Ethic, the unlikely making of a millennial superstar music group
It was on May 31, 2018 when Ethic Entertainment burst onto the music scene and changed the game.
Many people accused them of lacking content, of infecting the youth with evil thoughts as a result of their suggestive lyrics and finally being one-hit wonders.
Upon seeing their success, club promoter Teleh Mani decided to manage them and helped them collaborate with industry heavyweights Madtraxx and Mejja to give us ‘Position.’
They have never looked back; it has been hit after hit since, even after their bitter fall out with the manager (we are currently unsure of the status of the relationship).
What the haters seem to conveniently ignore is that these boys have created a whole new genre of Kenyan music – Gengetone. The mainstream media won’t play their music and videos because of its explicit nature? No problem!
Their fans will twerk to it on the dancefloor and rack up their views to a million and beyond in a short period.
DREAM OF
Something that many musicians in the country can only dream of.
Okay, so their music is not as exportable as some of our other artists, still they do not care.
They are not making music for the whole of Africa, they are making music for those friends and friends of friends who happened to show up during their first video shoot – which I believe was shot on a mobile phone.
Their talent and undeniable influence has been recognized by international label, Universal Music Group through their local subsidiary AI Records.
This partnership (because that is exactly what it is!) will only propel their influence even further.
With an international industry powerhouse behind them, they have given us ‘Figa’ which is their biggest hit yet.
IN ANTICIPATION
There are no words to describe the pandemonium effect the song has had but we will try.
Upon the release of the mere video teasers the group was trending in anticipation.
The video was directed by one of Kenya’s most renowned directors Vjone resulting in it already surpassing one million views within a few weeks of it being made public.
Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja, in a recent interview on Radio Citizen, threw his support behind the boys saying: “These young guys were about to fall into crime if you know their story very well, but today they are earning a living so young people should follow their example.”
Which is another way to look at it. And they have with similar groups the Ochungulo Family, Rico Gang, Boondocks Gang and the many young men who are behind the hit “Wamblembez” following in their footsteps.
It is irrefutable that these are only the early days of Gengetone and we need not ignore them.