The Real Charm of a Hip-Hop Star – Part 1

The past month was a great month. My best month is actually May (hello May babies!) but for once August took the cake. Why? Because for one, I took a long and much deserved break (5 weeks) from work to go and spend time with family and friends. I was bitten by the wanderlust bug and so I travelled quite a bit (Kisumu, Turkey, Dubai, Diani) and last but definitely not least, I went to the eagerly anticipated album launch of hip hop star Octopizzo

Yes, it was a great month.

But maybe I should start from a different point.

First selfie ever - a star was among us.

Like I always say, working with refugees has enabled me to meet a host of various personalities from different walks of life. When I first started working in the camp, I didn’t think that I would at one point interact with a hip hop star. The idea would have seemed extremely farfetched and ludicrous. What would a hip hop artist be doing in a refugee camp anyway? So it was a shocker when I first met Octopizzo in June 2014.

I didn’t really have any first impression of him – he was just another Kenyan artist. But I noticed that the people were very excited to see him – especially the kids and the youth. That left me bewildered. “How do they even know him?” I kept wondering to myself.

I couldn’t even name two of his songs if a gun was pointed to my head – I was that unaware of this artist and his music. I just knew that he was born and bred in Kibera slums – arguably the largest informal settlement in the world, having pushed Soweto out of that position a few years back.

Anyway, Octopizzo would go on to perform at World Refugee Day to a raucous applause. I was surprised – here was a Kenyan musician who was rapping in sheng (Swahili slang) and half of the audience in their thousands was singing along like they understood exactly what he was on about. I couldn’t make the connection. I was befuddled. Befuddlement doesn’t sit well with me – it puts me on edge and I have to figure out what’s going on ASAP if I am to function at all. So I asked around and what I found out made me understand what Archimedes must have felt centuries ago when he yelled “Eureka!” as he leaped out of the bathtub naked.

See, Octopizzo first came to the camp in 2013 through Filmaid International – an NGO that he was working with as a Youth Ambassador on some youth projects. He initially came to perform at an event where he interacted with refugees from various countries. The level of talent that he witnessed at that event and the personal accounts he heard would change his perspective on refugees forever.

“I was amazed by all the talent that I saw – there were rappers, singers, dancers, models. It was insane!” he would later say. “I never expected to find such a sea of talent in a refugee camp. I felt like I needed to do something as an artiste to help these young people who had the talent but lacked the resources and capacity to do more.”

I was amazed that he would take time off his crazy schedule and come up with a project for mentoring and training refugee youth to maximize on their potential. He would then partner with UNHCR to pilot this project in the camp. This led to my second interaction with him in early 2015. This time, I looked at him through different eyes. This time, he wasn’t just any other Kenyan artiste. He was a humanitarian, an advocate for the refugee cause and he was lending his voice (a very deep baritone if I may add) to the conversation on how refugees can contribute greatly to the countries that host them. He was out to quash the negative preconceived notions that existed about refugees.

Because I wanted to – no, I needed to understand how and why he wanted to do this, I asked him what his story was. As he took me through his life story, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about how well he articulated himself. He was passionate about what he was saying. He had a fire in his eye and a lot of conviction. I tell you, I was charmed. I was won over by how humble he actually was, contrary to popular belief. Here was a guy who could have been anywhere in the country or world for that matter, making his music and going on tours and making money off it. But here he was, in the vast desert reaches of Turkana, wanting to do his bit to elevate refugees to a level where they could be self-reliant.

“I identify that hunger in them,” he explained. “That same hunger is what inspired me to struggle hard and sweat my way out of the harsh conditions of the slum. If I wasn’t hungry enough, I would probably be a different person not contributing positively to my community.”

This was where his world and the refugees’ world coalesced. He may not have been forced to flee any conflict or run for his life, but he sure did know and understand what it meant to live a life that was faced daily with harsh conditions that could make a grown man cry. He understood the frustration and pain of having to deal with a seemingly hopeless situation where society has relegated you to the margins and you seem destined for failure and nothingness. He understood how negative perceptions could force one into the dark recesses of vice and crime just to eke a living. He understood because he was born and bred in that environment where he was seen as just another statistic. 

“Despite living in this environment of deep-rooted hopelessness and inadequacy, I found my saving grace through music. I am a living testament that it is possible to brave the harsh realities of life and rise above the odds to make it.” Octopizzo felt that he could use his story to inspire the youth to work hard to achieve their dreams.

The one thing that struck me was how easily he blended in with the youths. It didn’t matter that not all of them could speak his brand of sheng - they all tapped into what he said and they communicated. They came to him with their issues and he answered them as best as he could. Where he could provide no answer he would swivel around and yell out to me so that I could scurry over and deal with the questions. I soon came to realize that it was quite the adrenaline rush hanging out with him. Each of his almost quarterly visits would last about a week and they were the most intense, exciting and out of this world experiences.

Octo, as he casually refers to himself during a workshop session with his protégés at Kakuma Refugee Camp.

He would usually come with a photographer, a journalist or blogger and a music producer. He would hold intense workshops with over 150 youth and discussions would range from basic writing skills, song composition to how to market oneself on social media. He would admonish the bigheaded types who felt like stars and remind them that it took him 23 songs to finally get a hit.  “This is not a one day race! You cannot write a song today and expect to make it on radio and become a hit. It takes a lot of work and marketing. You have to learn all these and you need to work as a team as well.”

He never tired of reminding them about three key things – being humble, being a team player and being hungry. “Always stay hungry people - always stay hungry. That’s the only way you will be motivated to be the best.”

I took in everything he said with much fervor. I couldn’t believe how easily he relayed key messages. I was an immediate fan. I realized that this was not just another platform for a musician to make fans – no he was not even talking about himself! He was sincerely passionate about helping these young kids and he would even get frustrated sometimes as he realized the realities on the ground. To him, their situation reminded him of his. He was one of them. I now saw in true HD the real charismatic personality that he was.  Hook, line and sinker – the kids, including me were all reeled in.

I'm loving: Something For You - Octopizzo