D’Banj will release his much-anticipated new album, “Stress Free”, on Friday, October 1, a fresh new body of work from the Afrobeats superstar.

While embodying a successful career, “Stress Free” shows a polished artist who is not only experimenting but having fun, along with slick production values (featuring the spectacular skills of music producer Rexxie).

On “Stress Free”, D’banj slips into Afrobeats innovation mode, visible in the multi-layered fusion of horns, saxophones and futuristic synths across tracks. The Egypt 80 brings the horns on the Afrobeat fusion, “Zombie”, and the Afro-meringue mix of “Welcome To Lagos” as well as the free-wheeling “Stress Free” and “Banga”.

The release will take place concurrently with a music video for the eponymous single, “Stress Free”, which brings to life D’Banj’s invitation to live on the lighter side by letting go of what you can’t control and taking care of what you can.

Directed by Clarence Peters, the video is pure entertainment, complete with D’Banj’s tongue in cheek lyrics, stylish fashion and indomitable swagger.

WATCH ‘STRESS FREE’ MUSIC VIDEO

STREAM THE ‘STRESS FREE’ ALBUM

American singer and actor Rotimi has revealed that he will soon be visiting Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

Rotimi made the revelation through his instagram page, listing several cities that he will be visiting to market his new album 'All Or Nothing'.

Rotimi originally signed a partnership with Empire in 2019, after departing from 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. He has also released a number of smash singles and collaborations including "Lotto" featuring 50, "Love Riddim," "Want More" with Kranium and most recently, "In My Bed" featuring Wale. 

Meanwhile the singer has welcomed his first child with fiancée and Tanzanian music star, Vanessa Mdee. 

Rotimi announced the birth of their first child by sharing a photo of the newborn holding on to his fingers, with Vanessa's engagement ring also in the background. He discosed that their baby has been named "Seven Adeoluwa Akinosho". 

Mombasa politics has taken a new twist with the use of propaganda and mudslinging to drive certain political narratives taking center stage in a bid to woo voters.

Over the past few weeks, social media has been abuzz with reports that certain political aspirants had dropped out of the 2022 race or opted for other political seats.

Last weekend, social media users in the county woke up to reports that Mvita Legislature Abdulswamad Nassir had opted out of the 2022 gubernatorial race and instead was now eying the senator’s seat.

The well-orchestrated report had photos of individuals donning T-shirts with the message ‘Abdulswamad for senator 2022, na bado’ which was widely circulated across all social media platforms.

However while speaking at a function in Tudor on Sunday afternoon, the MP scoffed of the reports claiming that his political rivals were at hand to smear his name.

http://ommydalla.co.ke/politics/item/2455-i-m-not-quitting-mombasa-governor-race-declares-nassir

He reiterated that he was still in the race to succeed the outgoing Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho stating that no amount of propaganda will destruct him from ascending to the seat.

“Who told you I don’t want to be governor? My friends I’m in this race to the end, let them (rivals) continue with their propaganda, we will continue with our agenda of serving the people of Mombasa,” said an angry Nassir.

The MP and his political nemesis businessman-cum-politician Suleiman Shahbal will battle it out for the ODM party ticket next year.

In what is seen as throwing a jab at his main opponent (Shahbal), Nassir said that he and his team had run out of ideas to transform the lives of Mombasa people and had reverted to a smearing campaign to confuse the voters.

“They have failed to think of strategies on how to improve the lives of Mombasa residents, they are now peddling lies that I have opted out of the gubernatorial race, let them prepare their political graves because we will take them down,” said Nassir.

Reliable sources within the Shahbal camp refuted any involvement in the incident, instead accusing Nassir and his people for stage-managing the whole thing to win sympathy from the people.

“Our opponent has panicked, he doesn’t know what to do that’s why he is doing whatever he has done to gain sympathy from the people, our candidate (Shahbal) has no time for such petty politics,” said Mohamed Ahmed, head of communication.

Shahbal who has twice unsuccessfully contested for the seat losing both times to Joho in 2013 and 2017, recently decamped to ODM after dumping the Jubilee party which he vied on in the last elections.

Ahmed described the incident as malicious campaign by his opponents hell-bent to tarnish Shahbal’s name adding that it will not distract him from achieving his agenda.

“This is the third election that Shahbal is contesting and he has never been known for such petty politics, he is the only candidate that has an agenda for the people of Mombasa,” said Ahmed.

Mvita parliamentary seat hopeful Mohamed Machele on Monday refuted claims that he had dropped out of the race asking his supporters to ignore rumors being peddled around.

Machele who was hosted for a luncheon by Mvita Women said that he was still in the race to succeed Nassir who is eyeing the governor’s seat.

“I am firmly in the race to become the next Mvita Constituency member of parliament, ignore the rumors you hear outside there, you the people are the ones who have kept me going,” said Machele.

