UP Event Review: Jameson Live, More Than a Party—an Experience

The industry staple ‘event’ witnessed its death last weekend. Events are about diversity, scale and ambition. But with a new dawn in curating smarter events, many brands, like Jameson Irish Whiskey, are looking to leave an ‘experience’ with event goers.

It was 1730 hours at Ngong Racecourse when we arrived at the well-lit venue. The group we were with may have been a small continent but a 50+ strong group made up of security officials, mainstream press, photographers, lifestyle bloggers, artists, DJs and cool young things.

The crowd came ready to experience the thrill of live music, with majority of the crowd dressed to the nines. The two paths leading into the expertly tented main arena from the ticket confirmation point was the main entry to the experience. On your right was the Jameson photo booth, to the left was the food court and the Natives Sports Bar had brought in a white and green lounge bar.

It has almost become a tradition in Nairobi that for a memorable experience, it must rain. But even the erratic yet heavy El Nino rain would not stop the capital’s social chroniclers. The heavens opened but that didn’t dampen the atmosphere of an experience that has become a must attend event in Nairobi.

This year, the script was thrown into the air. There were no hype MCs or those other paraphernalia associated with ritualized events. Homeboyz Radio were at the food court streaming live.

2030hrs: DJ JR warm-up invite set

DJ JR of Kaka Empire may not be a familiar face to many party goers, but the official DJ for King Kaka set the pace for the party with amazing mixes of Kenyan old school pop. From the nostalgic Kalamashaka to the reggae beats of Kenyan Boy, Kenyan Girl by Necessary Noize, the entire field was singing the lyrics word for word, as they downed the Kshs 200 Jameson shots.

2120hrs: DJ Andie

Undeniably a heavyweight DJ and party starter, Andie oiled the engines of the party bus with his wicked hip hop set. Kicking off with Rick Ross Hustlin’, Andie rocked up a catalogue of new and old school raps.

2245hrs: Fena Gitu

Fena kicked it off with her Fenamenal live experience. Backed by a live band, Sarakasi Dancers and a youthful energy, second to none—Fena Gitu gave the crowd a performance worth their billing.

2302hrs: Blinky Bill and Abbas Kubaff aka Doobeez

What happens when two Kenyan legends share a stage? A one of a kind revival happens. While Blinky embodied the energy of the present on the performance, Abbas took us to the beloved K-South era and back, making for an amazing musical experience.

2312hrs: MDQ

It is entirely normal for events to hire familiar faces as event hype MCs but with Jameson live Party, each act who left the stage had the humbling experience of welcoming the next performer.

A joy from start to finish, the wait for Muthoni Drummer Queen to take the stage was worth it. Cleverly tailored, her performance was in line with the highlight of the day—Jamhuri Day. The day is set aside to celebrate the marks of achievement reached as nation since we became a republic in 1964. Through music, engineered to perfection with visuals, she captured the 52 years of music timeline perfectly.

But the highlight of her performance was how she energetically played the drums staying true to her title of Kenya’s Drummer Queen.

2335hrs: Kaka Empire

Perhaps the most cohesive set of the night was the Kaka Empire performance. It pulled together Kaka Empire’s DJ JR, Femi One and the king himself, Kaka. Kenyan hip hop has never sounded this good.

2302hrs: Just a Band

If you are a fan of Just a Band, then you know it is their thing to engage their audience and ensure that they are having a blast. Just a Band gave a stellar performance as expected—they are known to love the stage and give the crowd their all.

With the crowd feeling good and charging forward with each passing minute, Blinky Bill was charged with the mandate of introducing the main act, Grammy Award nominee—B.o.B.

0026hrs: B.o.B

To warm-up the crowd and get them ready for his performance, Brian ‘DJ Big Bear’ Karanja was first up. Based in Boston USA,but hailing from Nairobi, Big Bear cuts a niche among his peers and is considered to be on a lane of his own.

Big, yes—and a bear on the decks, he tore it up. His set was strictly new school hip hop. He did not have those heavy Beats By DRE headphones around his neck or those hype most DJs bring on stage. His was a simple earphone and with a click, we were taken to Boston rap. His sole mission was, music!

From Boston to Atlanta (or should we say ATL), DJ Shawty Slim—B.o.B official DJ was next up. He got down to business before welcoming the main star of the night, B.O.B. The duo had more than music for the fans, they had freebies for the crowd— awesome branded merchandise.

“Listen Kenya. We have been to many places on tour around the world. But never have we seen such a turnt up crowd like Kenya,” DJ Slim confessed.

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr, aka B.o.B has got the music industry all figured out. The cliche-busting hip-hop hitmaker took to the stage a few minutes after 1 A.M., with a Kenyan flag tied around his neck, ready to give Kenyans the show they had been waiting for.

With Playboy Tre, BoB performed Just A Song and gave a fan the ultimate birthday experience by sounding her a birthday wish and calling her on stage to share the moment with them. He also gave out his bandana, took phones from the revelers and recorded his performance up close for them, grinded with the Kenyan ladies on stage, and even crowd surfed—not once but thrice.

The ‘Chris Martin’ of hip hop and one known to give in-flight surprise performances, was a hit with the female fans from the onset. His looks aside, the female pop fans were enchanted by his music.

With over five mixtapes, and albums to his name—the buzz generated over B.o.B was carved out in style on stage.

But after his performance, he would return again on stage due to public demand chants and give them the hit ‘Nothin on You that he did with Bruno Mars.

The old-fashioned kind of love song was the perfect and glorious way to end a performance.

“Thank you Jameson and remember, drink responsibly.”

0204hrs: DJ Bash

We asked DJ Bash what he felt about closing the show, he said the pressure was on him to deliver. And deliver he did. Bringing the experience to a close, DJ Bash from Kenya rocked up yet another catalogue of pop hits, hip hop, dancehall, reggae, afro and house—playing till the wee hours of the morning.

• The Lows

· Most entertainment journalists boycotted the event due to lack of media passes and other PR issues. Apparently, journalists were not happy with the organization of the event and the fact that media was getting just gallery tickets with limited access. They could not access the VIP and backstage.
· The sound balancing was off at certain times during B.O.B’s performance. B.o.B’s entourage was spotted with ear plugs and revelers had to shut their ears using their hands.
· Misbehaving by some notable media and public figures who were drunk and started acting stupidly.
· Drunk fights in the crowd and the security not being able to access and stop these fights.
· Many people including HBR’s G- Money felt the hip hop was not blood-pumping enough. In one of his tweets, he termed the experience as a ‘waste of time.’

Okay. So where are the Kenyan hip hop artists performing at Jameson … #ImJustSaying

— Palpatine (@GMONEYizME) December 12, 2015