The #EMPAWA100 Finalists From Kenya You Might Have Missed

As the second round of the Empawa Africa competition rolls out, here is a brief reminder of the Kenyan contestants who made the cut in the first round that you might have missed out on.

Empawa Africa is an intuitive run by Ghanian Mr. Eazi that seeks to empower young, independent, African artists to become global superstars. The initiative kicked off late last year calling, independent African artists from 6 African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and Rwanda) to ‘audition’ for the chance of being picked as the top 100 by Mr. Eazi himself, where they would stand the chance to win a prize of 3000USD.  This money served the purpose of funding their music videos which were featured on Eazi’s and Empawa Africa’s YouTube and social media channels. The panel of experts then chose the top 10 artists from the 100 who got a chance to be part of a 3-week masterclass in South Africa with the mentors.

Among these were 13 Kenyans. The top 10 lucky ones who attended the master class were 2 Kenyans, 19 year old singer/rapper Bey T and 16 year old songstress Nikita Kering.

While many songs and videos went unnoticed, the Kenyan finalists greatly delivered with some coming out with hit songs and incredible visual stories.

Below are the finalists in order from most viewed (as of August 2019):

Karun - Glow Up (247K)

Watch the official video from Karun #emPawa100 entry, Glow Up. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/KarunGlowUp Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video. Watch emPawa 100 Videos Here: https://bit.ly/31hURbD Watch emPawa Africa Exclusives Here https://bit.ly/2Mypea9 Watch emPawa Room Here: https://bit.ly/2XEcXFq Watch emPawa Live Here: https://bit.ly/2XLvj8z Lyrics: [Verse 1] Have you seen that girl?

Nikita Kering - Tragedy (212K)

Watch the official video from 17 year old Nikita Kering #emPawa100 entry, Tragedy. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/NikitaTragedy Watch emPawa 100 Videos Here: https://bit.ly/31hURbD Watch emPawa Africa Exclusives Here https://bit.ly/2Mypea9 Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video.

Lamu - Something about you (135K)

Watch the official video from Lamu #emPawa100 entry, Something About You. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/LamuSomethingAboutYou Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video.

Boutross - Wrong (94K)

Watch the official video from Boutross #emPawa100 entry, Wrong. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/BoutrossWrong Watch emPawa 100 Videos Here: https://bit.ly/31hURbD Watch emPawa Africa Exclusives Here https://bit.ly/2Mypea9 Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video.

Tetu Shani - Africa Sun (82K)

Watch the official video from Tetu Shani #emPawa100 entry, AfricaSun Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/TetuShaniAfricaSun Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video.

Monski - Moving (65K)

Watch the official video from Monski #emPawa100 entry, Moving. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/MonskiMoving Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video.

Yviona - Fanta (47K)

Watch the official video from Yviona #emPawa100 entry, Fanta featuring Haze. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/YvionaFanta Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video. Keep up to date here: www.empawaafrica.com www.instagram.com/empawaafrica https://twitter.com/emPawaAfrica

Olivia Ambani - Better Than Just Fine (42K)

Watch the official video from Olivia Ambani #emPawa100 entry, Better Than Just Fine. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/OliviaAmbaniBetterThanJustFine Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video. Connect with Olivia Ambani Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia_ambani/ Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/olivia-ambani Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OliviaAmbani...

Agolla - Nayanka (39K)

Watch the official video from Agolla #emPawa100 entry, Nayanka. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/AgollaNayanka Through the emPawa Africa initiative, Mr Eazi has selected 100 artists to receive $3000 each to create a music video.

Leroy Mumeita - Promises (31K)

Watch the official video from Leroy Mumeita #emPawa100 entry, Promises. Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/LeroyMumeitaPromises Watch emPawa 100 Videos Here: https://bit.ly/31hURbD Watch emPawa Africa Exclusives Here https://bit.ly/2Mypea9 Lyrics I can still remember The smell of your hair on that December. You cut your ponytail off and dyed it blonde all over.

Wanja Wohoro - Youth (24K)

Watch the official video from Wanja Wohoro #emPawa100 entry, Youth (feat. Kato Change) Download & Stream Here: https://empawaafrica.lnk.to/WanjaWohoroYouth Watch emPawa 100 Videos Here: https://bit.ly/31hURbD Watch emPawa Africa Exclusives Here https://bit.ly/2Mypea9 Lyrics Breathing gently, saving grace, You pull me softly, from this space, Breathing gently, your youthful eyes, Sing so sweetly, inside my mind, Take these fingers, I'll take his time, Breathing gently, your lungs on mine.

Prxnce - Hold it down (16K)

It’s still unclear which one of Bey T’s releases was her Empawa project, but just incase it’s ‘Wololo’ which is at a whopping 370K views (so far), here is the link:

Connect with Bey T: Business inquiries: officialbeyt7@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/yungbeyt Produced by: Simba Tagz (@simbatagz) Shot + Edited by: Brian Bett (@brianbett)

Each contestant that made the cut is so diverse in sound and look, proving how much variety and talent that exists in the country. Sounds of Afro Pop, Trap, Shrap, Hip Hop, Afro Soul, Dancehall, R&B and Folklore are all included in sound and sight. Which ones were your favourite?