- KAYSHA
20.ASSOCIE’-FALLY-IPUPA
listen to International Mix Vol 1 here:
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download the mix here:
Alindi feat Pro – Natafuta Chali (GetMziki Exclusive ***)
This track fell on our laps sometime last month but we’ve been waiting for Clemo to furnish us with more information about Alindi and unfortunately we think he’s been too busy. This track is too to let it fry up on our servers especially because we think there is something special about Alindi that Kenya needs right now in the Genge/R&B scene.
What I am particularly excited about is this whole new production style that Clemo has been capturing lately. Putting the samples aside for a while, I think Clemo has opened a new book called African instruments. There is so much culture and sound in his new beats to me I think its just phenomenal. Take this track for example, it almost feels like a chakacha/taarab inspired track. I can almost hear the Kayamba playing a
Clemo churns out another interesting track here. It has the unmistakeable sound of chakacha/taarab infused into it to accompany the genge/kapuka beat.
Hopefully Calif Records will send us most of their new artists profiles soon but for now enjoy the goodness from Clemo’s camp.
listen to Natafuta chali here:
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download the track here:
watch the video here:
Lizha James ft Mandoza – Voodoo
I am sitting on a gang of music from Mozambique, and for some reason i have a feeling that Mozambique is going to be the next big African music center mostly because the music bridges many gaps. Between East and South,Lusophone and Anglophone Africa.
On this track Lizha James – who is one of the biggest up and coming stars in Africa alongside Mandoza who needs no introduction.
the Video and download follow.
Kaysha : Les belles histoires d’amour
Decided to post this video, considering that Kaysha just finished his US tour – though skipped the West Coast. Anyway this is one guy you need to pay attention to in terms of bridging the gaps between different types of African music.
Naija Music : Duncan Daniels – Show Stoppa
The minute T-Pain came out with auto tune (vocoder) he should have realised that 110 other artists were going to cap his style and amplify it. This is not to say that the auto tune was never used before T-Pain, I think Pain just brought it to the lime light more than any other urban artist.
If you take into consideration what many African artists are doing now, its no wonder we are churning out more songs than ever before. Essentially technology has allowed us to mask our vocal capabilities and implore good beats but mediocre vocals and the people will still consume the music. Take for instance this Naija wonder called Duncan Daniels. He brings a unique style into the industry, a very diverse artiste offering a mix of pop,rock and R&B to suit the modern urban radio era.
Duncan also happens to be a producer and a song writer, who has been at the top of his game since he was 25 years old. Currently working on his sophomore album it appears Daniels may be onto something thanks to vocoders . I personally think Naija music is going places but the success is very short term, unless something extraordinary happens within the urban music space. But for now if your country has about 120 million people – why do you need to tour or go anywhere else coz your market is right at home
listen to show stoppa here:
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download the track here:
Sauti Sol on Reuters
Normally we dont post news articles or videos fuwaaaa!! but I think its worth noting that Sauti Sol is going places. I am still slightly confliced with the genre term, Afro Soul, Afro neo soul, Kenyan Urban Soul – GetMziki came up with Rythm & Zouk which we think fits well within these types of music genre.
However this video from Reuters does enough justice to this music group that we have been featuring and bickering about that everyone check em out and buy yourself an album. Currently through Getmziki we have been able to push almost 30 request for the album. feel free to hit us up for a copy, whether you are in the US or in Kenya – Penya Records has services across the globe with various partnerships.
SAUTI SOL – WE SALUTE YOU AND WE EMBRACE AND WILL SUPPORT YOUR JOURNEY TO BREAK THE US MARKET.
Watch the Video here: (for Sauti Sol music use the search tool to find their features on the site)
2 Face – Swallow your Pride (GetMziki Exclusive **)
Probably one of the more or most successful Naija artists right now (Nigerian Artists). 2 Face has a string of hits in the past, thats until P-Square came into the scene and just took the world by storm with their IFUNANYA tracks. However there is something about 2Face that if you pay close attention to you will be like – yeah I understand why he could possibly be the King Naija music.
