Camp Mulla - Have They Split?

SOURCE @BOSSUKULE 

 

Not so long ago, I was making calls with some of the entertainment industry's most important stakeholders. The topics we ran through could provide material for a novel. But the one topic that we broached that everyone seemed interested in was "25Flow" the term that is coined by Camp Mulla to
describe their refreshingly new take on Kenyan hiphop.

I  liked the song they did with Ghana's Manifest dubbed ALL IN. And now am about to talk about Kenyan hiphop as "25Flow" alone is testament to the impact these kids had on Kenyan music. Ask around, from Jo-burglary to Lasgidi, from Accra to Dar, Kenyan music through 25Flow had an immense impact. These young "captains of the cool kids" were Kenya's musical ambassadors to the Africa and indeed, to the world. These kids whom some pundits had dismissed as "bubblegum" hiphop artists scaled eights with their music that no one has since.
Aye, P-Unit won the CHOMVA Award but in fringe categories. And it was Camp Mulla that opened those doors.

That was where the adolation ends and I put paid to props. Joe Muchiri and Shaffie Were from this point then almost simultaneously asked why the group broke up. I reminded them that the lads and lass needed to further their education and just maybe, maybe after they are through with that, they'll be back. Shaffie challenged me to name one artist that left the Kenyan market and returned to be successful. I am still looking for an answer. Joe Muchiri was more blunt. He told me of a time he asked Thee MC Africa (formerly Taio Tripper) what the genius was behind the break-up.

Suffice to say, no answer was satisfactory nor will any ever be. But this is where I will do something I almost never do: empathize with people I care little for. Put yourself in Camp Mulla's shoes. You're 18 or 20 and you have to carry an entire generation, nay, an entire nation's expectations and aspirations. When you started off making music, you only dreamt that things would work out so -nary a thought went into what would be asked of you if your ambitions ever came to pass.
Then the impossible happened. You became a star not just in East Africa but West and South Africa.
You look around and there are no Kenyan veterans who have been in the position you find yourself. You're a maverick. A trailblazer.

<Kus Ma of camp Mulla>
So you see, there was no one who could give Camp Mulla practical, first hand advice. And naturally, the egoes surged and became blotted. The fights increased and so did the reports about their wild behaviour and shenanigans.
Lady Karun's (formerly Miss Karun) management -see mother- saw fit to get her away from the cycle we have seen play out with Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. That is a mother's prerogative. Maternal instinct.
Thee MC Africa went solo. I understand he is working on a new mixtape or album. Blessings to him. I do not see any of the lads and lass achieving more as solo acts than they did as a group. Maybe I am speaking as a jaded fan of the music who wants to see them reunite. But facts are on my side. Name the last mega hit they had since their break-up. I'll wait.
I hope they realize that they set a standard. They now have a legacy to build up. Camp Mulla are still the only Kenyan act invited to tour other countries such as Botswana so you see, they aren't out; they just haven't achieved at the level expected of them. I want to see them back at the altitudes they once soared at.
Camp Mulla is a true African Icon....