They are the set of 5 that have one of the largest Instagram following and as a result they are the celebs that accumulate the most likes with each post they upload.
The celebs are as follows; The Mapenzi Hitmaker Bahati, the Fanya musical sensation Willy Paul/Poze, the Ni Yesu Songbird Size 8, Crossover101 Host DJ Mo and the Tukuzu Host DJ Sadic. Each of the listed names has a total of more than 200000 followers.
Below are some posts that these big-time celebs uploaded that generated likes in the thousands.
Out of the 5 it was Size 8 that tops with a post that generated 8286 likes.
Bahati recent update as a result of his new jam did garner him 5109
and a post that involves both Willy and Bahati generates some thousands likes.
Case In point the recent one that they did garnered 3732 likes.
On average with each post DJ Mo and DJ Sadic upload they get more than 1000 likes.
On Thursday 28th May, Uliza Links had invited the gospel deejays to pay as a visit as we planned to do an interview that talked about the success of the Kenyan gospel industry and where it is heading. As early as 10 am Dj Soxxy was the first to arrive and after having a brief chat with him we were joined by DJ Krowbar who lead us in prayer before sitting down to wait for DJ Mo and DJ Sadic.
Story by Anita Chiama, Grace Owuor and Editor Eric Okoye.
This would have been just a normal interview talking about how the industry has grown but it was also of great importance to talk about the issues affecting the gospel circle. It’s a fact that the industry has been facing so many battles but these battles are mean’t to challenge us as Christians and at the same time show us the right way to follow.
We were later joined by DJ Sadic and DJ Mo and after catching up on how work has been we start the interview :
DJ MO : “We were not that rich so I could not even afford a disc man so I used a DVD player from my home to push my passion for deejaying. My first gigs were at ‘Kandamiza Ukimwi’ programs in Rongai with much much support from my mother,” DJ Mo states
DJ MO and Sadic’s friendship goes way back as they were both part of Spinrage DJs.
DJ SOXXY is 13 years old in this ministry, beginning in Dagoretti High School as part of the worship team after which he was actively involved in missions, where he kicked off with deejaying. Unlike DJ Mo, Soxxy could afford a disc man and he used it with a bata shoe box full of CDs to kick start his career as a disc jockey. DJ Moz spotted the passion in him and invested in him.
This year marks a decade since the beginning of DJ Krowbar’s deejaying ministry and it has been nothing short of an amazing experience for him. Born again in 2005, DJ Krowbar did not enter the disc jockey industry because he wanted to become one. He had actually joined Homeboyz Production classes with the dream of becoming a music producer but later found himself on the decks.
What do you think about content and why do some artistes complain that gospel deejays don’t play their music ?
DJ Sadic : Deejaying is our ministry and it is our business, so we need to take it seriously. For the same reason that God requires the best of us, we also need to give our best. As deejays we can only play music with the right content and quality because God has called us to a higher office and we are HIS ambassadors.
What about Standards, Is there a standard set for music or gospel music at your work place ?
DJ KROWBAR : 80% of the songs we receive do not see the day of light and actually it’s better that way, so that the 20% of songs on rotation, challenge the other artistes to maintain the required production standards set.
Another thing to state is that we are employed by our bosses at established media houses so we do not own the media houses where we work in. There are certain guidelines set that relate to content, maintaining viewership, quality and the target market of the show.
All the same, media is not a determining factor and as tv DJs we are not the key to any artistes success, we are only gatekeepers. As an artiste try and go out of your way and distribute your music taking an extra step to maintain the required standard.
Should artistes depend on airplay alone to sell their music ?
DJ Sadic : If you go to Skiza you will find out that the top artiste who has the most downloads is not even from Nairobi or even being seen on tv. Its good for artistes to try and see how they can sell their music better rather than just depending on one or two platforms to generate income be it Groove Awards or Bonyeza.
How challenging is it being a deejay and how do you handle that ?
