Kenyan comedian Eric Omondi trended, rocked airwaves, and was arrested after protesting against certain ‘injustices’ in the entertainment industry. He demanded equal pay and treatment of Kenyan artists by promoters and corporates. He further demanded local TV and radio stations to play 75% of Kenyan songs rather than promoting songs and artistry from other countries, particularly Nigeria.
This stirred a buzz in the mainstream and social media as netizens and other people shared their sentiments on the same.
This particular article seeks to break down the efficacy of certain concerns he raised.
First and foremost, ever heard of the aphorism, a prophet is never accepted in their hometown?? The protest and concerns raised by the comedian speak truism to this saying. If I were to use an analogy, I would use the greener grass. Most of the time, we overlook our own grass and admire others’ because it seems greener. But really it seems greener because they water theirs.
We should thus be at the forefront as a people to cheer and support our own artists in various ways like:
Following them on various social media platforms like FB, IG, and Twitter
In furtherance, we could subscribe to their YouTube Channels and like their videos on the same platform
We could also turn up in large numbers when they organize events, karaokes, and festivals
Moreover, avoiding trolling them on social media is also a way of enhancing their mental wellbeing, as we have seen the negative effects trolling and cyberbullying have had on various artists like Jimmy Gait in the past.
However, artists should also push themselves to create music and art that could live beyond them and minimize all the charade of ‘kutafuta kiki’ or in other terms, chasing clout. Art has no hands, but it touches people but who will be touched if all art there is, is hypersexuality and all too erotic even for the Demons Macabbees and Succubus?
Moving past that, commenting that the Kenyan entertainment industry is boring was a bit far-fetched. As the very appearance of the word boring and entertainment in the same statement is an oxymoron, to say the least. The entertainment industry is not boring, it is growing. And we all know that growth might be messy, uncomfortable, and uncertain sometimes, but it is necessary.
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