Sounds of Africa: Just A Band

So here is the main thing you need to know about the Kenyan band Just A Band: they make great music. It's really just that simple!

Despite this easy message, let me tell you about a few (good) distractions that you might find as you explore more about this band over these internet waves:

a) for their video Ha-He, they did a low-budget video featuring a Shaft/Chuck Norris/ kung fu fighting superhero called Makmende....think Clint Eastwood's famous line "Make my day" given a cocktail shake by Kenyans in the 1990s to describe a bully and now resurrected by Just A Band for superheroic purposes. Makmende has even taken on a entire life of his very own complete with website and Facebook followers and continues to grow by the second;

b) the unleashing of Makmende caused a "viral sensation" throughout Kenya which means literally thousands of Kenyans joining in on the jokes about this superhero and basically catapulted the group unto major media networks including WSJ, CNN, and more.

But like I said in the beginning, you can't let all of this bamboozle you....the real treasure lies in the music of Just A Band. Part mixture of house, dance, electronic, funk and more, their sound is nevertheless unique. Just as the BLK JKS went against the mainstream sounds in their country, one would not initially expect to hear such music being written and produced by young Kenyans. Yet I beg to question - why the heck NOT?!? The fact that they have taken inspirations from these other genres and made it completely their own is what makes the band stand out against the grain.

Rather than going with the ever-so-popular Ha-He video, I want you to enjoy Usinibore which is another track off their album 82 (available on iTunes). I've been listening to this forever and I still can't get enough!

My main question is when are they coming to DC?!?!

{Photo: Just A Band}