The youthful aspirant, a close ally of Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho, will square it off with the current Mombasa County Executive Committee Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works Taufiq Balala who is said to be eying the Mvita MP seat on an ODM ticket, among other eight aspirants.

The others include former Mombasa mayor Rajab Sumba’s son, Hassan Sumba, Kanu board member Mohamed Samatar, UDA party activist Mohamed Salim alias Tenge, businessman Omar Shalo, Ali Mwatsahu and Said Twaha.

Bongo flava singer Ally Saleh Kiba popular by his stage name Alikiba has unveiled the official cover art and name for his upcoming album.

The much anticiapted album titled 'Only One King' has sixteen songs, four of them have already been released, they include 'Infidele', 'Ndombolo', 'Salute' and 'Jealous'.

In the cover, AliKiba is seen seated on a custom throne dressed like a king, to depict his title as the king of Bongo Fleva music.

Speaking during a media briefing, Kiba revealed that the name of the album was suggested by a fan.

"We earlier had a name which was somehow similar to this but this specific one came from a fan through the challenge that I had started on social media" said Kiba.

Adding " About the artists who I have worked with on the album, you will have to forgive me since i will not mention their names. I want it to be a surprise. Just know that it is a Pan African music album.'

Concerning the name King, Kiba stated that there is only one king of Bongo Fleva music and that is him.

"This is a name that came from my fans, I have never reffered to myself as king. The name came up during the time when I was silent and had not released any music, my fans took to social media with the hashtags 'bring back our king', and 'we need you back king'".

"There is always one king, just go anywhere in this world and you will find one king, there has never been more that one king" he added.

The Mwana hitmaker has remained a formidable force in the Bongo flava msuic industry for more than a decade despite the rise of new generations of artistes in the industry which has since been very competitive.

This will be AliKiba's third album after 'Cinderela' released in 2007 and  'Ali K 4 Real' which was released in 2009.

The album will officially be released on October 7.

Kenyan musician based in the US, Simon Javan Okelo has unveiled a new track “Sulwe” (Luo for star) - his second single following his recently released debut single “Chandore”.

Both tracks are set to feature in his forthcoming 5-track EP expected to drop by January 2022.

Both tracks are distinctly Nyatiti music and reminiscent of a style popularized by the late Kenyan Nyatiti player Ayub Ogada.

Ahead of the release, Simon said, “Sulwe is a beautiful tune that comes straight from my heart to your soul. With an open mind, listen to it deeply to help you understand beyond the language barrier,”

Adding, “I am dedicated to singing in my mother tongue to help protect and preserve it and also help change the narrative about Africa by demonstrating that our music is beautiful in it’s original raw style.”

Watch “Sulwe" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU86krCT0NQ

“Sulwe” means star in Luo and in this song, Simon Javan talks about how the star was the guide for the three wise men in the Bible to Jesus’ birthplace. He juxtaposes the bible story to real life situations - meaning that each of us have our guiding stars but sometimes we are not keen enough to realize that and also allow the stars to guide us.

He adds “This song is a reminder that we are all amazing and we have our stars and that they will always stay with us no matter where we are and our current conditions. We have to allow the stars to guide us to our destiny.”

Simon Okelo is also the founder of One Vibe Africa and Madaraka Festival.

The 7th annual Madaraka Festival was held on July 25th with hopes that its proceeds will go to One Vibe Africa’s Education Music and Art Program (EMAP) to amplify youth supportive programming, leadership and social activism in Kenya and Uganda.

His upcoming EP is inspired by these principles and will be out to honor both African and African American culture while elevating different voices and creating community cohesion.

Simon states that his sound and Nyatiti style of music is inspired by his African and Luo culture and desire to preserve it. “Let's protect and preserve our culture no matter where we are” - he concludes with a message to all his fans.

By Ivy Njeru, Account Executive at Infobip Kenya

Digital transformation is well underway in the East Africa region, with Kenya specifically at the forefront of the emerging technology innovation landscape on the continent.

This is largely due to the government’s heavy investment in the country’s broadband sector, with no less than four undersea fibre optic cables now landing off the coast of Kenya. This, in turn, has driven widespread fixed and mobile internet penetration in the country to a level of 85.2% of the population.

Additionally, Kenya recently became the second country on the continent to launch a 5G network. The initial rollout covers four towns and is expected to grow to nine over the next year. It is expected that the launch of 5G services will be a boost for technology adoption and innovation among local businesses.

Fundamentally, the adoption of 5G technology will transform the way people live and work, with faster connectivity speeds supporting the rollout of better services and innovative solutions that are likely to span various industries and business sectors. For example, this technology will enable the establishment of smart cities, smart homes, smart agriculture, as well as connected healthcare and vehicles.

New ways to communicate

There is no doubt that Kenya’s growing internet penetration has also significantly changed the way in which people communicate. The availability of high-speed connectivity has seen an increasing number of people using chat apps to communicate, rather than relying on traditional voice calls.