This track is not very new, it was released last September (2008) but I cant help but put it on heavy rotation on my ipod. I cant lie right now I am loving this whole Naija movement and the music coming from Nigeria. All the stereo types to me have been wiped out. Considering the fact I never really got into the whole Nollywood movement (Nigerian Movies). It seems like they have gotten me hooked with their infectious accents and crazy beats – Ifunanya… This song is fire, swallow your pride, I am feeling IRIEEE!! Baby boo!! Why lie – I will say it again, Naija music is going to make the whole of Africa up their game – I mean KWAITO has gone cold after these guys started making urban hits… Enough said.
(ps. listen to the end when 2face acts a fool on the track hilarious… having fun with the track and still staying fresh)
Enjoy the track here
listen to swallow your pride here:
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download the track here:
Sauti Sol: Mushivala & Bonus Lazizi Video
There has been some backlash on the site for the last few days about some of the few posts on the site and general biases with regards to certain artists. I hope this post doesn’t seem to be one of those that you feel I am forcing down your throats The fact of the matter from my perspective is if anyone is sleeping on Sauti Sol then they are missing out on one of the MOST talented groups in kenya right now. I dont see how Sony signed the choir that sang at Obamas inauguration ceremony and didnt think to go back to Kenya to look for talents such as these?
A few months ago we helped promote Sauti Sol before their album dropped – we debuted their hit track Lazizi, which they just released the video to. I love it. I cant lie. Story finished. These cats make me love Kenya each day – and they almost make me want to be a Luhya… Lunje has never sounded so sexy… Papa Shirandula style. So as I post this video for you guys to enjoy, I am thugging another song off the album that I like also called Mushivala…. That Luhya jama really blows (sings his heart out). I only wish I could hear Luhya – there is some exotic shit about this track… Mushivala ndivonyene… or whatever he says.
So apparently the song is about how the jama is alone in this world or something.. can some real Luhyas translate?
listen to Mushivala here:
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download the track here:
Watch the Video to Lazizi – (Excellent job Wawesh btw… very good video)
P-Square – Ifunyanya
I am going to do a pair of quick posts today since there is a back log we need to process this week which also included the DJ sets. One of my all time favorite songs is this P-Square song called Ifunanya. I believe Ifunanya means love in some Ibo or Yoruba language. But out of all their tracks, this is probably the track that I keep playing over and over again.
listen to ifunanya here:
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download the track here:
Mangwair Feat Chidi Benz- Speed I20(Get Mziki Exclusive)
Albert Mangwair aka Mangwea, Mangwair, Ngwea or Ngwair has been featured on Getmziki before (Click here), so I will just go straight to the songs “Speed 1-20 and “Nipe Deal” / “Nipe Dili”. I’m sure all my Bongo fans will be happy with this post.
I had started writing the post for the “Nipe Deal” song when my Tanzanian contacts emailed me the “Speed 120″ song which I have been trying to find a good copy for a few weeks now. The song is currently a street anthem in TZ and slowly bubbling to the charts. On “Speed 120″, he enlists the help of Chidi Benz (One of my favourite artists In TZ right now ) for a perfect blend and collabo. “Nipe deal” is a song that has been bubbling on the underground for a minute and its now spreading like world fire. Mangwair just recently wrapped up shooting the videos for the songs, which should take the songs to higher heights. I know I will be adding “speed 120″ on my serato and rocking it at my shows.
Enjoy the tracks!!!!!!!
Listen To The Tracks Here:
Mangwair Feat Chidi Benz- Speed I20
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Click Below To Download:
Mangwair – Nipe Deal
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Click Below To Download:
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DJ Week: Obamanation Mixtape – DJ Mafiosso
We are currently overwhelmed with the number of Mixtape submissions, so this week in order to try and push out all the back log we have, we will post a new mixtape if possible every day. Granted there are some mixes that are not worth posting because they are all repetitions and or just the same, so what I will do is pick sets that I think deserve a place on the web regardless of DJ skills and or technique.
