This compilation, Volume 2, provides a little bit wider perspective on Kakai's music both in style, time frame, and subject matter. We start among his very first releases in 1976 and move ahead through the years up to 1984. Unlike Volume 1, most of the songs on Volume 2 were structured to fit as a complete 4 to 5 minute piece on one side of the original 45 rpm disc. A few of the songs from the later years were recorded in the extended two-part form common in the 1980s. One of those we offer as an eight and a half-minute combined version of Punguza Ulevi. The Best of Kakai Volume 1 introduced Kakai and Les Kilimambogo to the world with a sampling of mature, long-form recordings from the mid-80s.
Benga music is Kenya's own, home grown, pop music style that developed in the mid-60s with Luo musicians from western Kenya and quickly spread to other parts of the country in locally distinct versions. Across Kenya, benga is characterized by bright interlocking guitar parts, active bass lines, and a pulsing kick-drum (after its introduction in the 1970s). Lyrics in local languages and melodies reflecting local traditions give benga its regional flavors. These differences tend to place a boundary around musicians' audiences. Though benga is the national style, benga musicians typically have few fans outside their particular linguistic and cultural groups.
Kakai Kilonzo is one of only a handful of benga artists to attract a broad following across Kenya. He opened up his music to others outside his Kamba language and background by singing in Swahili, which is widely understood throughout Kenya. At the same time, with catchy melodies and engaging lyrics, Kakai sang about subjects that all Kenyans can relate to: songs on all aspects of love and marriage, on social responsibility, societal ills (like drinking and witchcraft), moral guidelines, national unity, economic development, and more.
Born in 1954, Kakai had a rather austere childhood. There was little money around his home and his schooling was cut short by his step-father's refusal or inability to pay school fees beyond his third year of primary school. Kakai joined the labor force as a herdsman looking after the livestock of various neighbors and relatives. It was during this time in the late 60s that he made his first guitar out of a large metal can and started singing and composing. It was not until 1972 that he met Joseph Sila, soon to be one of the founding members of Kilimambogo Brothers Band, from whom he bought his first real guitar.
As Kakai progressed as a guitarist and composer, he began to perform for events like weddings and dances. It was at a dance in his home village in June, 1973 that he met Joseph Mwania, another primary figure in what became Kilimambogo Brothers. Kakai and Mwania were both working at Kenya Canners at the time so they decided to room together and work on their music in their free time. After several months of this, they quit to devote full time to their music. Soon, they were in Nairobi, living at Sila's place and working on strategies to promote their music. This included knocking on the gates of the Voice of Kenya to see if they could get an audition with any of the music presenters. It got them appearances on both radio and television. However, it was more than a year later, in December, 1974, when they finally got their first studio recordings made. The first few songs were sold outright to producers to raise cash and get their music out to the world. Finally, in 1976, they had raised sufficient funds to start their own Kilimambogo Brothers label. The initial releases were in Kamba, but after two months, they put out the first of Kakai's many Swahili-language compositions. That song, titled Kijana Hatari, is contained in this collection.
Core members of the Kilimambogo Brothers Band in 1978 were: Kakai Kilonzo (vocal and guitar), Joseph Mwania (vocal and bass), Joseph Sila (vocal and guitar), Francis Danger (rhythm guitar and drums), and John Chuma (vocal). Shortly after this time, the Sila and Mwania parted company from Kakai to form Original Kilimambogo. Kakai renamed his group Les Kilimambogo (Brothers) and continued with great success through the 1980s up to the point of his illness and untimely death in early 1987.
from the CD notes written by Douglas B. Paterson, contained in The Best of Kakai Volume Two, Shava Musik.
Notes © 2005 Douglas B. Paterson.
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