Kakai kilonzo biography of william

The Kenyan music scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in Africa. However, ask any Kenyan which pop music style truly represents Kenya as a nation and there is only one possible answer: benga. Benga is a pop style with its roots in traditional rhythms, instruments, and melodies. Luo musicians from western Kenya brought the style to prominence in the late 60s but other cultural/linguistic groups in other parts of Kenya quickly developed their own localized variants. With its pulsing beat, interlocking guitars, extended solos, and rapid-fire bass, benga music has dominated the Kenyan music scene over most of the post-colonial period. Kakai Kilonzo is one of only a handful of benga artists to attract a broad following across Kenya. He opened up his music to others outside his Kamba language and background by singing in Swahili, which is widely understood throughout Kenya. At the same time, with catchy melodies and engaging lyrics, Kakai sang about subjects that all Kenyans can relate to: songs on all aspects of love and marriage, on social responsibility, societal ills (like drinking and witchcraft), moral guidelines, national unity, economic development, and more. The songs on this compilation are taken from across Kakai's recording career, spanning from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, shortly before his illness and untimely death in early 1987, aged only 33. No Wahala Sounds are proud to present this selection of hard-to-find 45s from Les Kilimambogo Brothers, which are being released on vinyl here, for the first time outside Kenya.

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about

The Kenyan music scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in Africa. However, ask any Kenyan which pop music style truly represents Kenya as a nation and there is only one possible answer: benga. With its pulsing beat, interlocking guitars, extended solos, and rapid-fire bass, benga music has dominated the Kenyan music scene over most of the post-colonial period. Kakai Kilonzo is one of only a handful of benga artists to attract a broad following across Kenya. He opened up his music to others outside his Kamba language and background by singing in Swahili, which is widely understood throughout Kenya. At the same time, with catchy melodies and engaging lyrics, Kakai sang about subjects that all Kenyans can relate to: songs on all aspects of love and marriage, on social responsibility, societal ills (like drinking and witchcraft), moral guidelines, national unity, economic development, and more.

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released July 31, 2020

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Kakai Kilonzo was born Michael Kilonzo Mwendandu at Kyeleni Village in Kilimambogo Hills.

The legendary Kamba lead guitarist belted a succession of music albums playing under the Kamukunji, Utanu, Azimio, Kalambya Sounds, Kilimambogo Brothers, Kakai Kilonzo Sounds and ‘Les Kilimambogo labels.

 Kakai Kilonzo died of cerebral malaria on February 28, 1987 and was buried at his home in Nguluni Village, Kangundo District of Machakos County.

Like most legendary musicians, he died young. He was 33.

Malta:

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is recognised by the United Nations as a sovereign nation-state (with its own government, laws, passport, and population) and which has diplomatic relations with over 109 countries.

However, Malta has no land; let’s just call it a ‘territory in water’, a group of very tiny islands. The official language is Italian and their (now defunct) currency is the Maltese scudo.

Slaves:

Abolition of the trade in slaves began soon after the first slave cargo ship docked at Jamestown, Virginia US in 1672.

Over time, not all abolitionists were successful until William Wilberforce appeared on the scene with a universal bill at the British parliament to end slavery in the world in 1807.

With the support of his friend, the then British Prime Minister Pott, he succeeded where others before him had failed.

 However, the Moresby Treaty of Capt Moresby in 1822 succeeded somewhat but did not fully halt slavery. The Hermatton Treaty came into force in 1845, but was still unsuccessful until the Frere treaty of 1873 of Sir Battle Frere, which ended slavery in East Africa, especially in Zanzibar, the epicentre in the East African coast.

 Afghanistan:

Although the US force in Afghanistan today is some 15,000 strong, at its peak on the ‘War on Terror’ it hovered at around 100,000 troops.

And after 16 years of boots

Note that this Rough Guide to World Music article has not been updated since it was originally published. To keep up-to-date with the best new music from around the world, subscribe to Songlines magazine. 

Kenya has always had one of the most diverse and intoxicating musical cultures in Africa. Yet the immense talent is rarely acknowledged internationally and seldom given the resources it needs to flourish. Doug Paterson, who has been observing and documenting the scene for more than thirty years, provides the low-down.

Introduction

There is no single identifiable genre of popular Kenyan music, but rather a number of styles that borrow freely and cross-fertilize each other. Many Kenyan musicians direct their efforts towards their own linguistic groups and perform most of their songs in one of Kenya’s indigenous languages, while others, aiming at national and urban audiences, sing in Swahili or the Congolese language Lingala.

Up to the mid-1990s, the common denominator among all these styles was the prominence of guitars – interweaving with each other, or delivering dazzling solos – and the cavacha rhythm: the Bo Diddley-esque beat popularized in the mid-1970s by Congolese groups such as Zaïko Langa Langa and Orchestra Shama Shama. This rapid-fire percussion, usually on the snare or hi-hat, quickly took hold in Kenya and continues to underlie a great sweep of Kenyan music, from Kakai Kilonzo to Les Wanyika and Orchestre Virunga.

However, the music scene in Kenya today is very different from that of only five or ten years ago. Sadly, this is at least in part down to veterans dying away – including a startling number of men in their forties or fifties. Though AIDS may be a factor in many of these cases, it is rarely confirmed; more often, we hear about deaths caused by TB, malaria, diabetes or heart problems. Either way, the effects have been devastating – not only the direct loss of talent, but also the