MAIN-SWITCH & EMPIRE SOUNDS ROCK M.K.U THIKA FRESHERS’ BASH

#254EVENTSMASHUP

SATURDAY 22^ND MARCH, 2014.

Mount Kenya University Student Association (MKUSA) IN CONJUCTION WITH Main Switch and Empire sounds; treated Thika campus to an amazing Fresher’s party this past Saturday.

The event featured performances by in house talent of the students; high priest ZJ Heno; hype man Mc Teargas, Vivian, Mustapha, Reggae guru Freeman and Gospel rapper Eko Dydda.

The event saw a great attendance and turnout of students as early as 11 am. From dance crews, to musical performances and dance battles; the event had its share of surprises too.

Mustapha took to the stage and went on a rant over his past relationship break up’s with Huddah Monroe and Marya; whom he went ahead to diss. At one point, he called up a student rapper on stage to celebrate E-Sir’s memorial; before the student in turn dissed him. Not to take it lightly; Mustapha replied with another diss vengeance on the student and buried him completely lyrically.

Making a grand entrance inside a BMW; Mustapha churned out his old tunes with the duo Nasty Thomas of Deux vultures; to his latest track-lenga Stress.

The event saw Main switch introduce two of their latest signings- Vivian and Freeman; and they did not disappoint at all.

After Mustapha; came gospel artiste Eko Dydda; and he did not disappoint too. He spit his lyrical prowess and his talent on rhyming words to the jeers and cheers of the crowd as they urged him on…

“…kwa mfuko nina soo-tatuu; najua umse sota-tuuu… but God hu-sort-wa-tuuuu…”

MKUSA took the platform that the event offered to advertise their new team in office after the recently held elections and also urge the students to have fun responsibly.

On sad note; the event came to an abrupt  end  minutes after HBR 103.5FM and Empire Sounds ZJ Heno took to the decks presided over by the high-energy MC-Teargas.

This led to the students being unruly and protesting. Security had to step in to curb the tension and disperse the angry crowd that kept on asking for more! The night was young as we left the campus. We look forward to going back again!

By Embukane Vincent Libosso.

WHAT DAYSTAR CAN LEARN FROM USIU CULTURE WEEK

#CULTUREWEEK

As an events blogger, writer and one who has a few expertise up my sleeves on events; I will be honest about one thing-Daystar Nairobi campus culture week was a flop! Totally it flopped! I love seeing a great initiative trend and take hold that is why when I was invited to USIU (United States International University) Culture Week; I couldn’t refute-I had to snob Daystar’s.

Both events at these two prestigious universities were going down on the same week. The glitz? The glamour? It was there in abundance at USIU culture week. At Daystar, we lacked that and we drank our sorrows to stupor with the free Nescafe coffee. In fact, not even our students had an idea it was culture week. Moreover, Daystar culture week lacked the hype and the excitement. Why you ask? I will tell you why! It is because, we are doing the same things done by past leadership over and over again, expecting different results. Does it work that way? Hell, no!

I will give you a clear perspective on how USIU turned their earlier low hyped event into one of the best ever calendar event in their history and in my history of events blogging. Running from Tuesday to Thursday, with over 60 countries, international and continental, the cultural performances and the stars were a plenty.

Gates opened as early as 9am each day. The tents were up; and the exhibitors and sponsors pitched tent all day. Each country had to display what it has to offer. And I mean the best since there were judges, made up of a panel of students and lecturers going round to assess each culture exhibited. The after affair in each tent- music met fashion, great food and the best of the country’s culture.

Don’t even get me started on the mode of dressing. This is it; there people unlike us here in Daystar care! The students dressed to impress. They brought culture and fashion on the same pedestal. At Daystar; I found myself and a few others in our African regalia. Nobody cared to dress-up; let alone make it out the Freedom Corner for fashion week. USIU culture week went viral from the onset. Good PR! The “selfie campaign” similar to The Oscars; of the event on social media created the much needed hype and plus Nokia Lumia phones were up for grabs for the best “selfies.”

