The long awaited 2007 ”Kenya Grand Nyama Choma Festival” (10th Edition) is finally over and Wakenya could as well begin looking out for something new before the Summer season comes to an end. As had been publicized, action began at Fittja Beach and ended at Norsborg Musikhuset where Party lovers remained until the better part of Sunday morning.
At Fittja Beach, the general standard was “up to date” and the Kenya Newtork led by Sound of Blackness which organized the event deserves congratulations. Upon arrival, nyama choma was ready and after payment, you just began chewing directly. The Nyama came with a scoop of Kachumbari and a sizable package of Ugali carefully wrapped with an aluminum foil. This was new because in previous nyamchoms, the ugali had to be cut from a huge mound before being served. Packing it in advance saved much valuable time. It total, 100 kg of meat was consumed and those who attended appeared to have been enjoying every moment of the action.
Children had a bonus – thanks to Albert Taabu and company who staged a fantastic performance. Once again, Albert proved his powers when it came to entertaining the kids while his ensemble confirmed the presence of Kenyan talent in the Kenya-Stockholm music industry.
The songs were themselves nostalgic. Numbers like “Tandarobo”, “Napereka barua kwa baba”, “Hapa je kuna mwiba” and “Embeumbe mbeumbe” were typical and reminded Kenyan parents of their childhood days. The recreation of the tunes backed by drums in the background was so real that some admirers could not help being absorbed into the whole chorus. Some started swinging to the beats as the kids were led into rhythmic motions by the teacher.
As the show advanced, the artists began to provoke the crowd into jumping on the dance. This was after the kids were done. Taabu, the lead vocalist, called out the names of Wakenya one by one, prodding them skillfully so that they could come and show their styles. The crowd had already been warmed up into how it’s done by the artists themselves who stepped forward to gyrate on the grass, much to the amusement of the thrilled crowd.
From the crowd, John Nyangau broke the ice by jumping on stage and showing the way. Johnny (as he is known) was followed by Marky who responded after he was challenged to show the crowd what he could do.
Within a few minutes, the crowd had been intoxicated with the flow of events. An impromptu stage show (which looked very professional) materialized on the stage thereby increasing the excitement to new and higher levels. The stage show was led by Marky, Clay, Sundy, Bryan (one of the artists) and Johny. Within seconds, Steve jumped on stage to give it a boost. It was fun.
Apart from the children’s songs, the music crew had some numbers based on the zilizopendwa collection. These included “Embe dodo”, “mama kifagio”, “Sijaiona Pilipili na maua yake” among others. The group had composed a special song for “Nyama choma” which reminded everybody about the day’s agenda.
THE “LOCOMOTAIVE DANCE TRAIN” AND THE HOT SEAT IN THE MIDDLE
The crowd was diverse – Ugandans, Kenyans, Tanzanians, Swedes, Nigerians, Gambians, Zaireans, Ghanaians just to mention but a few. Nian, a Gambian who has been attending the event for many years, said that the level of organization of Wakenya especially at the social front shows the way and that the event could be turned into an annual continental Festival organized at the grass roots by Africans. He called for closer co-ordination between Africans in Sweden. John Ekwepu, a Nigerian, told KSB that he can never imagine such a function being organized by Nigerians because they were “divided”.
All in all, it was a mixed up crowd of about 150 people who converged at the beach. Some knew about the Festival because of previous actions while others have relationships with Wakenya who tipped them. As darkness became even more pronounced, people appeared not to have been in a hurry to leave and they had to be literally pulled from the venue to go to Norsborg.
Once the Kenyan artists were done, new action followed. The DJ began to work up the crowd with calculated beats known to stimulate dancers into forming a “locomotive dance train” which then proceeds to move in a huge circle to the beats of the music. A major attraction of this formation is that it’s always characterized by “acts of obscenities” at the center.
A chair is normally pulled into the middle where a man or a woman sits then a member of the opposite emerges to begin performing incredible “sexual maneuvers” on whoever is sitting on the chair as the music blares from the huge speakers with revelers cheering the “couple” until they give room to another couple.
Although the moves do not usually include stripping down of clothes, bras, pants and fixing of emergency condoms, the moves usually leave no doubt in the imagination as to what is up. Sometimes, it’s “woman to woman”. At one point, the situation deteriorated so much that you could think that the couple had already heated up and “preparing to launch” with clothes on.
A boy toddler who appeared not to have understood what was happening suddenly moved at the center and sat on the hot chair thereby creating a huge crisis for a few minutes. The amused revelers held their hands on their mouths while others giggled uncontrollably. The boy appeared to have been waiting for an “opposite” to begin “performance” but this never happened.
