EVENTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

KENYAN EVENTS

 Holi Festival of Color
This is one rare event that is scheduled to happen in Nairobi for the first time. It is one event that you should not miss especially if you are a fan of electronic music. The specific date is not yet issued out but it is scheduled to happen in the Autumn of year 2014. This is the biggest International Kenyan event targeting over 10,000 fans.

 The Rift Valley Marathon

An unforgetable experience awaits you in the magical great Rift Valley. This wonderful event will be held on March 15th 2014. The whole marathon has a registration fee for the marathon and also a tour fee. It is open to all ages.

Elephant hill Aberdares Hike

This is a hike that will take place the 1st of March 2014. Tickets gofor 2,500 for Kenyan citizens and 3,500 kshs for none citizens. Departure is from Braeburn School at 5.45 am. The event will take place at the Aberdares.
 

Guy J Pool Party

(Hosted by Tribe Hotel and Be Distinctive)

This will be a pool party like no other. With 250 tickets to be sold, this is one event to watch out for this year. The minimum age requirement will be 21 years. The event will take place on Saturday, the 8th of March 2014. The event will start at 3 pm up to 12 midnight at the Tribe Hotel.

WORLD WIDE EVENTS

Tomorrowland 2014

Incredible decorations and ten metre tulips tower over the world's biggest DJ's playing to the world's best crowd.Tomorrowland has expanded to one of the largest dance festivals in Europe, with over 180,000 making the trip to the land of wonder in Belgium. Fifteen stages cover all genres of dance music, including a frankly incredible main stage set-up.

It's easy to see why Tomorrowland is the festival on everyone's lips, and why tickets sell out in minutes after going on sale.Tomorrowland 2014 will be held over 2 consecutive weekends, giving twice the number of people the chance to attend.

ART OF PAINTING

WHAT IS PAINTING?

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or the medium to a surface. Different types of paint are usually identified by the medium that the medium that the pigment is suspended or embedded in, which determines the general working characteristics of the paint.

Painting is done using different medium such as Pastel, Watercolor, Ink , Hot wax, Gouache, Spray paint, water color, Enamel, Fresco, Tempera and many others.


Leornado Da Vinci

He was born in April 15th 1452 in present day Italy. Leonardo was and is renowned primarily as a painter. He is well known for the Mona Lisa painting, the Last Supper, the Vitruvian man and the Lady with an Ermine.
The Mona Lisa is the most most famous portrait and the Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time.

Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni)

He was born on March 6th 1475. He was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer who had an influence on the development of Western art.

Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the sistine Chapel which took approximately four years to complete. Shortly before his death, the Pope Clement VII appointed Michelangelo to paint a fresco of the Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.
 

Vanished Kenyan oil paintings

Mr Wadu is a Kenyan based painterwhose work recently sold for more than one million shillings. He has  recently experienced a so called "crime of the west" This is after his paintings disappeared under unknown circumstances  when they were being transferred from tOsei Kofi's store in village market to his home in Naivasha. Osei Kofi who is of Ghananian origin  and the  director of Nairobi's Gallery Watatu was then in Geneva, Switzerland when all these happened. Disappearance of the paintings could be a sign of the growing interest in Kenyan contemporary art.
A Kenyan auction held on November 2013  organized by the Circle Art Agency made a record shilings18.5 million in sales.

HIP HOP AND ITS TRANSFORMATION

DEFINITION OF HIP-HOP

Many people cannot describe what Hip hop is and if they do their definition is wrong. Hip Hop is a broad conglomerate of different artistic forms that are: rap music(oral) turntablism or DJing, breaking and b-boy which is the physical part of hiphop, and graffiti art which is the visual part.

It originated in the South Bronx and Harlem in New York City among black and Latino youth during the 1970's. Hip Hop associates the music to the poverty and violence going on in their environment. Hip hop therefore functioned as a source of providing a reactionary outlet from these hardships.

This term is frequently used mistakenly to refer to the mere practice of rap music. It is more of a lifestyle.

Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx and sensing that gang members often violent urgescold be turned tocreative ones, Afrika Bambaataa found the Zulu nation  which was a loose confederation of street dance crews, graffiti artists and rap musicians. The culture gained media attention with influential figures such as Dj Cool Herc coming up.By 1985, youth worldwide had embraced the culture.

