Faiza Hersi on Nairobi R&B, Choosing Your Lane and The State of the Creative Scene

Faiza Hersi is booked and busy. Amidst planning for Nairobi R&B’s’s first event of the year, Brunch In the 90’s featuring Tay Iwar & Friends Fay (as everyone calls her) has finally found time within her hectic schedule to meet up. It’s an uncomfortably hot Wednesday afternoon in Nairobi, and the sun glares down causing everything to gleam in slightly high-definition. The Alchemist, our meeting spot for the day, is buzzing with activity. I’m perched on a turquoise bench on the venue’s courtyard-style ground floor, grateful for the brief respite from the heat provided by a passing cloud. Fay arrives in a light-blue denim dress, greets me warmly, and graciously offers a bite from her other venture, Burrito Bar, before we make our way to The Alchemist’s quieter and cozier upper level. Bubbly and candid, Fay engages me in conversation about Nairobi R&B, the importance in being intentional and what she thinks is needed to push the creative scene forward.

Faiza Hersi by Royce Bett

In a patriarchal industry, several badass women are at the forefront of championing Nairobi’s creative scene, and Fay is one of them. She wears many hats - restaurant owner, artist consultant, concert producer - or, as she aptly and concisely puts it, culture curator. Driven by her passion for “music, people, and the protection of creatives”, Fay is upending Nairobi’s events scene through Nairobi R&B, a series of day parties, concerts & experiences centered around R&B.  

Despite her law degree, Fay has always been a music-head. “I should have gone to uni for music,” she ruefully comments. Her circle is indicative of this as the majority of her friends are musicians and other creatives. Therefore, the establishment of Nairobi R&B was like a full circle moment. However, curating events wasn’t an intentional move. In fact, the launching of the Burrito Bar is what catalyzed the creation of the brand. “ I opened the Burrito Bar and we had a launch party...I met a good friend of mine, Will Gittens, when Jidenna was out here. When we were opening the restaurant, I was like hmmm, maybe I should do something within the R&B field because I just felt like there was absolutely nothing there. Me and my sister share that passion, and we co-own the Burrito Bar, so I just pitched the idea to her and was like, why don’t we get Will to come down? Because he's always wanted to come back to Nairobi anyway.” With R&B singer/songwriter Will Gittens and a supporting lineup consisting of Kenyan artists: Karun, Mayonde, Patricia Kihoro and Njoki Karu, this event marked Fay’s foray into Nairoi’s entertainment scene.

“And from there I remember MDQ telling me, I know you only have like 300, 400 people here, but keep doing this because you've just tapped into a market that doesn't exist. Even if you feel like you've taken on L, know it's not an L. And for a while I just kinda chilled about it. Then I started having conversations with Masego's team and I was like maybe one day we could do something here”. Nairobirnb was in the closet so to speak with that first event, and Masego was their bold coming out. The success of the latter cemented the brands name as a standout in the events scene.

Masego performing at Nairobi R&B. Photo courtesy of Royce Bett.

There is a general lack of creativity with events programming in Nairobi. Several promoters copy the same format and line-ups, and not enough focus on the experience. Nairobirnb practices a different ideology, one that is focused on creating unique spaces, picking your lane, sticking to it and perfecting it. As a self-proclaimed R&B head, this is the lane she has chosen “If you don’t sing you don’t get on my stage,” Fay candidly puts it. She also strongly believes in the importance of being intentional in branding and collaboration, making sure to only work with brands and people that align with Nairobirnb’s mission, and avoiding the clout chasers. Thus far, this ethos has paid off as Nairobirnb has made great strides in building a strong brand name over the last 8 months, the climax of which has been the brands collaboration with Everyday People Stories featuring Bas. Fay is also driven by a passion to create safe environments and relaxed experiences based off of personal experience. “I have so much anxiety every time I go out. It's always like, oh my God, this is so crazy,” she comments.

Faiza Hersi by Royce Bett

Fay touches on what Nairobi R&B looks for when curating their lineups and sliding into the DM just doesn’t cut it. “People assume that I have a favorite or I always work with person X. Guess what? Yes, I always do work with person X,” she states “People are very afraid of saying that but me, I'm like, yes. If you come and deliver I will call you again because this is a business. And the reasoning behind it is not because I don't think anyone else can't do better. My thing is I've dealt with them. They're professional, they have artist bios, they have their EPK's ready. I don't ever have to ask them for high res images. They have their package ready for me.” Besides the creative aspect, the most important aspect of being an artist is putting in the work and establishing a professional brand. However, not enough artists in Nairobi’s creative scene are taking the business aspect of their careers seriously. It’s unfortunate that the necessary music business infrastructure is not yet established in Kenya. However, that shouldn’t stop artists from doing their research. As Fay puts it, “Show that you care about this. That this is your life. That there’s some kind of passion.”

Faiza Hersi by Royce Bett

Fay’s goals for the growth of her brand extend well beyond Nairobi, and events curated under Nairobi R&B. Rather, she intends for the latter to be a section of a bigger brand that is focused on creating unique experiences for R&B-heads continent-wide. “I definitely want to create a bigger brand that Nairobi R&B can sit under, which caters to R&B music in Africa as a whole. I intend on having something much bigger, like Afro Nation, something close to the Lights On Festival - a yearly R&B gig that 100% is always going to take place in Nairobi.”

In terms of what she feels is holding the creative scene back, Fay comments on the fact that it remains disjointed and disconnected. “Nigerians ride for their shit, Ghanaians ride for their shit but we don’t,” she states. Ultimately, this lack of unity is the greatest hindrance to the growth of the country's creative economy. In the music industry, your network is your net worth, and nothing gets done or built without people putting each other on. What the scene is desperately in need of is unifying spaces that foster meaningful conversation. “I think  creatives in general, whether you're a painter, illustrator, musician, producer, whatever, need a platform. Whether it's a networking forum that's once in a month or just something where people can come, connect and speak and build a tribe, a family, a space where you feel free to express as well as build accountability. ”

Keep up with all things Nairobi R&B here.