Publicists say there is nothing like bad PR, a very debatable point; however, they are the professionals, right?
Legendary Kenyan femcee Femi One released a new single, “Memories,” by Boutross Munene, and a funny thing happened on X (formerly Twitter) that made me think about the promotion discourse of music promotion in Kenya. Under her posting releasing the project, a Twitter user made a seemingly bizarre request and asked for the number of retweets he needed for the chance for just a touch of Femi One’s posterior.
Other social media users may be surprised by this, but on KOT{Kenyans On Twitter}, retweets are a form of currency that has gotten people jobs, cars, t-shirts, and shockingly today, a potential job. This would be a request that any artist would just ignore, but Femi One requested 5k retweets for the young fan to achieve his lifelong dream to touch the hem of her undergarments. KOT are keyboard warriors akin to our freedom fighters; hence, this was a very easy feat to achieve. Within a day, the young man was on a bus travelling to the capital city of sin, Nairobi, to achieve his fantasy.
As I watched all these unfold, it tinkered my memory of Kenyan artists using unorthodox means to pump up their traction before releasing new projects. People have faked marriage breakups and other diabolical things just to get traction on their new projects. As normal as this is globally, Kenyans, as usual, just do too much. Femi One, the Utawezana hitmaker, who was signed under Kaka Empire in 2013, has been what you would call a model artist since her debut on “Ligi Soo remix” by King Kaka. From onset, she has displayed discipline and dedication that can only be compared to Khaligraph Jones; you know what they say: success is 99% hardwork and 1%.
Femi One mastered the art of doing her job with minimal fuss, a factor that has earned her the trust of international brands like Monster. This was not her rollout plan at all; it was just a fan pulling a stunt that worked in his favour. Did the song get an audience on the first day? Yes, it did. Is it a sustainable business model? Not really.
However, this begs the question: why do some Kenyan artists feel the need to use diabolical means to promote their music? Our backsliding gospel artist, Bahati, has always been doing this; it works for him. He grew from a boy from Mathare to a global superstar, but not because of his music essentially, but gimmicks that I vehemently hate. From cheating scandals to cross dressing with his wife, that is just how he does it. The old Englishmen said, Don’t hate the game, hate the player.
There is a very wide line between content creation and making music; music is a religion, an art, a dedication to show respect to those that came before. Of course not all artists are good, but all musicians are artists. What our Kenyan artists have decided not to appreciate is the fact that music is not just recording and releasing; there is a team that you should engage behind the scenes to ensure your music achieves the intended purposes. Engaging public relations, publicists, artist managers, and legal consultants is the backbone of any successful artist. To avoid copyright tussles and protecting your intellectual property, our artists need education on the whatabouts of the corporate side of music. This gimmick of “Kiki” does work, but it is not a sustainable way to success. I know what you think. What knowledge do you have to lecture artists? Trust me, it’s a lot.
That said, the Kenyan industry is full of immesuarable talent; that is not in doubt, however, we need education deeply entrenched to help us join our East African counterparts on the global map. Tanzania and Uganda concentrate more on the music, or “Kiki” that pays.
Think of Diamond Platnumz vs. Harmonize, a manufactured beef that has generated income and fame for both parties without necessarily risking their reputation. Both of these artists have a team of professionals behiond them that are literally off the studio, proof that you can’t be a Jack Of All Trades.
I say all this to mean, let’s get more serious as an industry, and I hope the young man get’s to fulfil his dream of getting his hands on Femi One’s posterior.
