Open Letter: “Is Calif Records A Career Killer?”

We received this missive earlier today from Naomi Kirenge who has this to say about Calif Records;

In the year 2004 I was in the University of Nairobi and the same year I got to know about the music genre Genge, a baby brought to life by Calif Records. Back them Clemo’s recording label was a big hit and also the Kenyan music industry saw the introduction of new talents likes of Nonini, Jua Cali, Lady S, Pili Pili, Choku, Flexx, Jimwat, and Ratatat. Basically the whole industry was being run by Calif Records. Years passed and as that happened the downfall knocked at label. The untimely death of the talented Lady S was a big loss not only to Calif but to us all Genge fans. Then came the 1st exodus, Nonini walked out, Pili pili followed, Calif angels joined in the move that was not all Flexx walked out too and due to frustrations went abroad. Why did all this happen? All the artists said the main reason was because Clemo’s concentration was centered around the money maker Jua Cali and that he used to delay all the other projects done by other artists.

Later around 2006 we saw the entry of Mejja a new kid in the block who is now a big name in the industry, around the same season Calif gave us Size 8, Raudy, Laety, Kendi, Allaholla ,Kanobyz, Alac and QTac.
Few years down the line they all walked out giving the same reasons the 1st group gave which was that again Clemo was only interested with JuaCali and Mejja since they were the studio’s money bags. That was the 2nd Exodus.

The 3rd Exdodus saw the studio loose a few of its upcoming Talents who have been with them since 2006, among them Si-So and Dj soja. I managed to get an interview with some of the artists Si-So, Qtac and Kendi who told me that they have always been seen as underdogs and their events being forwarded to the other bigger artists. “You will go perform and get paid more than 50k but end up getting 8 or 10k, is that fair?” Qtac asks. They also pointed out that since their departure Calif has only 3 artists namely Jua Cali, Mejja and AlaC. supporting his point Qtac pointed out that his departure was the right move because from the look of things not much has changed. “Jua Cali has a video out with wyre and Mejja with Madtraxx, is Jimwat and AlaC stii in Calif?” he asks.

I personally decided to check on what was happening with Alac and Jimwat and a reliable source informed me that the two are rarely spotted at the studio. Jimwat turned to be a drunkard and Alac now has turned to blogging.

One thing i will credit Calif on is when it comes to identifying new talent but my worry is why kill the baby after its birth?. What really happens in Calif Records?

There you have it. Do you agree with Naomi on this issue?