DJ SOXXY: Carry your office or music out with the professionalism it requires. Some artistes don’t like correction, when we highlight the mistakes in their music; they take it personally when all we are doing is trying to help out.
How do you maintain your role as a gate keeper and ensure that you make decisions independently, such that you can decide NOT TO PLAY a song of a friend/relation who is close to you ? Keeping in mind that you have close relations or friends in the same industry ?
DJ MO : Personally I have many friends and being in the gospel industry of course friendship has to come first before anything. I have many friends whom I don’t play their songs not because I have issues with them. I expect even when I leave my job on tv i will still be friends with them.
People do not know that we have a serious bond as deejays and we always sit down and preview new music that we get together. If one deejay says that he will not play a song then ultimately do not expect another deejay to go and play that song. If we agree to push a song we will do it as a team, and if we decide not to play it then we won’t play it as a team. In deciding this we always focus on content, quality and as gatekeepers there are things we look out for before we play music with the view of where we want our Gospel music industry to go.
Is Kenyan gospel Music an INDUSTRY ? or ministry
Krowbar : Lets just say the truth, where music is now currently many corp-orates are coming on board to endorse artistes because many people are listening to gospel music. Clearly the angle that companies come in gospel music is on commercial viability.
Where we are now corporates like Safaricom can approach a deejay like Sadic and offer him a job as their deejay not because of anything but because they see that this guy is commercially viable.
The toughest question you are left with as an artiste/deejay is : “How much do you need so that we can make this happen”.
It is so good to accept some realities on the ground.
We have concerns raised about mentor-ship and people blame the stakeholders for not mentoring artistes. Some artistes sing songs that make you wonder where they get their inspiration from. Is mentor-ship important ?
Krowbar : Mentor-ship is important but as a mentor its a challenge to go out of my way to mentor an artiste as I have to be guided by the spirit. Just like in the Bible, Jesus chose his 12 disciples and not the 12 disciples who chose him.
I will only mentor an artiste if I have purposed to mentor one.
DJ Soxxy : It is very hard to force yourself to mentor an artiste as there are people who don’t want to be mentored. I echo what Krowbar says on mentor-ship because it needs to be a deliberate effort from the person who needs to be mentored. I can meet someone who might need me to mentor him/her and I might find myself wanting to walk with him.
Another thing to mention is that mentor-ship should not only be seen as music related as I can decide to walk with someone on other matters of life like devotion and not just music.
We have had issues with units what do you have to say ?
DJ Sadic : Many people have talked about these units and its an issue that we go through every time. People need to understand that we have many units but the body of Christ is one. The units and denominations be it System unit, Genius or K-Krew should not divide us but unite us because we represent the body of Christ. The moment we realize that these units are meant to unite us rather than divide us then we will gain a lot.
What needs to happen in the Kenyan gospel industry to achieve what GOD called us to do ?
DJ MO : First of all we need content and as we said before lets ensure that we have mentors. It’s also important for artistes to know that we have new technology in media and as much as we want to push for content it’s also critical that we push for better production and quality. Let’s invest in what we do and in what we believe in so that we can reap great fruits.
Another thing is that whether you are a big artiste or small it’s important to pray and keep GOD first. You might have the right quality , content and production but if you do not keep GOD 1st then you will not go far.
What message do you wish to give those artistes who are coming in the industry?
Krowbar : In gospel music it’s better to consult those people who do it professionally. Don’t just enter into a studio, rather consult with people who have been in the industry because if you don’t you will get played and you will do most things wrong.
Make sure you know yourself before you enter here as not everyone is here for the right intentions. There are people who will use you and in the end you will get hurt. Not everyone walking saying Lord, Lord , Lord will be saved because there are people who are here for their own gains.
What do you have to say to those people who always raise concerns about the industry, are we going the right way?
DJ Sadic : It’s true that some artistes want to take shortcuts and expect their music to go far. We need to invest in our gifts so that it will make room for us. We need to work on packaging ourselves as we are in an industry of music. Why shouldn’t Chuchu get a deal on tv if Sarah Hassan can get one ?