NEW SCHOOL HIPHOP MUSIC

The new school of hip hop originated in 1983  to 1984 withe arly records of Run-D.M.C and LL Cool J. It contrasted with the old school due to its characteristics like drum machines and some rock fusion unlike the funk and disco outfits and live bands.






The music was shorter and could easily gain radio play. By 1986,it went mainstream with the Beastie Boys' album becoming the first to hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

Over time, hip hop music led to rivalry between two sides of the United States of America that is the East coast and West coast.This led to the deaths of two hip hop legends Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smallz.

Hip hop has since evolved with minimal gang wars since it is done commercially and truth be, it sells and many people make money out of hip hop rap music.

                                                        KENYAN HIP HOP
Kenyan hip hop was also not left behind with one of the earliest hip hop artist, Jimmy Gathu releasing a track in 1991, a song dealing with road safety. The first commercial hiphop hit came in 1996 by Harstone, a song called Uhiki produced by Tedd Josiah. Other popular pioneers are Kalamashaka, Poxi Presha, Gidi Gidi Maji Maji, Necessary noize, Redsan, Nameless,Wawesh, The late Esir and many others up to now.

 

TRANCE,EDM, HOUSE MUSIC whats the difference?

ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC.

EDM is a set of percussive electronic music genres produced for dance based entertainment environments such as nightclubs. It is largely created for use by DJ,s where the DJ progresses from one record to the next via mix. 

TRANCE.
Trance as a genre of electronic dance music developed in the 1990's in Germany. It is a genre on itself with other styles of electronic music such as techno, house, pop, chill-out and classical music. A trance is a state of hypnotism and lessened consciousness. A common characteristic is the use of vocals often sung by a female voice ranging from mezzo-soprano to soprano sometimes without verse/chorus structure.

HOUSE MUSIC. 

House is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It later infused in mainstream pop and dance music world wide. House is influenced by elements of soul and funk infused varieties of disco.








 It mimics disco percussions especially the use of prominent bass, funk and reverb or delay enhanced vocals. Has vocals on its chorus and verse. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOUSE, EDM AND TRANCE

Many people really don't know the difference between Trance, EDM and House Music. I once was in the same situation but with research and a lot of listening, I now know the difference.

Truth be told, there is a big difference between Trance, Electronic Dance Music and House music. Trance is a form of electronic music but it has a lot of loop layers and melodies. House music on the other side is made up of simple but bumping beat with a usually catchy melody and vocals as well.


TOP TEN EARNING DJs OF 2013
1. CALVIN HARRIS - $ 46 million
2. TIESTO - $ 32 million
3. DAVID GUETTA - $ 30 million
4. SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA - $ 25 million
5. DEADMAU5 - $ 21 million
6. AVICII - $ 20 million $
7. AFROJACK - $ 18 million 
8. ARMIN VAN BUUREN - $ 17 million
9. SKRILLEX - $ 16 million
10.KASKADE - $ 16 million



Funny enough the top ten DJs are all EDM, House and Trance DJs.

STREET GRAFFITI

Graffiti is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched or sprayed illicitly on a wall or a surface on a public place.  Graffiti is well-known for being provocative, appealing, bold and uncompromising.  On the left is a Kenyan graffiti showing opinion on political issues.     

Graffitis have become a rich medium for unrestricted expression of ideas and statements. Gangs use their own form of graffiti to mark territories or to show gang related activities. Along with the commercial growth has come the rise of video games also depicting graffiti but usually in a positive way. 

                     

In fact, creative designers and artists across the globe use this form of art to deliver their message and showcase their work. Rather than being seen as an outlet for self-indulgent self expression, street art is now being seen by many as a medium for raising awareness and communicating a message. 

  Graffiti may express underlying social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles. graffiti has evolved alongside hip-hop music, b-boy and other elements. 

  Once an activity that was illegal and gang related, street graffiti has come to be appreciated globally as an art and a form of communication. Here is a form of a road graffiti which creates an illusion of another whole world underground.

Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials, law enforcement and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations.There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art from whose value is highly contested by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.