‘Koroga’ is a Swahili word which means ‘mix’, and this was definitely the case in the 27th edition of the Koroga Festival held at the Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi. There was a mix of African artists performing as well as some Chinese cultural performances from the Confucius Institute in Nairobi.
Held every bi-monthly, the festival is usually a celebration of African music, food, art and fashion brought in the form of a concert and an open boutique market, organised by the Capital FM Group.
Speaking ahead of the festival, the commercial director of Capital Group Limited, Farida Idris said that everything had been put in place by the Koroga Festival team to ensure everyone had a great experience as is the custom.
First on stage was the Confucius Institute students who showcased a number of Chinese cultural performances such as tai chi dance, youth flying and Almaty Khan.
According to their assistant lecturer, Zhao B Ingayn, all the students have demonstrated a keen interest to learn Chinese and the Koroga Festival was the perfect opportunity to showcase their knowledge.
“I teach the student pronunciation of Chinese words at the University and most of them have even got an opportunity to travel to China due to this program,” she said.
Kenyan artist Wyre, a Kenyan reggae musician, took the stage shortly after and gave his best performance of his hit songs such as ‘Nakupenda Pia’, ‘Kingston Girl’ and the wildly popular ‘Kenyan Boy, Kenyan Girl’ originally composed by female singer Nazizi Hirji.
Kenyan King of Dancehall, Redsan, was up next and he had everyone dancing to his songs such as ‘Shoulder Back’, ‘Badda Than Most’ and ‘Whine Fi Me’.
Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for, Alpha Blody from Cote d’Ivoire took the stage for a thrilling performance.
Speaking earlier at a press conference, Alpha Blondy said that he was excited to be performing in Kenya’s capital. Nairobi since the last time he performed was in 2013.
“I am excited to be performing in Nairobi after a long break; it feels good to be back to this beautiful country in the motherland Africa.”
Blondy performed some of hit songs such as ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Cocody Rock’, among others.
The Koroga Festival is a great reflection of Kenya’s brilliant and diverse local talent, whilst also attracting leading artists from all over the world through music, fashion, food and arts and Sunday’s event definitely did not disappoint.