Some people have entered the industry for the wrong reasons as Mercy Masika can take a four year break and still comeback with a hit. Others have released like 42 songs and not even one is being played or is a hit. So its good to know our calling and know the direction where our gospel music is going.
At the same time its good to say that focus has shifted in the industry as when we were starting there was no money as we used to do it because we were driven by passion. These days some artistes get in it because thy know that there is something in it for them in the end. We need to check on the reason why we do gospel music because if you are doing gospel music for passion you will last but if you are doing it for quick money then you won’t survive.
The last message to upcoming artistes who have taken over the industry
Dj Soxxy : My challenge to upcoming artistes is to be anchored on the rock but geared to the time. If we are anchored to the rock GOD will lift us up as he will show us the right way not to please people but will show us favor.
One evening I was sitting with a journalist who let me know that the next day he was going to release an article that he had written, an article whose title was going to be, the gospel industry is on it’s death bed. I remember sitting in that meeting and trying to think of reasons that I could give him to prove to him that there was no need of such an article but my heart became so heavy because I could not even convince myself, let alone convince him not to put up this article. As I sat there with deep sorrow in my heart, I was reminded of a story in the bible. In the book of Samuel 16 we learn the story of a young Man called Samson. Samson’s story takes place during a time when God was punishing the Israelites, by giving them into the hand of the Philistines. The angel of the Lord appears to Manoah and his wife who was unable to conceive. The Angel of the Lord proclaims that the couple will soon have a son who will begin to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. The wife believed the Angel of the Lord, but her husband was not present, at first, and wanted the heavenly messenger to return; asking that he himself could also receive instruction about the child who was going to be born. Requirements were set up by the Angel of the Lord that Manoah’s wife, as well as the child, was to abstain from all alcoholic beverages, and her promised child was not to shave or cut his hair.
He was to be a “Nazirite” from birth. Samuel strength was to be specifically used to rescue the Israelites from the hand of the Philistines. But as we continue reading the book we realize that Samson decides to use his strength not for what God meant it to be used but for his own personal gains. He begins to go to Gaza to get a wife from the very people that he was supposed to be fighting against. His parents caution him against that move and encourage him to get a wife from among his people but Samson is adamant. Eventually he gets married to Delilah whose name means, she who weakened, and she ends up convincing him to tell the secret to his strength. After lying to her afew times he tells her, she drugs him to go to sleep, she cuts her hair and proceeds to call the Philistine soldiers who eventually capture Samson and the first thing they do is gouge out his eyes. The most powerful man who ever lived is taken captive and reduced to an entertainer who was called out when the philistines were drunk to entertain them.
Now what lesson can we learn from this story? As gospel artists God has given us the talent and the favor to not just make money which is important but more importantly to save a whole generation from being destroyed by sin. I feel just like Samson, we took the talent and decided to use it for our own gain rather than for what God meant it to be. Instead of using it to save the young people some of us have decided to use it to take advantage of the same people we were supposed to be reaching out to. From the stories that have been making headlines and those that haven’t, we have heard countless stories of people whom havebeen hurt physically, mentally and emotionally by us. Stories of unimaginable sins committed against the very same people that we’re meant to touch and for God to speak into their lives through us. I remember afew years back when we coined the term “gospel has taken over” and this was a very troubling statement for me and many people. The question that always lingered on my mind when I heard this statement was, what is the criteria being used to determine that gospel has taken over? I feel like we looked at the fact that gospel artists were among the highest paid in Kenya, red carpets were being rolled out for us, our music was being played all over the place even in clubs and corporates wanted us to headline their shows as the sign that gospel has taken over.
I feel that this is a very skewed and shallow way of determining that “gospel has taken over”. To determine that gospel has taken over we must look at our society and ask ourselves, is immorality reducing in our society? Are people becoming God-fearing and drawing closer to God or are they walking farther and farther away from God? By these standards our society is not doing very well. Today in our country we have a moral crisis. Corruption has taken over our institutions including the church, people are becoming overnight celebrities for being socialites and others for not paying their hotel bills while our leaders have abandoned their duties of serving the people and are exploiting the very same people wh have given them the mandate.
