Gospel Music industry biggest day beckons. Glam, frantic search for the Groove Golden ticket and anticipation best describes the road to Groove Awards 2019 slated for 1st June - arguably the most anticipated event of the year.

This year’s event, the 14th Annual Groove Awards will be the most exclusive Groove Awards ever in the history of the Gala Night.

This year’s nominees list, which was unveiled at a red-carpet event earlier in the month, was laced with surprises including many new entries into some of the most tightly contested categories and a new record set by Jabidii who bagged 11 nominations in total.

The announcement of the nominees followed a rigorous process of reviewing 154,371 submissions from the public and in just 2 days we get to know who the winners are! 

Public participation in the nomination process continues to generate a lot of excitement amongst stakeholders and the industry, giving greater ownership and participation to music fans across the country.

This year is even more exciting following the introduction of new categories necessitated by continuous insights and changing industry dynamics.

There was a split of the Breakthrough Artists Category to accommodate both the Male and Female artists separately and the introduction of new categories; - Online/Digital Personality of the Year, Young Groover of the Year and the Diaspora Artists of the Year category respectively. 

Groove Awards is undoubtedly the biggest Gospel Awards show in the region and all roads lead to Mövenpick Hotel Westlands this Saturday evening which will be the venue for the Gala.

The high profile red carpet event guest list ranges from top Government Officials, the Media, Gospel Industry Stakeholders, Artists and Lucky Fans from around the region.

This year’s Awards Gala will be transmitted for the first time ever on Groove Award’s You Tube and FaceBook channels in bid to offer an uninterrupted viewing experience for all music lovers. 

With high level production courtesy of MoSound Events- Groove Awards has set standards over the years and this year promises to be even bigger and better.

In line with the theme “Better Together,” this year’s awards season has focused on the message of unity in building better relationships, synergies and societies.

It encourages a spirit of togetherness and highlights how togetherness helps build powerful and stronger bonds.

As Fans and Industry Stakeholders search for the Groove Golden tickets to attend the event- we have 2 more days left to vote for our favorite artists.

Fans can vote online- through www.grooveawards.co.ke or SMS by sending the word Groove followed by the nominee code to 811 or by Dialling *811#- until midnight 31st May 2019.

The 14th Annual Groove Awards will be produced by MoSound Events and is proudly sponsored by NRG Radio, Coke Studio, Little Cab, M-Akiba, Bonfire Adventures, Coca Cola, Pace Africa, Vivo Energy and Infinix/Tecno.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on law enforcement authorities to stop the rising cases of killings in the country.

The President gave the directive when he sent a message of condolence and comfort to the family of Governor Jackson Mandago of Uasin Gishu County whose brother was found dead in an unfinished house in Eldoret recently. 

He said the rising cases of mysterious killings involving innocent Kenyans across the country were alarming and required urgent and decisive action from all law enforcement formations led by the National Police Service. 

"We have to get to the bottom of these murders. We can't have a situation where we are confronted with cases of killings every single day. This is unacceptable," the President said. 

"Our law enforcement agencies should move with speed to bring these senseless killings to an end. Let us deploy all resources at our disposal to ensure the safety of Kenyans across the country," he added. 

The President's call comes at a time when the country is dealing with several unexplained and gruesome murders in parts of the country. 

"We cannot allow rogue elements in our midst to continue visiting violence on innocent Kenyans. The recent wave of killings in Matungu and other parts of the country are regrettable," the Head of State said as he urged the police to bring to book perpetrators of these heinous acts. 

The Head of State prayed for God's comfort for the Mandago family and all other families affected by the recent spate of murders. 

You cannot talk about Kenyan female singers with the best vocals and fail to mention Jovial.

The sassy singer with roots from the Coastal City of Mombasa has become the first artist to be signed under Otile Brown's newly formed record label, Just in Love Music.

Jovial has also been featured in Otile's latest song dubbed 'Zichune'.

'Zichune' has been produced by Vicky Pondis and video shot in Bagamoyo (Tanzania) and  directed by Hanscana.

She has worked with other top artists including Arrow Boy, Brown Mauzo and Tanzania's Ben Pol among others.

Speaking to Ommy Dallah Jovial said 'This is just the beginning, expect more from us".

Adding "I will soon be releasing a solo project under the label"

On his part Otile's manager Noriega noted "Otile Brown has so many big plans and opening this label is just one of them, Jovial is our first signee. We will inform you more when the right time comes".

The dates for this year's Mombasa International Agricultural society of Kenya (ASK) show have been officially announced.

According to the ASK Coast  branch Chairperson Anisa Abdallah, the show is expected to kick off on 4th September to 8th.

Anisa revealed that they have been  forced to set the dates on September and not August as the norm so as to give an opportunity to students to also attend the show.

