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By:
Ilya Gridneff | AP | |||||||||
| Posted:
Jun,15-2016 12:26:44
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NAIROBI, Kenya -- Not many musicians can boast they've made U.S. President Barack Obama get up and groove to their tunes. But Kenya's Afro-pop band, Sauti Sol, did just that.
Obama, whose father hails from a village in western Kenya, put his heritage on full display at a state dinner in Kenya last July when he boogied down to the traditional Lipala dance that the band revived with their hit song "Sura Yako."
"Singing and dancing with the world's most powerful man was incredible," said Bien-Aime Baraza, a vocalist for the four-man band. "He really was feeling us. It was wonderful for Kenya."
A savvy mix of catchy tunes, appealing looks and social media promotion has brought success to Sauti Sol, Swahili for voices in the sun. The band has worked to make traditional East African music cool again, said Rand Pearson, who runs Nairobi's hip monthly, UP Magazine.
"I first remember seeing Sauti Sol in a dingy Nairobi club 10 years ago. My first impression was that finally there it was, a modern pop version of Kenyan music," he said, crediting the band's growth internationally to "visionary management, styling and its ever-evolving musical talent." Sauti Sol's have won a number of international awards including the All African Music Awards Best African Group in 2015 and MTV's Best African Act. Pop music is big in Africa, where there are more than 200 million in the 15-to-24 year age group. It is also big business. The entertainment and media industries of Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya together will grow to be worth $24 billion in 2018, according to a 2014 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The band recently toured Kenya and performed in South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. In November last year Sauti Sol launched their latest album "Live and Die in Afrika" free on their website, the first Kenyan album to be released online. The demand was so high that the site crashed and soon it was offered on the website of Safaricom, East Africa's biggest mobile-phone operator with more than 25 million subscribers. "This is testament to the fact that an increasing number of users in this market are using high speed data connectivity to access a whole new world of entertainment," said Bob Collymore, CEO of Safaricom, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta booked the band for his inauguration in 2013. "He definitely likes our music. We've even played at his last private birthday party," said Savara Mudigi, drummer, vocalist and producer for the band. The band, whose members grew up in modest conditions in Nairobi, are now gaining fame across the continent. Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama invited Sauti Sol to play at the West African country's national holiday in March. Social media is one of the main driving forces propelling Sauti Sol to African and worldwide audiences, according to band manager Marek Fuchs. "Cheaper handsets and data plans have allowed the fans to be continuously in touch with the group and we strive to give them a dynamic and interactive story to follow every day," he said. Sauti Sol has a dedicated social media team who, along with the band members themselves, run campaigns on Twitter and Facebook, competitions on Instagram, instrument tutorials, Q&As and behind-the-scenes snippets on Snapchat and YouTube. "We also have to adjust our strategy to fit the local context, language and time zones. It is a balancing act between posting for our traditional Kenyan base, our pan-African and worldwide fan base in different time zones," he said. Willis Austin Chimano, a vocalist, said this strategy is new for Africa. "You've got to get with the times. More and more Africans are online, on their phones, using social media and that's where we are," he said. Despite their international successes Sauti Sol remain with their feet firmly on Kenyan soil. The band members say their latest album is an ode to loving and loathing the good and bad of Kenya and the continent. Drummer Mudigi said the band members get angry when they see corruption, poverty and violence in Kenya and Africa. "But the message is that we are happy to be where we are," he said. "Being in Africa and making a living out of this wonderful continent of ours." | |||||||||
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