One of the biggest Kenyan music groups in the country, the Matata quintet is quite a household name with a string of hits under their belt.
Freddy Milanya and Richie Mathu, 2/5 of the band, recently sat down for a candid chitchat with The Sauce and revealed quite a handful of information.
Richie is the naming genius
When asked who in the group coined their ‘Matata’ stage name, the members revealed that it was actually Richie Mathu who actually devised it, after they had gone back and forth trying out different names trying to see which one fit the most. Some interesting name suggestions that had been tabled include Vaa KiAfrika, Mamba Afrika and Fly the Afro. Further, Freddy is the group known latecomer while Marcus is the early bird!
Higher Education Prompted Their Going To Norway
All members incidentally found themselves in Norway; they had moved to pursue an education before meeting. Richie once learnt that Freddy was in Oslo and contacted him and asked to meet him. Ken and Festus had secured sponsorship at a dance school. one thing led to another and they all met up.
Collaboration With Mejja/Album Underway
They have major upcoming projects; a collaboration with Mejja and an upcoming album, Matata 2.0. While they chose to remain albeit coy about what is to be expected in the album, they assure it is going to be revolutionary!
Copyright Infringement Strikes Buoyed Them To Record Their Own Music
Starting out dancing to other artistes’ music and uploading the videos on YouTube, the chaps would often get disheartened when the videos would get pulled down owing to copyright. This buoyed them to want to record their own music, and the rest is history!
They Have an Upcoming Tour – Their First Ever Kenyan Tour!
Would you believe that they have never toured the country for performances? Turns out so. To that end, they have an undated Kenyan music tour that they divulge will be next-level!
Desire To Infuse Vernacular Languages In Their Music, Kenyan Representation
Remember when STL dropped an entire Kikuyu verse on Matata’s upbeat song, Achuu? That was their ode to their Kenyan roots, something they promise they will continue to do, in their quest to fly the Kenyan flag high and represent their motherland.
Matata is comprised of five members: Freddy Milanya, Richie Mathu, Ken Kimathi, Marcus Ojiambo and Festus Kwenda. Known to be part and parcel of the mixing and mastering processes of their own music in collaboration with Kenyan producers, they have been on a rapid meteoric rise with a string of smash hits among them Mare Mare and Gengetone Love.