"We have realized that holding the show in August denies students the opportunity to attend since it clashes with their school programmes, we want to make sure that the students also attend especially those studying agriculture" she noted.

The announcement was made during the official launch of the calendar of events and iftar dinner held at the showground Monday evening and attended by Changamwe Mp Omar Mwinyi and the Chief Kadhi of Kilifi county Sheikh Salim Mbarak Twaib.

The theme for this year remains 'Promoting innovation and technology in Agriculture".

A total of 150 exhibitors including international exhibitors are expected to take part in the show. As always, the president is expected to officially open the show.

Sensational Kenyan music group P Unit has signed a major deal with Samsung Kenya.

The group made up of Gabu, Frasha and Bon'eye are the new brand ambassadors for Samsung phones, specifically A30, A50 and A70 series.

They took to social media to share the good news with their fans.

They posted "We are happy to announce a brand new partnership between @punitwagenge and @samsungkenya. We are the brand ambassadors for the @samsungkenya A30, A50 and A70 series! Ilianza na ka selfie au sio"

They are now tasked with promoting the phones in the Kenyan market.

P unit who once took over the genge mantle from the 'Godfather' Nonini made a comeback mid last year with the song 'Chocha' this is after taking a break from music for close to three years, the group has always denied ever splitting stating that their unity has even grown further.

In 2013 the group won two awards at the Channel O Africa Music Video Awards held in Johannesburg, South Africa. They won the Most Gifted East Africa video and Most Gifted Raga Dancehall categories courtesy of their hit song 'You Guy'.

 It was the first time a Kenyan group shone during the annual continental awards. 

Two promising young Kenyan artists Nadia Mukami and Masauti have team up in a new jam titled 'Lola'.

‘Lola’ is about a love triangle between two lovers who hustled together and acquired some wealth but the boyfriend betrayed their love by getting involved with another woman.

The song is Nadia's 6th studio single and she has featured Masauti who is also known for his melodious flow and a wide vocal range, to create this masterpiece.

Nadia who is currently in her early twenties rose to fame following the massive success of her hit songs “Yule Yule”, “African Lover” and "Si Rahisi"

Watch the video below

President Uhuru Kenyatta has welcomed the restructuring of the UN-Habitat and called on the established organs to re-engineer its processes to enable it deliver on its core mandate as the lead agency in urbanization and human settlements.

The President asked the established subsidiary organs, through the new governance structure, to strengthen the UN-Habitat’s organizational capacity and resource base to make it a centre of excellence and a global leader in the field of urbanization and human settlements development.

“This will also enable the UN-Habitat to effectively deliver on the double mandate entrusted to it as the designated focal point for sustainable urbanization and human settlements,” President Kenyatta said.

The Head of State was speaking today at the UN-Habitat’s headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi, where he officially opened the inaugural session of the UN-Habitat Assembly whose theme is ‘Innovation for a Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities’.

The Assembly replaces the UN Governing Council following the endorsement of the resolution by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018. The resolution established a new governance structure which upgraded UN-Habitat’s status to a universal body and created a 36-member board. 

“This new structure is really intended to transform UN-Habitat’s governance, provide oversight and enhance UN-Habitat’s efficiency and effectiveness in delivering its mandate,” President Kenyatta said.

President Kenyatta challenged the UN agency to formulate strategies that will transform cities and human settlements into engines of economic growth and development in a sustainable manner.

He urged all stakeholders to support the work of the UN-Habitat, noting that the implementation of the New Urban Agenda has been slow partly because of financial and institutional constraints at the global body as well as member states’ insufficient capacity to interpret, implement and report on the progress of the urban agenda.

“I also urge member states to increase and honour their voluntary contributions to the UN-Habitat human settlements foundation, while at the same time encouraging those in a position to do so, to consider increasing non-earmarked funds to be part of the core budget of UN-Habitat,” he said.

The President assured of Kenya’s support to UN-Habitat and its activities as host to the global agency. 

“In addition, I commit that my Government will increase its contribution to UN-Habitat and Human settlements Foundation Gains Account from USD 70,000 to 100,000 USD during our next annual contribution,” the President said.

“Kenya will also participate in the pledging session where we will consider additional contributions,” the President said as he congratulated Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif on her appointment as the Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

Noting that in almost all parts of the world, societies are ill-prepared to plan effectively for the rapid urbanization that is taking place leading to the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, urbanization of poverty and increased environmental degradation, President Kenyatta called for collective international action informed by scientific research and technological innovations to address the challenges.

President Kenyatta also took the opportunity to outline the Kenya government’s efforts to implement the New Urban Agenda and related global urban agreements through the Big 4 Agenda.