This has also invariably led to an uptake of social media and messaging platforms as a means of communication between brands and consumers and will require businesses to deliver an enhanced customer experience (CX).

One of the biggest benefits of 5G connectivity is the delivery of high-speed internet, which allows for better quality of video streaming and rich media sharing, enabling an improved CX. It is therefore important that companies continue to invest in technology that drives customer engagement.

However, in order to develop successful communication strategies, organisations must be aware of the fact that customer communication preferences have changed, with people expecting to interact with brands anytime, anywhere, and over any device.

To remain relevant, brands must be able to deliver highly personalised and meaningful content over their customers’ preferred channels.

To do this effectively, organisations must know their customers and ensure that they are able to connect with them on whichever channel they may choose to use. For example, if a customer is mostly using WhatsApp as their preferred channel of communication, they will most likely want their bank to also be available on this platform.

Boosting the economy

Robust connectivity and digital technology will also boost the country’s economy by driving competitiveness and eCommerce. It will provide economic growth too by facilitating innovation that will see companies able to introduce new products and services faster than ever before.

Most companies in Kenya are increasingly taking advantage of the high connectivity rate across the region to keep up with digital customer expectations.  This practice is set to gather further momentum and lead not only to increased operational efficiency, but also help brands differentiate, as they leverage smart and connected devices to create new services aligned with brand promises

Digital transformation of this type will positively impact productivity too with more streamlined approaches and automation. Technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), AI, IOT all thrive on 5G and will enable companies to replace costly and cumbersome manual processes.

Many conversations will be able to take place using chatbots for example, which further increase efficiencies for customer facing businesses, while customers will delight in the speed of response and resolution to queries.

Moreover, robust connectivity and digital technology is also key for obtaining Business Intelligence (BI) that will ultimately accelerate and drive revenue growth as more information on customer trends, intent and preferences will be available in the market.

Businesses will be able to innovate around the availability of this data and deliver better products and services, thus leading to more growth.

As digital transformation continues to advance across the African continent, digital platforms are fast becoming the preferred channels to accessing products and services for a growing number of people. 

Mobile operators are doing their part in upgrading infrastructure and deploying 5G. Therefore, investing in the right technology and communication solutions today will form the bedrock for Kenya’s future economic success.

East Africa’s online recruitment platform BrighterMonday Kenya is enhancing its approach to reduce unemployment in the country with the launch of a jobseeker targeted campaign dubbed “Level Up.”

 The Level Up campaign is a jobseeker drive aimed at showcasing the various methods in which a BrighterMonday job seeker can make themselves more attractive to potential employers on the platform. It will also help job seekers leverage technology to gain a competitive edge through boosted professional profiles, tailored career support, and timely access to top jobs in the country.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya's unemployment rate doubled to10.4 percent in the first half of 2020 due to the pandemic, affecting the morale of jobseekers and challenging them to upskill and strategically seek out job opportunities.

BrighterMonday Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Mutuma noted that the campaign seeks to increase the employability and visibility of job seekers to potential employers. “The BrighterMonday jobseeker is always in search of ways to stand out and be considered for that next big opportunity, promotion or job. In a market where a lot of qualified candidates are in the running for that same position, it is important to create a way for them to go the extra mile in order to be the preferred choice.” Emmanuel said.

He further reiterated that to enhance the jobseeker experience, regular updates on proper job application procedures have been possible due to innovative automations on the website; moreover, efforts are made to help a job seeker market themselves to potential employers through services like professional CV services, capacity building content, personality profiling and profile updates.

BrighterMonday remains at the frontline at the job search experience, providing career advice and smart job-hunting strategies to its growing customer base. Through relevant research and market reviews, jobseekers stand to enhance their chances of employment through this campaign.

Gospel Artist Ogila Change Drops “Live to Love You” Single and Video

Kenyan Gospel Artist Ogila Change has released her latest worship single and music video, “Live to Love You”. The the track is available now on YouTube and all digital platforms. 

Watch "Live to Love You" Here: https://youtu.be/Wp33pf9SrLE

INSPIRATION BEHIND THE SONG

"I wrote the song ‘Live to Love you‘ when I was 15 years old. It was a time that I was experiencing God's goodness and peace that I never wanted that feeling to ever disappear. It was my prayer that I would always live to Love my God." - Ogila Change

EDITOR'S NOTE

Ogila Change is a born-again singer and songwriter. She began pursuing her music at Kimathi Primary School. While at Pangani Girls High School, Ogila Change continued with her passion for music as a choir mistress.

Ogila Change holds a PhD in Business Administration from USIU-A. She’s married and blessed with four beautiful children. Her first album Dala debuted in 2016. She is passionate about worship and continues to write songs of praise.

Her love for education is seen in her CSR projects through Dr. Ogila Change Foundation which was founded to provide quality education to children across Kenya.