The first being this one from DJ Mafiosso who took up the Obama Challenge we had a few months ago. He finished this one kinda late but I think it deserve a spot on this website simple for the fact that the track selection is sick. The quality is not up to my standards but I think the Mixtape sends a good message that a DJ should be ready to take up any challenge – no matter what.
Listen to Obamanation here:
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Download the mixtape here
Please right click the link and hit save target as: Obamanation Mixtape
Brand New: Nameless and Habida – Sunshine
image courtesy of Nameless Myspace
Am a little conflicted about this song, mainly because I feel like Nameless has that signature feel and style on all his tracks. Nameless is inevitably going to be the Zouk, Kapuka or Classic AfroZouk – Rythmn and Zouk king of East Africa. My challenge is to completely accept that he will only be good in that box. My second challenge is to accept that he will make these kinds of songs and still be good at it because darn it this song has been growing on me and I dont understand why. Its like a bad Malaria flu. I remember I hated that Salari song, I sang it day in day out but I still hated it.. I still hate it today… but I can sing the whole hook.
Now this whole collabo with Habida threw me off initially, coz I know Habida personally and I thought she was still in Atlanta. It turns out shorty moved back home and has been working on boosting her musical career from digz. Habida tried to penetrate the US market relentlessly, I am not sure how far she got but you can tell from her vocal skills that she can handle her own. Plus the fact that she is a cake (supuuuu videdly). Either way why don’t I open this track to the floor and get some feedback… for now I am feeling the track, and a part of me doesn’t really want to like this song – I dont know why I am fighting it…
listen to Sunshine here:
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download the track here:
Brand New: Sheena feat Zanto – Fursa
This is some brand new heat, the quality is too high for audio streaming so you may not enjoy the play option to sample the track. But if you are a DJ, please FEAST on this TRACK its FIRE… FIRE… Trust me this whole Kenya vs BONGO intergration is crazy. I love this track why lie, the kinanda is so infectious. I do apologize that sampling this track will not give you the kind of immediate gratification you get from being able to sample before you download but I think this is one song I give worth a shot. I dont know who SHEENA is but am very familiar with Tanzanian music star ZANTO (who sang Binti Kiziwi).
Enjoy this banger…
listen to Fursa here:
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download the track here:
Brand New: Sanaa – Najuta
Okay the last song in this new Music Tuesday will have to be something candid and uplifting. So how about this brand new Sanaa. Now normally people have said I am biased towards Sanaa coz I think she is a cake (trophy chile). Uwongo Mbaya – Sanaa sure enough is a cake but she can also sing, whats intriguing about her she has a tendancy to pick good songs and her swahili is up to my standards of expectations… wai wai..
Clemo blessed this track with some crazy Coastarian sounds and instruments, listen to the accordions and flutes. I spent a lot of my youth time listening to Taarab, and this song captures a few of those elements it almost feels like I am walking down Malindi. This is definitely not a song I would play at a club but you can bet I will be playing it over and over on my ipod. Awesome track – BEAT YA CLEMO!!! (Shorty can sing though, dame anaimba jo!! Anaimba kama Chiriku!! jamani lol)
Enjoy the track …
listen to Najuta here:
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download the track here:
Friday Mellow Grooves: Africando All Stars & Stan
image courtesy of Boomkat
Africando is a group that brings together African and Caribbean cultures by allying Senegalese vocals with Cuban salsa tunes. On this track they did something different which just goes to show how easy it would be to blend the African cultures and communities if only we tried harder. They performed this track in Swahili building upon the growing Salsa culture in Kenya (think Pavement club). I thought it was very appropriate to include them in the Music excursions journey…
listen to Miye na we here:
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download track here:
Bonus Material
Some extra bonus material from one of my greatest albums from 2008, Stan’s album is phenomenal… This is the second track off the album “Kenyan Debut” I cant help but spoon feed these tracks to the kind hearted.