“Kenya has outlined four key priorities (The BIG 4 agenda) for implementation over the next five years.  These include raising the share of the manufacturing sector to 15% of GDP; ensuring all citizens enjoy food security and nutrition; achieving universal health coverage and delivering at least 500,000 affordable housing units in major cities around the country by 2022,” President Kenyatta said. 

In support of the affordable housing agenda, President Kenyatta said the Government has facilitated the establishment of a mortgage liquidity facility in Kenya, the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC). The objective of this company is to support the development  of the primary and secondary mortgage markets by providing secure, long-term funding to mortgage lenders  and increasing the availability and affordability of mortgage loans to Kenyans.

The President said Kenya has also embarked on major infrastructural developments both on major highways and within major urban areas that have facilitated mobility, improved sanitation and access to services by citizens. 

In the area of research and technological advancement, President Kenyatta pointed out that Kenya has laid emphasis on innovation as an accelerator of the quality of life for its citizens through promotion and development of entrepreneurship education in all sectors of the economy. 

“The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KENIA) was established in 2013 to develop and manage the National Innovation System, and leverage entrepreneurship towards a self-sustaining economy,” the President said.

“To this end, the country has a number of business incubation centres that include Nailab, iHub, Strathmore University Business Incubation Centre and Kenyatta University’s Chandaria Incubation and Innovation Centre,” he added.

Other speakers included the President of the UN-Habitat Assembly Martha Delgado and Executive Director UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

Africa’s biggest fashion market Thrift Social is celebrating its 4^th year anniversary with a Tie & Dye theme at the GoDown Arts Centre, Nairobi (Sunday 9^th June 2019).

An ode to the legacy of the fashion fad prevalent with the rise of counterculture of the 60s and 70s, the theme captures the spirit of the event’s humble ascent from its modest backyard market days, to reshaping Kenya’s creative art and fashion scene through its curatorial showcase.

The afternoon long market will be an immersive fashion experience striving to foster opportunities and possibilities within the Kenyan creative ecosystem.

The artist line up this year reflects a blend of sounds, starkly distinct but all denoting the market’s consistent focus on featuring innovative, progressive, and up and coming artistes.

British rapper-singer IAMDDB—the “Shade” hitmaker with a fierce blend of soulful hip hop, pounding trap and swirling urban jazz, will headline alongside an eclectic Kenyan lot including soulful R&B singer Karun, the Lianne Le Havas-esque vocal stunner Wanja Wohoro, to mood-setting DJs: Mix Master Lenny, TAIO and Shishi.

Coinciding with the 4^th year milestone will be an all curated Thrift Store and a Vitimbi fashion installation by one of the founders of Thrift Social - Oliver Asike.

Vitimbi is his first fashion brand that draws a lot of inspiration from the city’s street culture, government, middle class and low-income communities.

The stylist-cum-designer will through his Vitimbi installation introduce his fashion venture set to reimagine Kenya’s apparel scene to Thrifters onboard. 

His unique approach upcycles second hand clothing and recycled fabrics to make new garments.

The underlying vision is to transform Vitimbi into Africa’s first slow fashion streetwear brand through the continent’s long held narrative of sustainability.

About Thrift Social

Thrift Social event series was founded in 2015 by brother and sister combo cum style entrepreneurs, Oliver Asike and Velma Rossa as a platform for the exploration of fashion, visual art and music in a bid to inspire innovation in Kenya’s vibrant and multi–faceted creative industry.

The market invites fashion and style enthusiasts to shop from a curated selection of the city’s cutting edge vendors, attracting a plethora of creatives from fashion enterprises, designers, photographers, stylists, models, art directors and other fashion actors in the Kenyan fashion ecosystem.

2Manysiblings is a brother and sister team curating transitional African narratives.

The duo launched their Tumblr platform in 2013 (and subsequently to IG) that has seen their horizons grow from sharing their looks online to acting as muses for local photographers to now becoming the voice of Kenya’s youth. 

In 2016 they participated in the Yale’s Africa Salon and co-hosted a party with Everyday People. Oliver Asike has styled a host of top Kenyan artists including Sauti Sol, Fena and Elani while Velma has had stints working with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, Karen Walker and AFI fashion weeks.

The duo also toured the city with legendary American Hip Hop heavyweight Yasiin Bey during his maiden Nairobi visit.

IAMDDB is a UK rapper and singer from Manchester. Her music is a blend of soulful hip-hop, pounding trap and swirling urban jazz.

With over 20 Million streams on Spotify, she has sold out concerts and headlined tours across the UK and Europe and just recently supported Lauryn Hill on her European tour. A nominee for BBC’s Sound of 2018, her music video for “Shade” has so far garnered over 24 Million views on YouTube.

In 2018, IAMDDB starred in the new Tommy Hilfiger 90’s inspired jeans campaign.