But the climax of it all was the Thursday Night concert. Coca cola brought in free sodas for everyone; a cool tent and of course Dj Joe Mfalme on the decks. Here, each country had the privilege of showcasing their best culture performance in terms of music, dance, fashion, you name it. All these for the bragging rights and for a trophy that is contested annually.

Someone told me that USIU events are always great because they have funding. I will be honest again because I had a chat with the event organizers and the funding they get from their administration is way too low to pull such an event.

I pressed on to find out how they did it. What does it take? If there is a magical formula behind the success of USIU culture week and any event for that matter; this is it; students who care, passion for what they do; a driving ethos about making the university urban positive and a better place but above all; willing sponsors who believe in an idea and are willing to partner with the student-organized event- and hence overall benefit in terms of smart and cool solutions for their businesses and a willing market amongst the students.

How can Daystar redeem herself? Well, we start now. Mr. and Miss Daystar pageant is almost here and as long as you, the Daystar student, believes in it, then we will make it a success!

By Embukane Vincent Libosso.

HAS DAYSTAR UNIVERSITY LOST HER COMPASSION?

#INSTALMENTCONTROVERSY

HAS DAYSTAR UNIVERSITY LOST HER COMPASSION?

Whenever my university prays, I will invariably write about prayers. After the Athi-River incident; the university community has been on prayers. Today, I write on a sad note. Woe unto  a nation or a community that has no people to prick the conscience of the leadership-worse still whose leadership has no conscience to prick. When Daystar university’s notables and grandees put everything else on hold to pray, we must therefore, engage them on the essence of prayer. We must interrogate the manner in which they pray and the prayers they say. Can God take us seriously? This question cannot be wished away.

This week my fees were paid via installment. I handed in the bank receipt and I was told I was late for my payment and I was past the extended deadline. Hence, the university will penalize me and extra fee for the late payment.

I literally cried in that office because I saw the extant at which Daystar had gone in losing compassion. Where you would expect them to be living to the Christian values; you hear of a university that wants to penalize peasant students.

I write this because I speak of many students like me. I am student sponsored by a church based in USA and I know  it takes mercy and compassion to have people deny themselves that I may get the best of education.

Where is our outrage and the student leaders we gave the power to tell the administration we are not impressed? Someone needs to tell them that! Things are not rosy at all.

That is why I come back to the whole issue of Daystar praying! God cannot be mocked. The bottom line is that we cannot pretend about the bad services or the bad things being done, and hope that we could bribe God with a prayer.

By Embukane Vincent Libosso.

USIU CULTURE WEEK 2014- THE PHOTOS

Fashion trends, beautifully dressed women, guys with on-point attire, delicacies, outdoor fun and activities – all these went down this week, March 11 – 13 March at the United States International University (USIU) Culture Week. Gates opened as early as 9am each day and exhibitors and sponsors pitched tent all day. Each country’s tent aimed to outdo the next. The after party saw music merge with fashion, great food and culture.

Thursday night’s gala concert was the anticipated climax of the entire week. The glitz? Check! The glamour? It was there in abundance. The cultural performances astounded under the stars. The ceremony was everything you could wish for to honor the university’s finest and diverse continental and international cultures. Not even Daystar University’s Culture Week that was running the same week was a match. USIU Culture Week went viral from day 1. “Selfie moments” of the event on social media created the much-needed hype. The night’s host, radio girl Lulu Saini and the Luo Omera Teddy Eugene were on-point. Sure Lulu had a boo-moment from the crowd, but as the night went by-she seemed to have won back the crowd’s love.

Performances by Michezo Africa, GBS crew and the acrobats only spiced up the curtain raiser. On the decks, DJ No-ID of USIU 99.9FM and Joe Mfalme kept the turbo charged crowd on their feet all night.

