The Trend goes live with Chamelone, three other internationl acts
Friday’s edition of the Trend hostd by Amina Abdi Rabar kicked off with four live interviews of amazing artistes all live from various locations.
The guests that joined in live included Jose Chameleone from Uganda, DJ Neptune from Nigeria, Tome from Canada and Elsa Majimbo from Nairobi.
Jose Chameleone
The Ugandan superstar dubbed the chameleon that never changes was live straight from his home, he appeared wearing a shirt written ANC (African National Congress) with the face of Nelson Mandela printed on it showing his love for the iconic African leader.
He however swayed away from answering if he would ever join politics. He looked back on his relation with Kenya from his hit song Bageya featuring Redsan released in the year 2000 under Ogopa DJs to places like Kayole, Kawangware, Imara Daima, South B and C among other hoods he visited while he was starting it out in music.
On how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected him and his gigs, he said “It has affected me a lot but I am glad we are all moving forward, I had various shows lined up all over and from this I have lost over 100Million Ugshs.”
Dj Neptune
Fresh after releasing the hit single “nobody” featuring Joeboy and Mr Eazi, off his second album that was set to be out in April but was postponed, he revealed that he was a self-taught deejay from Lagos.
“As a performer I am not used to being at home and not going out and doing what I love most and this whole Covid-19 pandemic has taught me to be proud of what I have and enjoy life” said Dj Neptune.
He revealed that he got his name because he used to play a lot of music by the The Neptunes, a duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, and when he was in clubs people would say “here comes the Neptunes guy” and he decided to keep the name.
DJ Neptune even did a small set after his interview and started off with the hit banger “Utawezana” by Femi One and Meja showing off his love for Kenyan music before moving on to other African hits.
Tome
Tome has been making music since she was 8 and her music can be described as afro fusion as she incorporates the afro beat which has been a big influence to her.
She said she enjoys performing on stage but she still finds writing more therapeutic.
“Canadians here enjoy afro music a lot and they are becoming a lot more open to it as it’s played now more than a few years back, Tome said during the interview.
She explained that her new single “Free” means running away from your own truth and making your reality your home. The single is part of her album coming out soon titled “bigger than four walls.”
Elsa Majimbo
Elsa is a journalism student from Strathmore University who has been creating online content since 2016. Her videos have gone viral to as far as South Africa and was featured in the country’s Glamour magazine.
She said her biggest support system has been her family, friends and schoolmates. “My parents support me a lot but at home I am still their daughter and they are super supportive of me but it’s still an African home and it’s the same here in terms of my duties here but they still support me,” Elsa said.
She narrated her experience with cyberbullying: “Yeah I have been bullied a lot. Some people say I am not funny, others say I should take down my videos but I never let it get to me. The hate, I think, comes from maybe people seeking attention or idle or just not wanting to see other people succeed.”
The Trend ended with a club-like dj set from DJ E live as he took away the Labour Day show with back to back hits keeping fans locked on lockdown despite the Covid-19 lockdown.