The legenadary group Gidigidi Majimaji became more famous with their Unbwogable song that was very popular during the 2003 general election.
The hit that rent the airwaves, earned a recording deal with the South African label, Gallo Records before they both ventured into radio, with Gidi ending up in Radio Jambo while Maji got an opportunity in Ghetto Radio.
While speakingb to one of the daily papers they said, “The last time we were in stage was in 2005 when we performed at the Reggae in the River Festivals in California, USA, and after that we can’t say we have been very active on stage.”
Now a chance for them to perform again is here, On Saturday, at Kisumu ASK Showground they brought back their rejuvenated stage prowess with a lightning performance which left the audience demanding for more. After leaving some two decades ago to go conquer the world, they were back home where it all begun.
MC Jalang’o invited the duo on stage and the crowd erupted into ululations. Other that Ting Badi Malo and Unbwogable, they also performed Atoti and Oruu. The term ‘Unbwogable’, truncated from the Luo word ‘bwogo’ meaning ‘scare’, means ‘unshakable’, ‘unbeatable’ or ‘unstoppable’.
At the parked Showground, Gidi and Maji quickly blended well with the crowd with their TBT performance which took people back to the 1990s when they roared on to the music scene.
The mood had earlier been set by Nameless whose performance focused on his career debut songs such as Boomba Train, Salary, Furahi Day and Nina Noki.
And just like Gidi and Maji, Nameless exhibited energy and grasp of the lyrics of the songs he composed over a decade ago, keeping the crowd on their toes for close to the one hour he was on stage.
The other artistes who gave sterling performances that night were Musa Jakadala, Jah Bruno, Jua Cali, Willy Paul, Akothee, Mercy Masika and King Kaka and they were hosted by famed hype masters Jalang’o, MC Alemba, and Twaweza local talent winner – MC Peace Chris, with comedic interludes by Njugush.
Some of the most notable performances were; King Kaka- bringing the best of his Kaka Empire artistes, Timmy T Dat and Femi One, to be part of his set. Willy Paul made a grand entrance to the stage with a fleet of super bikes as his escort.
The concert was a culmination of a ten-day event by Safaricom in Western Kenya which saw a new branch office opened in Busia, and those in Kakamega and Bungoma towns renovated, a Blaze Summit, Skiza Tune Forum and medical camps.
The concert went on into the wee hours of dawn with performances by Kriss Darlin, DJ Joe Mfalme, DJ Deff and DJ Pscratch.
Having disappeared from the limelight, Gidigidi admitted that there had been uncertainties on how their performance would be received.
But to his surprise, they became darlings of the crowd, and by the time they bid the stage goodbye, the crowd was asking for more.
“This is a humbling experience. I have just realised that some of our fans came all the way from Nairobi to attend this concert and see us perform, and this is a challenge to us that we now have to get back to work and do more of such shows,” he said.
The Twaweza Live series now proceeds to Machakos.