Luckily, the Dad happened to have been one of the “wagons” on the dance train and when he saw his little one settle on the hot seat, he quickly dashed forward (with lightning speed) and carried his innocent boy away with the whole seat before any other toddler could think about jumping on him “to show how”. It was very funny and some revelers had to take a break to laugh out the joke. The seat was later restored for action to continue but the message had been sent – that kids do as you do, not as you say.
VIDEO CLIPS AT YOUTUBE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS NEW REALITY
A nice beautiful lady who had gone on the ground “to be done from behind” by another cutie who was playing the man rushed to me in a state of panic after the action was over. Someone tipped her that KSB was filming and that she would soon hit “Youtube”. This kinda approach happens from time to time.
I told her to relax because the idea behind posting videos at Youtube is not to put those in action in “awkward situations” with friends and relatives but to report the event in a context that does not hurt the feelings or personality of anybody.
KSB has become part of the Kenyan community in Stockholm and we are open to discussion when it comes to exposure in the Internet. A polite approach at a public function is normally very helpful because we don’t take orders when it comes to news gathered at public events.
The problem is that Wakenya are not yet used to “the media being around” and we are working hard to put Wakenya comfortable. If you don’t want your picture/video clip in the Net, we are not rigid. Make an approach because KSB should be building, not destroying members of the tiny Kenyan community in Stockholm by publishing scandalous pictures and video clips in the Internet. This rule applies as long as we are not at war because our policy at times of war is to “try and destroy the enemy”. Let us build KSB as a “People’s media”
In the previous Nyama choma Festivals, music at Fittja Beach has always closed down at around 21 hrs so that by 22 hrs, the field is usually deserted after people swing to Norsborg.
This time round, the speakers were still blaring some minutes to mid-night and, from the mood of revelers, the disco could have as well been held at the venue without much ado. The delay at Fittja ground meant that the disco at Norsborg Musikhuset had to start well after 1.30 because the crew started dismantling equipment late, probably because DJ Safi who was in the engine room, was responding to the crowd.
By the time the Party crazy crowd arrived at Musikhuset, over 100 revelers were already on the ground waiting for the night action. Fortunately, there was some light music at the hall which kept the “music-thirsty” Wakenya awake although the sound was low. Drinks were being served and people appeared comfortable.
It did not take long before the real disco and the shaking of flesh began. Some girls who were apparently well wrapped (90% of flesh covered) suddenly changed gears at Norsborg. They had carried the “Disco attire” and after arrival at Norsborg, what was needed was a quick visit to the toilet for a “change of clothes”.
As more Kenyan discos are organized, it becomes clearer that Kenyan girls are moving from “bad to worse” when it comes to body exposure. We have discussed this subject before and we will spare readers from the details for now.
WHAT NEXT AFTER NYAMA CHOMA?
It was one of the “most packed discos” ever in Stockholm since the beginning of the year. Kenyans from all walks of life were there with a few big names missing. The occasion was graced with the presence of two Kenyan artists – Rapper Billy Boy and artist St James, sensations in Kenya – Stockholm Entertainment. Sometime, St James can really be sophisticated while at times, he is very simple. It is ordinary for him to be dropped and picked up in a top of the range Benz but yesterday, he even took the tube from Fittja station to Norsborg as he chatted with Wakenya.
Initially, the organizers said that underage kids wouldn’t be allowed into the hall after 22 hrs. But, when the disco began well past 1.00 hrs, some under age kids linked to top organizers could be seen wriggling their bodies on the dance floor.
Some parents who packed their kids on time for home trip came to KSB to complain as to why some kids had to be sent home while others were dancing with adults well passed 22 hrs.
“You wrote that by 22 hrs, all kids would be sent home so what is going on”, an irritated parent confronted KSB.
The problem was that some parents had to send their kids home (14-17 yrs) to beat the requirement and when they noticed that some under 14s were on the dance floor, they began to raise concerns as to whether there was discrimination when it came to the question as to whose kid could remain behind. What fuelled the fire was that one of the young girls (under 10) who was shaking it on the floor had her Mom doing her thing just a few meters at the corner so there was no argument that the paroz were unaware.
KSB confronted the management with the complaint and it was later sorted out. The kids were packed into a car and driven home. Another disappointment was that there was no ready transport both from the field at Fittja and from Norsborg as had been promised. Many Wakenya who had banked on the promise did not make serious transport arrangements for their loved ones and they had to embark on “emergency measures” to cope with the situation. This was a minus.
By 5.00 hrs, the situation at the disco had changed. It was taken over by the youth who emerged from a disco at Albyskolan who moved to colonize the floor. The “backward hook”, kuma dance, chest to chest squeeze (C2C) and other sophisticated styles soon became ordinary at the dance floor. Clothes, bags and other merchandize were heaped on the floor (forming a small mountain) and surrounded by their owners as they danced away the morning.
In summery, the Nyama choma Festival was a huge success and the organizers should be happy with the result. The question now is “What next after Nyama Choma 2007?”
Okoth Osewe
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