stoneface priest

 East africa among other regions of the world, boast a wide reggae fan base.
 stoneface priest is one of the most respected roots reggae artist in kenya

stoneface priest Born charles Adams Majau, is one of the most respected roots reggae artist in kenya. he was born on 29th of march in the meru region of kenya. When he was young pursuing his primary educationin the 80s, he used to enjoy reggae music brough home by his elder brothers and sisters. It is music by the likes of King Yellowman, Bob marley, Alpha Blondy and UB 40 that built piest fari's reggae music foundation back in the day. During the early 90s, stoneface priest started tuning in to the countries premier reggae show, "reggae time" by the premier kenyan reggae presenter jeff Mwangemi in the Kenya's premmier radio station KBC.

In 1992 with the inspiration of Don carlos, stoneface priest composed his very first song, at a very tender age. Being a rural dweller with no studios or any other kind of platform to show case his talent, it was dificult to acces a musical instrument , leave alone a record deal. Most of his first compositions remain unproduced up to date.

stoneface priest continued composing tunes through his high school education period. After high School, he managed to come up with a cheap demo tape which he hoped would earn him a record deal in the local studios. he also managed to find his way to the thank's to his elder brother who already lived in Nairobi city. After making rounds in the few studios available back then, stoneface priest realised that his would not be an easy road. No producer was willing to risk taking in "poor unknown kids" in their production houses.

stoneface priest then joined The Kenya Utalii College in 1999 to pursue a course in the hotel industry, having post phoned his musical dream. Regaae music however remained in his blood stream. Artists like don carlos, israel vibration, the mighty culture and burning spear, remained his favourites. He could reggae sessions in the city hosted by the many reggae sound systems in kenya, including Shashamane international, king lion sounds, jahmbo sounds and later, black supremacy international.

After completing his college education, and managing to acquire a job in a Nairobi Five star hotel stoneface priest could afford to record his debut single "Lonely", At the Wilnag studios, With the engineer being the General onyx. Afetr one more track in the stable He moved on to Vineyard records , Where he completed his first album "Warrior" under the guidance of Dr Edu.

  songs from his first album WARRIOR have received massive airplay in the kenyan and East african media. The album boasts some popular tracks including, "stand back", "thank you","prowl" and "hammer of justice".

album details
album release -2007
label - vineyard records
composer - stoneface priest
singer - stoneface priest
executive producer- doctor edu

       
 songs from the yet to be released second album PRESSURE include "hard time abroad", "nice girl", "jammin'" etc

CLICK HERE to listen or download the tracks

HARD TIME ABROAD

NICE GIRL

 JAMMIN' (NO FIGHT)

NATION CRY

LORD MY GOD

MAISHA

Reggae first appeared in Kenya with the great Bob Marley, broadcast over the BBC’s Kenya branch, KBC Radio. There has always been protest music in Kenya. Even ancient tribal music took on veiled anti-colonial overtones during the British occupation. But reggae was far more overt. These guys were speaking in English about tearing down the system, overcoming oppression, rising out of the slums, and smoking a hellacious amount of green along the way.
The music and message were revelatory. Many of the early Rastas, now in their late 30s and 40s, have reggae “awakening” stories bordering on the verge of biblical. Don Carlos, Lucky Dube, Burning Spear, and the great Bob himself seemed to be speaking directly to the people of Kenya’s slums, telling them to keep hope, smoke dope, and chant down Babylon system.
Naturally, Kenya’s repressive Moi regime wasn’t too happy about the kids growing their hair out and attacking the government and its “crazy baldheads” (Which sounds a lot like the US in the 60s). But the Rastas continued on, making music and putting on underground shows in the face of jail time, beatings, and social stigma.

These days, things have calmed down. The government is much more tolerant and the people have embraced the sound and message. Reggae has become the music of the slums; you hear it everywhere. Still, the Rastas’ (admittedly vague) mission hasn’t been fulfilled. Today they pack clubs until the morning hours and make protest songs about everything from government corruption to tribal prejudice to the need to plant more trees — and not the smokeable kind.

And while reggae is still potent and powerful music throughout Kenya, the youngest generation has largely replaced Bob with Biggie. It seems like rap is taking over much of the work (and criticism) reggae shouldered in the 80s and 90s. It’s popular but the offensive, explicit nature means not everyone can get behind it. But the young kids speak about it like the older rastas speak about reggae. “When we heard Nas and Tupac rapping about slums in Queens and LA, we thought they could be talking about Kisumu or Nairobi,” the Kenyan rapper LaFam once told me.

an excerpt from "Deep inside Kenya’s underground reggae scene" by Cyrus Moussavi