Did you hear about the BIGGEST, BADDEST, FASTEST PSG LAN party in East Africa? Well we are here to tell you all about it.

The Junction Mall was the place to be on the 11^th and 12^th of May 2019. Gamers from all walks of life streamed in from midday into gamer heaven.

The rules were simple; bring your own computer or console and screen and enjoy 24hours of crazy speeds. In this case 1Gbps.

Please note at home you get about 20Mbps. We are talking 1000Mbps! Yes, you could have downloaded a 3GB movie in 3 seconds! Ok, enough technicalities.  Let’s get in it.

Gamer or not, there was a place for everyone! Young and young at heart, this was the place to be. From CHEZA, bringing in a showcase which included FIFA ’19 that people went gaga over.

To Game Changer giving us a taste of the latest Mortal Kombat which we still can’t stop buzzing about and we cannot wait to get our hands on it! Products from Logitech also featured in the Game Changer stand.

Masoko by Safaricom showed us what to get our mothers just at the touch of our fingers and NRG. Boy, NRG had us all dancing to their tune from their new NRG Play app. Have you downloaded it? But, the show stopper had to be DELL technologies! Alienware machines had everyone wishing they had a gaming PC at home. These gaming laptops cannot be described by words! Action is best!

With about a hundred gamers ready for the madness ahead, the mini tournaments were the perfect way to see who put in the time and who was a noob. Fornite being a popular game amongst gamers, we started off with a Fornite mini tournament.

We saw eighteen participants and of three rounds, one winner emerged. BlvckSpiderman. Don’t let the name fool you, at only 20 years old, this guy had the moves and was hard to beat…With bragging rights and goodies in his bag, BlvckSpiderman challenged PSG to host a purely Fortnite tournament. (Side note: Do you think Fortnite is a tournament PSG should host?) One thing that BlvckSpiderman should note is that there are a lot of young gamers who are eyeing his thrown. Till next time BlvckSpiderman!

The next tournament to go down was the Call of Duty – Black Ops 4. This one was hosted by Triadsyndicate. Having had to put his team together at the very last minute, the battle was on. At the end of the war, Triadsyndicate, Gatman, MysticAlpha, Timmon and SlicethEE came out unscathed. What a team! It was like watching Simon Cowell put together 1D for them to win the Grammy’s. Ok, maybe not but it was absolutely exciting! Congratulations to Triadsyndicate and team, you made us proud!

Here is where we took a little break for the gamers to refresh themselves!

We were back with the Master Builds. This was a competition held for those that build their own rigs! We saw three entries. Curious to know what they look like, follow us on our social media page @proseriesgaming. 

The League of Legends community was not left behind, with Ainzooalgown championing this tournament. What was amazing was the fact that Ainzooalgown got the international community involved. This saw several teams join in and participate in this very exciting 5v5 tournament.

After two intense hours of invasion, Ainzooalgown, Upendope, Dspartan, Hybrid and Highlandergtx took the bragging rights home! A great effort by our Kenyan team and special shout out to SMF Ainzooalgown for getting the international teams on-board. The final tournament was Rainbow Six Seige! This was held by Simba Ultimate’s MoJay.

This tactical game saw MysticAlpha, Fazar7, SlicethEE, Triadsydicate and Allmur walk out victorious! Not only with goodies but also bragging rights! All the winners of the day were awarded courtesy of DELL Technologies, Game Changer, Masoko and PSG!

Oh, I almost forgot there was challenge from CHEZA to PSG! With 1000KSH on the line, Dennis from PSG accepted this and was ready to wipe the floor with CHEZA’s Maina. The game to play: Mortal Kombat 11. After one round, Maina was ready to call it quits.

I bet you can guess what happened right? No? Well Dennis won the game. Maina could not take the ‘L’ so he challenged PSG again ‘Double or nothing’. GAMERS NEVER BACK DOWN FROM A CHALLENGE! So to see who won, follow us on our social media pages @proseriesgaming.

All in all, this was an awesome event. We would like to thank all our sponsors and partners for helping make this a reality. Until the next one, keep practising, keep gaming and #justgame!

Mombasa Based Bandari football club has retained the second position on the Sportpesa premier league table following their barren draw in their last home match this season against Sofapaka FC. 

The dockers will be travelling to Bungoma tonight where they will play the last premier league match away to Nzoia Sugar on Wednesday before the Sportpesa Shield Final against Kariobangi Sharks on June 1 at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani.

Sofapaka are currently in the third position with Gor Majia being in the first position.

"We were at least looking for a draw in today's match, to retain the second position" said Banadri Fc head coach Bernard Mwalala

Adding "I will be giving a chance to those players who have not played so far in the game against Nzoia Sugar on Wednesday as we prepare the first squad for the finals next weekend"