Kenya: Eric Omondi Under Fire for ‘Kenyan Music Is Dead’ Comments – AllAfrica.com

A move by controversial comedian Eric Omondi to suggest the music industry in Kenya ‘is dead’ has been met with fury from a number of musicians.
Omondi suggested the music scene in Kenya was now akin to a ‘cemetry’.
“It is utter disgrace,” he argued.
“Our musicians have become mere curtain raisers for international acts. We have become clowns in our own land. Every weekend there is a group of 3 or 4 foreign artists in Nairobi.”
Not done, Omondi advised musicians to take advantage of the post-pandemic to up their game.
“Where are the Kenyan concerts? The curfew has been lifted, it is time to dust ourselves and get to work. We can do it, we have all it takes to RECLAIM this lost Glory. Let’s have South Africans hosting Monthly GENGETONE festivals in Johannesburg, let’s get our Musicians storming other countries and cities every weekend.”
But these comments have rubbed a number of musicians the wrong way with Juacali demanding for ‘respect’ in a video he released on his social media channels.
“We need to have respect. It has been a long and painful journey for the music industry in Kenya and there have been ups and downs. The internet has brought a different level of competition because as of now we are competing with the whole world. So we need the support of everyone. It is unfortunate for a comedian to bash at musicians. I am a fan of stand-up comedy but even he cannot stand for an hour and make people laugh,” said Jua Cali.
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
Lol!! Tanzania siku mbili ukafundishwa sarakasi ndio inafanya uongeee mbaya hivi kuhusu KE artists !! Some comedians and presenters/bloggers belittle and disrespect KE artists day in day out and some of them tried to be musicians and failed terribly at it … Heshima idumu
— GREATNESS (@Femi_One) November 6, 2021
Bien-Aime Baraza, the former Sauti Sol lead singer, also had his take.
Eric Omondi is the buttcrack of comedy. What he does in the name of entertainment and comedy is shambolic. It is not good marketing either. It is Clout chasing deadbeat clowning. That is not art. Our industry is in transition. We just got our groove back after a pandemic.
— Man a Baldman (@bienaimesol) November 7, 2021
Singer Bahati also hit back, accusing Omondi of operating a brothrel.
“This guy (read Omondi) has lost it since he opened that brothel in the name wife material show. He know believes stripping naked is comedy. Young men respect our industry.”
Read the original article on Nairobi News.
AllAfrica publishes around 700 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing 700 news and information items daily from over 100 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC.
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

source