If we can recall the story of Samson, after he played with sin enough times, it caught up with him and when the Philistines arrested him they gouged out his eyes, which was very symbolic. He could not see what he was doing or where he was going and had to depend on his enemies to show him around and as we read in the story, they led him straight into a dungeon where he became their slave and clown. Could it be that we have played with sin so much that we have been blinded to our ways? Why can’t we see through all these scandals that we’re playing right into the tricks and plans of the enemy? The bible says that when the Philistines had their parties and were drunk, they would ask Samson to be brought out to entertain them? A warrior who was supposed to rescue Israel was reduced into a clown by his own decisions. Are our songs changing the lives of the people or have we become a source of entertainment to a generation that is dancing it’s way to hell? When our songs are played in the clubs do they cause someone to reflect on their life and choices or does it encourage them to grab someone that they just met and dance the night away? Is the talent that God gave us to change lives being effective or has it become merely a source of entertainment? There were instructions given when Samson was born but he forgot them, have we forgot our instructions? We have to reexamine our lives and ask ourselves these tough questions.
The good news is that the story of Samson does not end there. The bible says that Samson asked God to give him one more chance and with one blow he killed more philistines than he had ever killed before. We must be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that as the gospel industry we’re not where we used to be afew years back. We used the talent for our gain, we played with sin and allowed Delilah to know our secret and bring us down. We have scandals left, right and center and the most troubling part is that some of us are even ready to defend our ungodly actions rather than repent secretly to God and publicly to those we have hurt. God still loves us and like Samson He’s willing to give us one more chance to repent, correct our wrongs and become more effective in ministry than we have ever been. Our land needs healing and as the bible reminds us in 2nd Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” I believe that gospel took over, two thousand and fifteen years ago when our Lord and savior Jesus Christ came to the earth to die and redeem us from sin. When this happened the society then did not roll red carpets for Jesus, they did not pay Him more than the preachers of His day,they crucified Him. But because He knew who He was and what He had come to do, that same society was transformed through His ministry.
We are a chosen generation and we have an opportunity to not only redeem ourselves but to redeem our land and transform our generation, the question is are we going to take the opportunity or are we going to be the proverbial people who have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity? Jesus said that we will do even greater things than He did? Are we ready to do greater? It is time for introspection because as Romans 8: 19 reminds us, “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.”
A Sad story I would say and also a shocking one I would say after a pastor is murdered for asking neighbors to turn music down.
Young Tatiana Kirby cried until she couldn’t cry anymore last Monday night after an angry man attending a party next door pumped several bullets into the body of her father, Pastor Tim Kirby, 46, after he asked them to turn down the music.
“It was devastating. I cried for a minute, and then it was like I couldn’t cry no more,” the young girl told WDIV 4 of her father’s untimely death in Detroit, Mich.
“He was a good father. He was always a caring person. Every Sunday we were always in church. He always made sure we had clothes, good clothes on our backs, food on the table,” she said.
According to local police, Kirby’s neighbors were hosting a big party complete with loud music and screaming when he left his apartment to ask them to tone down the noise.
“I was laying on the couch and I heard gunshots around 11:30,” said a neighbor. “I never thought that it was Tim. Never. Never crossed my mind.”
Upset by the pastor’s request, a group of men turned the encounter into a full blown confrontation and began shouting at him. One of them got so incensed during the dispute that he shot the man of God three times. His lifeless body was left to stain the cement outside his apartment building while his shocked family and friends descended into mourning.
“When I received the news it was like wow, unbelievable that a preacher, a pastor, someone would do that type of thing to him,” Kirby’s longtime friend Pastor Berry Loston Jr. of Prophetic Corner Deliverance Ministries International said in an interview with The Christian Post on Monday.
