On Saturday the 19th, 2024, I witnessed a night of territorial war to claim the throne for Nairobi Music. Like every faction of life, like every tiny detail in the world, like Isaac Newton said, for every action their is an equal and opposite reaction. Everything in life is divided equally by one thing, East or West, Nairobi is not an exception and this weekend at the Nairobi Street Kitchen, artists from Eastlands and The West lands faced off in a musical showdown.

For starters, the venue, The Nairobi Street Kitchen in Westlands, was a perfect pick by the organizers.

This is due to the fact that by default, Westlands is where the real East vs West happens in Nairobi, every weekend young culture enthusiasts galavant Westland’s vibrant music scene in support of their favorite artists. May it be NSK, SK8 city ,The Muze, The Alchemist, The Mist ,Cavalli or the pre game and post game shots at Molly’s ; Westlands is where everyone meets to enjoy the Nairobi Culture.

We all know it’s never that serious, but in music, controlling stake in your city is a show of might and East vs West is always the perfect avenue for the City’s finest to fight for the throne. The line up was an indication of how far the Nairobi music has come in matters growth and acceptance of sound. Each side of the city was well represented by the finest in the scene at the moment, with the highlight of the day being Arbantone star YBW Smith.

The crowd was a fair representation of the avid Nairobi music fan, people that have travelled the journey with the parlicular artists witnessing their shortcomings and success. Guys from the eastside, as rowdy and calm in equal measure made their presence heard as their artists tore the stage. The westside were even more rowdy with Spinx mafia perfoming with flame throwers for a song that has the lyrics “Tuna drop ma fire emojis” it was poetic and comical at the same time.

Spinx Mafia perfomed with the Mad Clan group that has been featured in alot of his tracks, what I found peculiar from the organizer however, was allowing Spinx as Mad Clan to battle against an individual, Jodye Faneto. They kept interrupting his set with subtle subliminals, which is normal but a group vs a single artist didn’t make sense to me.

The battle between Vallerie Muthoni and Shekinah Karen was heated, with both artists bringing the heat on stage. Vallerie even claim she resides in the West but hails from East, I don’t know how true those words are because she is boujiee through and through.

ThirtyFourBrick, my new favorite group from Eastlando, perfomed with an energy that electrified the masses, once the DJ hit that “Nishai chai nishai chai na ndenga mboi.(I have robbed someone with a fake gun before)..” the place went berserk. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us.

Fashion was a big statement in the event, an aspect of art that Nairobi creatives have been able to master and incorporate into their craft. I saw outfits of all manners of diabolicalness, some I never imagined but truth is, the culture popped. It looked like a UK roadmen fiesta with youngins with Shiestys and Balaclavas and baggy jeans. Here is a question though, what’s up with young kenyans and baggy clothes? it’s like a pandemic that I don’t understand.

As a lover or art, music and the entertainment culture, I would love to see more of these showcases. It is the best avenue to introduce audiences to both sides of the same coin, you maybe from East or West but at the end of the day, WE ARE ONE NAIROBI.

.

Every year, there comes a kenyan song that becomes so big that it surpasses itself and the artist. A song that ceases to belong to the artist to become a Kenyan song, it belongs to the masses. “KunaKuna” by Vic West and Brandy Maina, “Geri Inengi” by Wakadinali, “G-Bag Ajat” by Stoopid Boy just to name a few.

This year, “Set It” by Dyana Cods featuring Ajay Buruklyn Boyz was that song for us, a song that united the whole country in unexplainable ways. A cultural revelance in dance, after a tough three months of anti-government protests,finally a breath of fresh air. The audio was an immediate success, however I would be dishonest if I didn’t appreciate the original tiktok dancers that made the choreography. The outburst of the #SetIt challenge in all social media channels made the song and Dyana Cods an household name. The video was also a success, garnering over 6 Million views on Youtube before it was pulled down. Church, that is our theme for today’s sermon, why?

In an Interview with Iko Nini Podcast, Ares 66, the producer and owner of Big Beatz Afriq explained vividly the whole situation and reason of conflicting Interests. In many words he explained that it was miscommunication from three parties, two fully involved in the making of the song and video, and a third party that was actually not. To fully understand the whole situation, you need to know the parties involved and the level of involvement.

For starters, the owner of the song Dyana Cods, is signed to Big Beats Afriq, the production house for the song which is owned by renowned Kenyan Producer and Rapper, Ares 66. Ajay (Buruklyn Boyz) was featured on the song ,this simply means, he has no idea how or why the song was made, he just had to place a verse, which he did splendidly. His verse carried the song, the #SetIt dance challenge was based on his verse, it’s safe to say that it is his song as much as it is Dyana Cods. But the law doesn’t work like that, as I type this in the court of public opinion, it doesn’t change the facts in the face of the law.

According to Ares 66, the feature artist was paid feature money and included in the split sheet of royalties distribution. Before you start scratching you head, a split sheet is a written agreement between contributors of a song. This ensures equity and fair ROI in a song, the percentages are subject to collective agreement. Everything was okay until well, it was not. To be precise, the feature artist was awarded 10% of total royalties, with Dyana Cods getting 10%, Ares the producer got 20% for mixing and mastering whilst the label got it’s usual 60%.

The seasoned producer stated that he was contacted by Ajay’s manager, proposing a renegotiation of the terms a while after the song was out. In my opinion the super success of the track and Video was unprecedented hence the need to adjust the terms, but I stated earlier, that is just public opinion, the law doesn’t work like that. The calls graduated from Ajay’s management to Buruklyn Boyz’ distribution and publishing company, an International company that shelfs out their music on all platforms.

It was their belief that since Ajay was signed to them, they deserved a piece of cake from the super successful song, a claim that seemed diabolical to Dyana Cods and the producer, since their agreement was with the artist and not the publishing company. Furthermore, Big Beats Afriq already have their distribution company making it senseless and unreasonable for them to change the publishing company.

To cut the long story short, the publishing company went ahead to strike a copyright claim on youtube to pull down the video, which they did. Unknown to them however, the masters and STEMS of the track are owned by Big Beats Afriq, the label in which Dyana Cods is signed under. In the Iko Nini podcast Interview, Ares 66 revealed that for the video, he teamed up with his partner company “Keja Ya Capo” to facilitate in planning and shooting. This invalidated claims by the publishing company of their entitlement to royalties generated from the song.

This is the second time we are witnessing this kind of altercations, with Nyashinski and producer Cedo having served us beef over the same kind of issue. The real problem however is the miseducation in the industry, a lot of people don’t know much about alot of things. Information surrounding copyright infringement, revenue splits and the need to write down agreements when collaborating for a project has many a times led to unnecessary squables among entertainment professionals.