Monday, August 15, 2011

Why fans ‘stray’ from local artiste



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By PHILIP MWANIKI pmwaniki@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, August 13  2011 at  18:00
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Didn’t we almost run somebody out of town when he said we have peculiar habits some years ago?
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Turns out that he was right after all. But I am not talking about calling habits, I’m on the habits of the Kenyan artiste and his fans.
First, if the Kenyan artiste was one person and the fans was another probably of a different sex, then their Facebook status would read “In a complicated relationship”.
This is because the artiste seems largely unwilling to cater for the needs of his fans.
They are a demanding lot these fans and when they look at the people who are supposed to entertain them, they find nothing and what do they do, they move around looking for variety.
Now, this nomadic behaviour or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) of the fans did not start yesterday, nope, it has been going on for a decade now.
Unfortunately, the local artiste is yet to learn how to hold their interest long enough until they release something new.
This fan behaviour is not necessarily a bad thing because it means different mouths get fed at different intervals.
But what the average artiste should do is to ensure that he is fed even during the “off season”, when say the fans have shifted their attention to gospel music from secular or vice versa.
You see, such a relationship wouldn’t last for long in the outside world.
Who wants to be with a person who cannot satisfy their needs? On the other hand, who wants to be in a relationship with someone who changes allegiance at the snap of a finger?
Make it official
The good thing is that these two know they have a thing going on but they are not sure whether to make it official or not.
The Kenyan fans are like a woman, they want a man who will be versatile and entertaining.
The artiste is entertaining but he tends to keep doing the same thing over and over and that is what causes the fan to “move around”.
The fan wants creativity, some out of the box thinking and what does the artiste do, feed her with the same old sound and feel.
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There are artistes I can tell you their whole live show scripting.
Take Jua Cali for example, a talented man who majority including I like.
He steps on stage and the first thing he yells “Waaaatuuuuu, mnajua niaje?
The crowd usually goes wild over that and what’s the next thing he does, tells everyone to raise their hands and “mpeleke mbele, nyuma...”.
You also always know and expect Juliani will shake his dreadlocks every three minutes when he’s on stage.
I am not saying this is wrong, no, I am just asking why I should show up for a concert that I know how it will start and end.
Live shows are very dull in Kenya. Listen, I already know your songs so when I show up at your concert, I want something more.
The reason I would show up at a Beyonce concert would be to see how she does the songs live including the famous “oh oh” dance that every girl in Nairobi thinks she can do when she’s on the dance floor.
So the Kenyan takes advantage of the fan because he knows she will be back but don’t be too cocky mister, she may be there but her interest may one day shift to the neighbours — see how everybody is singing along to Flavour’s “Nwa baby”?
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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