Music parodies have gained popularity in the country
Since the mid-2000s, music parodies have gained popularity in the country, especially due to the rise of the social media.
Initially, they were considered as a competition to the original compositions, but the perspective has since changed drastically, writes Adalla Allan.
Every day, new songs are released and this gives a room for creativity to the comedians to make their parody versions.
Almost two decades ago, Peter Kaimenyi aka Kajairo surfaced from just a scriptwriter working behind the scenes, to a popular performer introducing the well-embraced music parodies in Kenya.
He amplified his prowess in this front on the then popular TV comedy show Redykulass.
Kajairo indisputably turned the so-called ‘corrupt’ lyrics to a prescription to his buffs, and he got the millennials glued to the screens.
All he did was to borrow the rhythm and tune from popular songs and incorporate his own comical lyrics, and voila!
“I always wanted to form an act, combining my musical talent with comedy. I worked briefly with Phoenix Theatres in early 2000s before joining a local TV station as a scriptwriter.
This is where I started to experiment with what would become my calling in the market, taking songs and turning the lyrics upside down to come up with a corrupted version,” he tells Spice.
Well, as fans all over chuckled and sung along to Kajairo’s lyrics, the music parodies spurred a lot of beef between him and the artistes, who claimed that he was disrespecting their songs.
The comical Kajairo even had a tiff between him and State House, after he released a ragga song titled Mwai Kibaki.
This irked the then First Lady, the late Lucy Kibaki, which led to the song being banned.
“I released a song called Mwai Kibaki back in 2004, but I was later notified by the management of Kiss FM that they had received orders from the government to stop playing it. I had just finished working on the video at the time,” he added.
Going forward
Having bowed off the stage, the parody godfather of Kenyan music has left an indelible mark and a legacy he’s proud of.
The parody industry he introduced in the country has now made a big impact with more parody artistes earning from it.
Sitting at the top of his parody class is Padi Wubonn, the comedian who came to the limelight through his parody song Ugali, which was mimicked from a song called Cut It by American rapper OT Genasis.
Padi, who traces his comedy talent to his high school days at Ramba Boys in Siaya county, realised he could make good comical lyrics after working as a creative for Kajairo.
“Sometimes I could write a script, but the characters could not deliver it as I wanted.
So, one day I made a song, Ugali, and gave it a try without knowing that it would trend. That is how my journey for parodies began,” Padi said in an interview.
Although the parody artistes have been viewed as ‘parasites’ who depend on other artistes, Padi strongly believes that parodies really help the original songs to gain traction, especially on social media and other digital platforms.
“It is normal that when we release the parody of a song, the original one will also trend as people will be attracted to listening to it.
Personally, I don’t expect something in return, but I just feel good seeing the views of the original song rise,” he says.
Varying topics
The parodies on the local animated TV satire programme XYZ are very relatable to the existing political scenes in the country.
Tom Mboyo who plays Uhuru Kenyatta on the show, gauges the uniqueness, facial expressions and the general traits that lead to the creation of the parody.
Other comedians including Eric Omondi have also gained notoriety in doing music parodies that have helped in growing their popularity, especially on the social media.
Some of Eric’s most famous parodies include Ainyanya (a refix to Otile Brown and Sanaipei’s song Iyana), Saratina, a parody of the South African film Sarafina, Veve and Dere (both a refix to Diamond Platnumz’ Jeje and Gere ft Tanasha Donna.
While some people may argue that Eric only succeeds in his parodies because he chooses only the popular songs songs, it is the mastery of the art of parody that has spurred him to such heights of success. His parodies exhibit a charming characteristic, creativity and comical prowess.
Comedienne Mammito has also done several parodies including Aiyaya, a collabo with fellow comic YY, a refix to Otile and Sanaipei’s Aiyana. She was also featured on Extrawajanja by Eric Omondi, Kartelo and Mulamwa, which came out barely a week after the Extravaganza hit song by the Sol Generation.
And with the trend, we can only wait to see what tomorrow holds for us in the parody front.
