Kativui 2019 CD: Is it an Improvement on His Earlier Works?

After a 6-7 year hiatus, Kativui is back on the recording scene, with his 2019 CD. In the 6-7 years that little was heard of from Kativui in terms of recordings, he had concentrated on live performances -- with shows almost every weekend. Kativui has demonstrated the fact that he is a real ‘ka-star’ by staying put, for 6-7 years, without releasing a CD, yet his shows still attracted huge audiences. In fact, in the period, Kativui live performances were drawing bigger crowds than some of the Kamba artists who were releasing hits throughout.

The Kativui 2019 CD was received with mixed reactions from his fans. There are those who feel that the Kativui 2019 CD is an improvement on his earlier works. Then there are those who found it to be a bit underwhelming (but not quite as underwhelming as Kenya birth certificateonline application). There is consensus that Kativui has a great deal of ‘material’ in this 2019 Album, perhaps too much material. But as one lady posed when the Kativui 2019 CD was being played for the first time by Onesmus Mwengei on Musyi FM, one easily gets the feeling that Kativui has either turned into a poet – as there is more 'speaking' than 'singing' in the new album. I heard someone saying that Kativui has actually turned into a rapper, rather than a singer.

Yet Kativui’s transition, from singing to apparently rapping started much earlier. If you listen to his earlier works, especially Kativui volume 1 (Manzala) to Kativui volume 7, he was clearly singing, with poignant lyrics that have over time become part of the Kamba vocabulary. But from volume 9 (where he eulogizes Mbaika), he begun veering towards deeper logic and free-play with words, hence the question as to whether Kativui is evolving into a rapper. By the way, what is easier between rapping and singing? One could as well ask what is easier between paying a postpaid Kenya power bill and buying Kenya powertokens using the paybill number.

All said and done, there is no doubt that the Kativui 2019 work is decent, by all standards. He may be singing (or as it were, rapping) too fast for the average person to understand what he is saying. But as Master Mully of Musyi FM suggested, the solution for this may be in having someone write down Kativui lyrics for the rest of us to know what he is singing about. But then again, the people claiming that they don’t hear what Kativui is saying in his 2019 CD have come to love one of the songs in which he disses his old love, in favor of Ng’a-Mumbe, the new love. So clearly, the fans are still hearing what Kativui is saying in 2019, even if it is true that he is singing (or rapping?) too fast…