“I’m trying to really grab hold of what has transpired because it’s just like mind-blowing, seriously. And it’s like really what can you say? It’s a lot of emotions in the air,” he added.
Right now, explained Loston, “the family is heartbroken and looking for answers.”
(Christian Post)
Wow!! I Am speechless with story.. May GOD Rest His Soul
Roy smith Mwatia alias Rufftone the owner of one of the biggest music recording companies lamp stand records and a gospel artist who is well-known for his song Mungu Baba, mwikulu among others was hosted yesterday by Lulu Hassan and Kanze Dena on their show Citizen Nipashe .
In the interview Rufftone says that he started his music career as a secular artist but it reached a point that he did not like his way of life so he had to make a choice of first being saved and there after changing the type of music by becoming a gospel artist.
Rufftone also talks about the love he has for his brother Daddy Owen and other younger brothers who he says are upcoming gospel artists.
check out the video of his interview below to know more about him.
This is one interesting topic to discuss which I feel is something that is creating a lot of discussions and arguments as such.
First Should We Call Our Gospel “A Gospel Industry” or “A Gospel Ministry” ?
Some Christians (singers and ministers) would be too careful and modest in which name they use when being interviewed or when having a discussions. Some will just take the term as just a literal term especially when it comes to music
So what does an Industry mean?
An industry is the production of an economic good or service within an economy. So the main factor of an industry is making “money”. Some One said “One cannot be in an industry without a focus of making profit or money” that means he will be out of business. That means being an industry has a main focus which is more of the physical needs
What Does a Ministry mean?
“Ministry” is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning “to serve” or douleuo, meaning “to serve as a slave.” In the New Testament, ministry is seen as service to God and to other people in His name. Jesus provided the pattern for Christian ministry—He came, not to receive service, but to give it (Matthew 20:28;Mark 10:45;John 13:1-17). Its focus its more of the spiritual
Now to compare this too with the gospel it seems spreading the gospel of Jesus will be more centered in “ministry” which is related to serving people. That means the needs of others before and yours later.
Industry on the other hand is more centered on satisfying our physical needs first and others later. The question is at what point did gospel change to be called an industry?
The problem that follows is that every one has a talent and we need to earn to cater for our daily needs. Does that merit for us to call it an industry? Like a gospel singer/deejay will need to be paid to perform, a gospel producer will need money to do production , gospel events will need to charge to cater for their services. Does that make it an industry?
If every one is there to make some money does that qualify to be called an industry. Is it time we accept and say it’s actually an industry as everyone has to earn? or we stick with ministry knowing that still we will have to get paid.
If there is money involved then its an industry? and if theirs no money involved then its a ministry?
Think on these things because if we tend to focus more on the “physical needs” then ministry in itself dies.
Julius Owino alias Juliani after releasing the Utawala song is now set to launch an Utawala tour dubbed as the UTAWALA mtaani appearances.
The Utawala mtaani appearance is to be unveiled in 17 mtaas including among others Westlands,Dagoreti,Langata and Kasarani .The tour is set to run from the month July 16th to August 18th, dvd and vcd’s will also be on sale in all the Mtaas.
After featuring Willis Raburu Yvonne Makena And Faith Muturi we now introduce Kisima Award Winner and Former Groove Awards Male Artiste Of The Year Daddy Owen. So what are the things you don’t know about Daddy Owen Mwatia.
1. He doesn’t know how to swim!
2. He doesn’t know how to ride a bike
3. He Doesn’t take milk.. (How?)
4. He hate’s flying
5. His first stage name was STREET DOCTOR
6. He once perfrmed as Rufftone and got paid when he was abroad..At that time he was not born again yet
7. He never took a photo in his 4 years in high schol
8. Him and his friends started a gospel magazine called “Ignite” which collapsed because lack of funds
9. The 1st time He used a toothbrush was in form 1, and he was using a eucalyptus tree branch to brush my teeth
Have you ever wondered what are the real names of our Kenya Gospel Singers Deejays Music and Video Producers. Here is a short list. (From Link Sources)
