UP Event Review: Verse5Ve’s High5Ve—Claps, Snaps and Hands Up
The venue’s set up was intriguing - the tents were up, the food stand was well stocked and in between the dancing we would make a trip for some chemical X mocktails and meat balls. On the other side we had the deejay stand. At the entrance was a display of cool merchandise (there was a table with jumpers on sale) and Juliani’s Exponential Potential albums were also on sale.
The event was to kick off at 2pm, but by as early as 12pm, the young bloods of Nairobi and far off towns such as Nakuru and Thika had already started trickling in en masse. This was not an event whose numbers were hyped up on social media, it was a revolution happening right before our eyes.
Gospel trailblazer and a man of few words, Juliani pointed out the necessity of such an event.“The scene is necessary. It is clean fun,” he said when we got a chance to talk to him. Eager fans would soon approach him for a selfie and soon he was off mingling with his fans despite his celebrity status.
The place was packed with young Christian music lovers who sang Lecrae, Kelele Takatifu and Eko Dydda songs with much gusto.
“Hip hop is the blood that runs through my veins and Verse5Ve’s events so effortlessly brings that out,” Susan Mukami, a Social Media Manager in Nairobi .
Warming up the event with his killer set as we arrived was Deejay’Re. A rookie and his first debut Verse5Ve platform opportunity appearance, he wowed the crowd. DJs Mellops, Mike Muema, Krowbar, Sanch and Double O were also part and parcel of the event’s musical life.
In between the music and keeping the crowd entertained and up on their feet, the hype MCs, ‘Energy King’ Churchboy and the vocal powerhouse, Manu of Recapp, did an amazing job.
The dance crews, Jims & Dims and Dice Crew would pop in and the crowd of animated youths would frantically join with their crazy dance moves.
We asked Johnson Juma, one of the event organisers, what was on the horizon for Verse5Ve Events.
“We are planning to expand even more in 2016 and impact more folks through monthly events. We are also launching an online magazine website soon so people should be on the lookout for that too.”
As he sat looking into the clear blue skies on this sunny Sunday in Nairobi, Juma could not hold back in appreciating the loyal fans of the events’ movement, who in his own words, “have taught us that we have people who would turn up even if we had no music or sound, nor had any performing acts - not because of anything sinister, but because they believe in us, and in this.”
Like all Nairobians, he is proud of the team at Verse5Ve who worked effortlessly with limited funds from their own pockets - they had no major corporate sponsor or government funding - to curate such a priceless event.
The event brought about a congregation of beautifully fashionable people, and was a place where new dancers and artists showcased just what it is that makes the gospel scene in Kenya so lively.
