Labels On The Rise: Lus Music
There is something going on in Buruburu. Something so significant, it caught our attention, and yet so uncommon, many may have not noticed it. But hey, that's why we're here.
Buruburu (or Buruklyn) as known to some nowadays, is leading an outstanding musical movement. Some have called this movement "Buruklyn" or "The East". It is a different flavor of Kenyan Drill that is nothing like British drill in it's outright sound. One Label is leading all of this, and it's Lus Music. Based in Buruburu and working with artists from the same locale, the stable is slowly but surely becoming a tastemaker in the Kenyan music scene.
The label has just 5 recording artistes permanently signed but many more affiliated. The signed artists are Skinny Gean, Jodeye Faneto and Chess Nthusi, who are solo artistes, and Old Flame and Tru Funk Mobb who are groups. Skinny Gean, who also doubles up as a producer and videographer at the label, and Jodeye Faneto are drill rappers and one of the most recognizable faces (and voices) of the "Buruklyn" drill movement. Chess Nthusi, the only lady signed so far- is an R&B and pop singer, although Dancehall and Reggae culture significantly defines her discography, and the label's chief songwriter. Tru Funk Mobb are Hiphop rappers, switching to Trap occasionally. is more dynamic as it is made up of a singer and a rapper. The chief producer is Neevo Worldwide- another name from Buruburu that is starting to ring a bell within the Kenyan music space.
We got to catch up with Lus Music's PR officer, Anne Kalondu as well as recording artist Skinny Gean over email. They told us a little about themselves and how they operate.
Who founded the label,and when was that?
The label was formed by Eugene Luttah in early 2018. The headquarters are in BuruBuru
Run us through the business model of the label. How do you find the artistes to work with? How do you sell and market them, and how does the label profit from an artist?
Currently we are not scouting for signees as we already have artists we are working with. We want to build those brands first before we can sign anyone else.
Otherwise there are walk-in artists who come to record their music at LUS Music. For the signed artists, there’s a percentage of their income that goes to the label. This percentage is taken from earnings gained through digital and publishing royalties as well as physical sales and performance fees. For the walk-in artists, they normally just pay for studio time and production fees and that’s it. In terms of scouting for talent, the label has an entity called ‘The East’ that finds young talented artists that we can record, release and publish their music under contractual agreement on their income splits. The label also shoots their videos and uploads them to one of our YouTube channels known as “THE EAST”.
What is the vision of the label short term and long term. What do you think can realistically be achieved in the next one year, and where do you see the label in 5 yrs?
This year we are looking to achieve one major thing; making sure our artists’ music and their brands successfully get into the music market and showbiz scene in Kenya. In 5 years the label will be a solid music publishing company in Africa on a major scale.
