Kenyans who are chronologically challenged are increasingly finding it difficult attending Kenyan Parties in Stockholm which, they believe, have been taken over by the youth. The generation gap is beginning to have an impact and the consequence is that Kenyans who are over 35 years old are becoming unable to cope with the standards being set by the youth on the dance floor. Aware of this phenomena, some Wazees have began calling for “Waeze Hukumbuka Parties” where they can feel more comfortable.
“The problem is that you go to the disco and you find out that your son or daughter is also there”, said a Kenyan parent with teens approaching their 20s.
The age bracket aside, elderly Kenyans find the suggestive dance styles “embarrassing”. At the moment, the style that is booming is the “back hook” where the Manzi turns her bums to the male partner who then reduces the distance from in between as he begins to rub his “frontal lobes” on the pointed bums in unison with the rhythmic beat of the Music.
At this point, the lady is in a “bending posture” and you only need to watch the video to understand the sexual dynamics of this dance floor operation that is sweeping across the Kenyan youth like wild fire. They love it!
In fact, it is almost semi-pornographic and one could sympathize with Kenyan moralists in Stockholm who posit that the scenes are “not good for children”. The only consolation is that they are not worse than scenes on “The Voce” Music channel on Swedish Television watched by kids daily and on a routine basis. The difference between the Kenyan displays and “The Voice” is that on the channel, the dancers are sometimes “in their pants only” while the “sex-packed” motions are sometimes explicit “beyond belief”.
A parent could get away with “The Voice” scenes by explaining to the kids that “those are white people” but in many cases they are African Americans doing business in the Entertainment industry. When the scene is almost similar in a Kenya-Stockholm disco setting, what do you say to the kids? That those Kenyans are crazy maniacs copying unacceptable white cultural values?
During the Kenya Summer Jam Party, a youthful Kenyan male who was in a white hat and long sleeved shirt shuttered the record when it came to how far the “back hook” could go. His partner, a stylish and equally youthful lassie, advanced the moves with the zeal of a “professional”.
Although the scene could be entertaining depending on your attitude, the moves were clearly beyond the reach of an average Mzee wa Kazi in Stockholm who suddenly finds himself confronted with youthful bums pointed in the direction of his flailing cruise missile. After watching the video clip, an old timer called KSB to announce his resignation from the Kenya-Stockholm dance floor.
The DJs don’t care. When they understand that the youth are getting even closer, that is the time when they fix the “tempting to touch” songs. In one clip at the Summer Jam Party, the DJ openly provokes the dancers by sharpening the lyrics through the microphone with the “And if you want to remove it, your underwear…” lines. In other words, he gives the girls the option of removing their thongs if they think it’s the best alternative under the “heated” circumstances on the dance floor so what is to be done? Blame the DJ or the lyrics?
According to a Mzee wa Kazi, MTV and other channels have taken over the thinking of the youth when it comes to dancing. At the summer Jam, it was a typical case of the mini skirt “being too short”” while in some cases, the view of the bra from the back is a scene that was perfectly acceptable. To put it mildly, some breasts were simply “tied up with ropes” woven around the chest and as the boobs shook violently to the staccato beats of the music, you could think that they would pour out if the ropes accidentally untied. Some fatty chunks of meat were wrapped in very tight short trousers and as they were shaken slowly from left to right, the action had the capacity to set an average male mind circling endlessly. It was a scene you could watch over and over again depending on what you were interested in. At the entertainment level, it was real.
“MY SON IS REALLY ON YOUR DAUGHTER”
There is a case when a tiny strip of cloth had been wrapped around the waist in what passed for a skirt. When the whole bundle of a girl did her moves, it was easy appreciating the fact that she had white pants on because the piece of a skirt kept on exposing the pants (imagine the intervals of a blinking eye) as she jumped up and down to amuse herself, oblivious of what was happening from below. You did not need spectacles or a high powered telescope to absorb the color of her thingy.
In another case, a well fleshed Kamanzi who was also scantily dressed started gyrating her bosom as she held on a chair strategically placed in the middle of a circle of dancers who were going round like a train shaking to the rhythm of “wacha waseme…usiku watala” Taraab music (let them say at night they will sleep). The catchy part is that the lady in question assumed that the chair she was “challenging” was a man in bed. The rest could only be left to the imagination.
Instead of reacting like they had been surprised by such an “immoral move”, the dancers actually cheered the girl wildly, as if she was a heroine. The gratification underlined the fact that what she did was appreciable and the message was that others could go ahead and even reach a “climax” with the chair so you are all alone when you sit there and complain about Kenya-Stockholm morals standards.
At first, I thought that when the revelers were warned by the DJ that KSB was filming, they could slow down and avoid the more suggestive stuff or even take a break. This did not happen. Instead, one dancer was asking “Wako wapi?” as she moved on to perform a dangerous display with her partner who was equally excited. Others simply seized on the opportunity to “perform a show” with their partners in order to send the message home – “This is how we do it in Stockholm so take it or leave it”.
When the clips were uploaded at Youtube, a dancer called KSB to complain that she was not in the videos although she had been dancing the whole night. The disco went on for 10 hrs and we could not film everything because that was unrealistic.
Some Wazees have confessed that they have no energy to go down in slow motion in one of those funny styles. “It is like taking a press-up”, said one Mzee. Besides, I have a big tummy that cannot even allow me to put on my shoes without help from some kind of stick”, a Mzee told KSB. “I just have to watch”, he admitted.
Are separate discos for Kenyan Wazees viable in Stockholm? This is a question that cannot be adequately answered. Within the Swedish society, there are disco sports for all age groups. The problem is that these spots are not Kenyan in terms of clientele and music. There is nothing wrong with Kenyan Wazees garnering for special Parties if they feel that mixing with the hot blooded youth is becoming problematic. The youth just have to do their thing and not much can be done if they have developed a tendency of taking over discos in Stockholm.
Besides, some of them are single and have to look for hunting grounds while their time for real fun is now. You could argue that they could go to Swedish discos – many of them do. But when something Kenyan comes by, it’s normally something special so it’s not strange that they normally tend to dominate the floor.
It is difficult to be present at the disco as an observer when your son is squeezing the daughter of a close friend of yours on the floor. How do you react when the friend is also at the Party?
“Hey Mamen. Son wa mine is really on your daughter”. Surely, this kind of conversation might not just be possible and Wazee have only one option. They need to sit down and discuss their problems at Kenyan parties because whichever way the coin goes, Wazee will always be the underdogs at Kenyan parties in Stockholm when it comes to action on the floor and the youth do not simply care. The fundamental issue is that you have been attending Kenyan parties for the last 15 years then now, you can’t because you are growing old.
By keeping away from Kenyan parties with the argument that these parties “have been taken over by the youth”, Kenyan Wazees in Stockholm are in the process of isolating themselves even further within the Kenya social scene. Is it time for Kenyan Wazees to organize their social interactions in Stockholm?
Okoth Osewe
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