And when Professor Buyu took the stage, he had a few words, “I declare culture week officially opened!” the same sentiments were shared by Mr Apidi, representing Coca-Cola who were also sponsors of the event, “let the happiness continue!”

The judges panel consisting of Mr. Charles Mwakio, Professor Scott, Mrs. Waturi and Mr Earnest were given the task and mandate to officially declare the best cultural performance of the night. The performances were amazing and the night had its fair share of surprises. For instance, the rain came pouring hard but only made the crowd get even more excited as they waited for the awards.

Both Tanzanian and Nigerian performances were well choreographed, had high energy, and were bright and colorful. The Nigerians flashed out their notes on stage in what seemed like a scene from a movie, as the crowd pushed forward to try and pick up the notes.

India bagged the Best Exhibition award for the week. With 144 points, 10 points less than the 1^st runners up, the 2^nd runners up award for the night went to a surprise and the underestimated Rwanda who also seemed shocked to receive the award.

Tanzania surprised, taking the 2^nd runners up position and leaving two giants, Kenya and Nigeria to battle for the number one. Well, Nigeria held the bragging rights for the night as they were declared the overall winners for the night after their spectacular performance that left the crowd yearning for me and bowing to their performance shouting-“igwee! Igwee! Igwee!”

On Nigeria’s performance, the judges had this to say-“their originality scared us! Their performance: made us forget we were even judging! They had a fantastic performance and coordination.” Taking the trophy award, the Nigerians gave the crowd a taste of their “skelewu dance” as they celebrated.

The event’s sponsors, Kenya Buzz, CBA Bank, BuyMore Kenya, Coca-Cola and the many others did a fantastic job and mad the event even more memorable. For the fashion enthusiasts, the night was all colorful. Somalia bagged the best dressed male award, taking it from Nigeria who won last year, while Kenya’s Maasai lady bagged the best female dressed for the night.

So, to the organizing committee, Sonia, Nabil, T.J, Shazaan, Natasha, Fionah and Nalia, you are definitely on the right track and you have everyone’s attention now.

By Embukane Vincent Libosso.

Check out the pictures here-https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.611687435575298.1073741925.440804702663573&type=3

UP MAGAZINE "THE UPSTAIRS" EVENT CANCELLED LAST MINUTE

A post last night on their facebook page; seconds before the event was meant to start clearly indicated the sad reality that the event was cancelled:

UP Magazine

18 hours ago

Hello loyal fans. The management of Chester house has pulled the rug out from under us at the last minute. Our upstairs event has been Cancelled. We deeply apologize for this inconvenience. It's called a Lawsuit! Stay tuned for more updates. Peace. Love.

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  Julie Weigaard Kjær Noo, you don't deserve that!

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  Embukane Vincent Libosso it sucks man what

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UP Magazine

18 hours ago

Post Shut Down Party at Sheebeen, Upper Hill with DJ Bodacious!

CELEBRATING ART:Artist profile: Dennis Muraguri, Kenya

Artist profile: Dennis Muraguri, Kenya

Updated about 6 months ago

Dennis Muraguri is a Kenyan artist who was born in 1980 in Naivasha. He attended the Buru Buru Institute of Fine Arts in Nairobi between 2000-2003, where he graduated top of his class and attained a Diploma in Painting and History of Art.Muraguris sculptures are a representations of the industrialization in Kenya and most of them are inspired by music, as can be seen his use of parts of instruments or metal shaped as such. All sculptures are mixed media where wood and metal are combined. The metal used represents the people who

manufacture all kinds of things. The wood, on the other hand, symbolizes the natural side of life. Muraguri says he finds the overall inspiration for both his paintings and sculptures in globalization. The message in Muraguris work is positive and reflective, it tells the story that Africa is no longer the ‘Dark Continent’ but it is becoming more and more modernized and affected by technology.(https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.216485391747764.56105.100924889970482&type=3)

NEW VIDEO TO WATCH OUT FOR-"LOVE SITUATION" BY TARRUS RILEY...HERE IS THE TRAILER