listen to Stans She is here:
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download she is here:
Mohammed Lamine,Mory Kante,Mokobe: African Tonic
This is a big tune right now. African Tonic for real combination of styles and cultures
download track here:
Brand New: Shavie & Slice – GAL
One day when REDSAN was sleeping he dreamt that some crew would come up and run up on his spot. One fine day when REDSAN was sleeping he had a bad nightmare that some young cats from the hood would be the kings of Kenyan Dancehall from no where…
One Day – ULOPA Ngoma created the worst NIGHTMARE EVER for REDSAN and any other artist like Redsan. This nightmare came through the form of Shavie and Slice. Strangely the first time I heard this song I was like damn them Jamaicans just wont stop with their Dancehall. But the ULOPA ngoma signature drop before all tracks was too strategic I almost felt that some DJ was playing tricks with the track. Granted that this track is kinda old to a few DJs in the US – to me and a few other people its fairly new. I also have a pet peeve for Kenyan artists who try to rap and sing in patois (or pigeon english)… but why lie this song is on FIRE… Truthfully if you can do it and hack it then sawa go ahead I dont think I can complain, my only challenge to this duo is consistency, lets see if they can churn our hits after hits with the same feel tempo and charismatic patois enabled songs.
There isn’t much to say about these guys because they are still on the come up, so forget about myspace or getting an image from them or of them. But I hope some of my connections will get us some info.. Ama ULOPA – Do the needful and sambaza some more information about this track (KILLER TRACK) and the artists.
Enjoy.. this is feel good music.. Ohhh Redsan uta du whaarr (nipigie simu kwanza mbuyu)…
listen to Gal here:
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download the track here:
Brand New: Stan – RollaCoasta
I am posting this song knowing Wawesh (Blao Entertainment and Penya Records) will fura but I don’t care, honestly good music needs to be sambazwad why lie. I have the STAN album, anyone who wants to get their hands on this album please hit me up (leo@getmziki.com) its available in stock. But honestly I had to upload that Number 11 Wesh – why lie. Kamataaaa!!!
So Stans album titled Kenyan Debut – dropped on November 4th 2008, I am not sure how the listening party went down but we featured his single on GetMziki the same week he was dropping his album (Gachugwa) . I have over talked the hype around Stan and his talent, right now I think I will just share the songs that make me move and wake me up in the morning.
Rollacoasta is a track that features some chile called Wangeci – I think Wangeci almost murdered Stan on this track, id be dying to listen to some of her future work, although the reality here is that these are some Kenyan voices really compelling me to want to become an singer also. lol. I cant deny Valentines is around the corner for many of you soft mofo’s please make plans cop this CD now and send it to your Gachugwa – I guarantee its a must have. Well am caught up between this CD and the Sauti Sol dudes… decisions decisions. None the less – here is RollaCoasta… And yes to all my other Non African users on the site – YES these are Kenyans blowing (singing their hearts out)…
listen to Rollacoasta here:
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Download the track here:
Brand New: U Gal – El Tezzy
I got some new fire before the year ended in 2008 – from Maich Black and some dude called El Tezzy. Truthfully I don’t have enough info about either of these artists but for some reason this song is a little infectious. Imenibamba kiplani. The whole Zouk feel and charismatic lyrics seems to be the winning formula.
Its funny that at Get Mziki one of the few things we have been saying is that any artists who wants to have some sort of longevity in the game will need to start singing… he he he hence the T-Pain, Kanye West, Puffy, and even Fifty now is singing on some tracks. We are not saying that hiphop is dead or going to die. We just feel that rap as an art form is going to be transformed in the short term with all these singing type artists. Kenya is no different – all the big artists right now seem to be singers or people who want to challenge their vocal capabilities.
Personally I think anyone who makes a song that people can dance to, definitely is onto something. To have good lyrical content just adds to the flavor. This song really doesn’t have any substance lyrically but I still like it none the less because its danceable and the Zouk thing is appealing to me.
Enjoy the Track by El Tezzy
listen to El Tezzy here:
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Download the track here: