This is my poem Justice as performed at Poetry Slam Africa. Enjoy. And please, subscribe to my channel
Tag Archives: spoken word kenya
Nakedness Sn1
My nakedness hangs, throbs and oscillates freely like a bob on a pendulum. My nakedness is oblivious of what you think about it. My nakedness hates darkness but every time it peeps on the outside it’s met by critical eyes and standards that limit how far it can ever stretch. My nakedness goads me in the insides scratching my body, soul and spirit for any viable points of exit. My nakedness is a slave to my constant pursuit of perfection.
My nakedness is no longer willing to remain in my shadow. So today I called my ‘I Threes” to debate on whether to unlock the chains and let my nakedness free as it used to be before I became mindful of what friends and foes will say if they could see the bit I’ve always kept in the shadows.
My body thinks being maskless reveals too much. It says your flaws are to be hidden, your scars are a painful reminder of all the hurt you’ve been through and these thoughts will drag you back into the mess you were before. Ooh look at your thighs, can’t you see the stretchmarks? You want them to see how bogus you were? You want to lose all this beauty just because your nakedness has been threatening you? Ahh don’t be stupid, strangle it, break it into pieces and let it rot in the pit of your stomach. It doesn’t deserve a chance?
A Friend of Speed || Spoken Word Video
They lied to us
They said education is the key
What they never said is that corruption is the lock,
Corruption na education ni vitu incompatible
ni kama kujaribu kufungua kifuli ya solex na kifungu ya tri cycle
no wonder the common man is ever in his vicious cycle,
rat race hiyo ni mbio bila finish line how can you ever win such a race?
Kenya imekuwa ni kama shamba la wanyama where all animals are equal but some are more equal than others when it comes to sharing of national cake do we ever get our fair share? Of course no. we only get much more than our fair share when it comes to police brutality. They fire us with teargas to instill fear in us, if that fails they gang up against us with live bullets crippling, maiming and killing innocent lives but does this ever get any attention?
They lied to us when they told us that Kenya is a democratic state
when self imposed rulers rule over liberal minded citizens
and I wonder if this is what our forefathers fought for in the name of democracy or just tyranny in disguise..
Corruption na public offices zimekuwa vitu complementary
ni kama coffin na cemetery
ni kama kiwi na viatu
imezidi kufilisi mifuko ya watu
yet tuko na anti corruption yenye imekuwa useless ni kama toothless carnivora.
The society we value so much has lied to us in many ways
See our churches are awash with rogue pastors who preach charity yet they own private jets, they preach chastity yet they keep 100 concubines.
They preach prosperity: give and you will be given but is that always the case? They even sell prophecies all you got to do is panda mbegu kwa nambari on the screen and all your needs are met but is that always the truth? As you wait for your prophecies to come true they are smiling to the bank investing in your ignorance changing vehicles every year as you continue to languish in poverty.
They endorse fidelity in marriages yet they eat the flock, didn’t you hear of a pastor found dead in a woman’s bedroom? I don’t know much but I know for sure they were not reading scriptures in there.
It was said how important marriage is yet our streets are awash with sophisticated ladies who don’t care about marriage inheriting independence from our colonizer’s minds.
I am just so sick of this society where our young daughters are losing their virginity long before they know its spelling.
Our parents lied to us, our teachers and our leaders have done the same but I want to tell you one truth: You cannot feature in a future you haven’t pictured. For you to feature into the future you need to picture the future because the history of the future lies in the mystery of the scriptures, so read the scripture for there lies your future.
The Mark of Seal You Leave Therein
The biggest problem isn’t finding the path to my heart but rather the mark of seal you leave therein
Poetry Got Me Here
Africa U Night Hailed
My keyboard is an epitome of aridity. With all the consonants I still can’t make up words right enough to describe what I have in mind. And my mind is still not able to fully perceive what the maker of this lovely planet unfolded before my eyes today. How am I going tell this story? Simple, I am going to close my eyes and scribble anything related to this event on a page in any language that my tongue can roll to. That said. Where do I begin?
Africa U Night, the event that had trended (maybe is still trending) on twitter since the week began was finally here. Mavuno church was the destination and if you had never set a foot there like me there was an option-you could miss lunch and begin your search for the venue much earlier lest you miss some of the performances. To be honest, events will come and go but Africa U Night will still remain as a reminiscence of what good poetry is all about. For the first time I saw poetry escape the lips of the talented poets, hover in the room and finally encaving us in some sort of a dome filled with euphoria and bitterness. The event presented by the ARTEAST HUB had much more than just poetry. I tell you the poets deserved the tittle not as common these days when anybody who can create simple rhymes like Embrace and Empress call themselves poets. They had content and nobody had to be told to listen- the words themselves were powerful enough to arrest the attention of the audience and journey with them in that poetic adventure. There was also music. I still can’t compare the vocals of PHY to any other artist. She is the Kenyan Version of Emeli Sande.
Fast forward, the first performer was Le chatelier and it seemed the price of disappointing the audience was too high for him to afford. His comprehension of the Queens language was exemplary. His piece was short and very informative. The MC Poeta equaled the task shooting his sick punch lines in the name of Kujichocha. You just had to pendaa his stuff.
Vanessa Ombura took the stage and froze the audience to a pin drop silence. The words strictly lined with the theme left the audience screaming at the end of the performance. Poeta had to beg the audience to stop screaming such crazy chants like Thitima! Thitima! And allow the next poet to take stage.
L7 Empire is a cohort of Murderers-they killed it
Comprising of four artists: Virusi Mbaya, Cilabies Mgonjwa, Muarab and chief Kaddif, L7 Empire is taking Kenya by storm. Their lyrical prowess is out of this planet added to their sound content and mastery of their pieces-you get a free ticket to wonderland and they are not bragging about it!
They performed two pieces mheshimiwa usinigei doo that spoke of all the ills that we Kenyans are subjected to by the so called waheshimiwa. The other piece: bila madeni mafan wanatudai that spoke of the contributions of artists in fighting the societal ills. L7 empire will continue to rule because of one thing, they speak of the problems we encounter everyday not only in Kenya but in Africa. Their choice of words is excellent they use words so weighty!
The only prince in the ghetto, Ronny proved he is no longer a poet but a prophet. He prophesied that soon Obesity will also be a disease in Turkana. He also echoed the cries of the real Kenyan heroes felled by political bullets: TJ Mboya, Pio pinto, Robert Ouko and JM Kariuki. He prophesied that soon the hunger of these fallen heroes will be over as they will be served justice. Where do people get such creativity? Maybe only prophets like Ronny Prince are able to create such powerful words out of carcass of fallen heroes.
Shanky Abbs and Shikz proved they are not merely pretty but are pretty creative. Forget about the serenity in their dressing that depicted true African women. Their performances took us to a soul hunting mode. You only realize you didn’t carry your hunkies after such a performance. Tears rained and reigned.
The event was one of its like, an event worth every cent and second spent. Even after spending part of my time reporting about this event I still believe I should apologize to all the artists who performed everybody who attended this event and the Arteast Hub for failing to find the appropriate words to tell all about this event. In short the artists frankly lit the room with words. Set it ablaze.
Finally today being siku ya mashujaa I celebrate the following poets as my heroes:
L7 Empire Crew, Shanky Abbz, Ronny Prince, Le Chatelier, Vanessa, Poeta, Femi, Shikz, Vince, Murathe, Kennet B and many more. I celebrate you as my heroes because you have been the light of this society, always rebuking the wrongdoings of our leaders without fear while embracing the efforts made by fellow citizens to rebrand Kenya. May you live long to inspire the next generations.
Sliver of Darkness 