Sauti Sol: State House ‘stole’ Studio Mashinani idea from us
Sauti Sol band member, Bien Aime Baraza, has accused the government of stealing the group’s idea and implementing it a year later with a Jamaican artistes Richie Spice, Luciana and Etana.
Dubbed Studio Mashinani, Mr Baraza said the idea was presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta who instructed them to give the proposal to the then Youth Fund chairman Bruce Odhiambo.
“It was an extensive project involving music studios, community radio, ICT centers and libraries with the spirit of community service,” Mr Baraza wrote on Instagram.
The music group members then teamed up with producer Cedric Kadenyi and youth representative Raphael Obonyo.
“We teamed up with Raphael Obonyo @raph_obonyo Cedric Kadenyi tighten the whole proposal with budgets and standard operating systems for the project. The Proposal was sent to the relevant parties,” wrote Mr Baraza.
PROJECT LAUNCH
The project was launched on Friday by Ministry of Information and Technology CS Joe Mucheru at KBC Komarock Studios off Kangundo Road in Machakos County.
Sauti Sol was not present during the launch despite other local artistes, among them Nameless, Nazizi and H_Art the Band, being present.
The program includes studio based interviews, field recordings, live links to facts, youth news and music to entertain the youth.
The studios are also set to record quality music leveraging on creative talents of youth and provide distribution channels.
In his speech, the CS said that the government would work to make sure that the program, which is currently invested in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Machakos, is available in all counties across the country.