Daddy Owen’s Gesture was Monumental

And as sure as the sun will wake up from the East tomorrow, his actions last Saturday would definitely go down as the most memorable moment of all Awards’ ceremonies held in this country.

When he acted awarder instead of ‘awardee’ of the most coveted title, he not only plummeted pride normally associated with celebrities, but also and more importantly elevated humility, the much needed virtue in the music industry.

Instead of thumping his chest, clubbing his ears like possessed goal scorers, he did what few, if any, would have ever thought, let alone doing it.

In this era, when fame is nestled between life and death, and awards, the perfect jelly to grease the realisation of such sense of importance, it was unthought-of for Daddy Owen, aka Papa Fololo aka The King of Kapungala, to pass over his 2011 Groove Male Artist of the Year Award to one of his top challengers, musically, Juliani. When he did so, he caught everyone by surprise, even Juliani himself who appeared nervous when he eventually accepted the extended award from Papa Fololo.

It is true Juliani is up there with Daddy Owen not least because he was recognised by the later but most for his super lyrics and ability to make himself very relevant with the Kenyan youth who undoubtedly are currently consuming his music with zeal. He is definitely destined for bigger things. However, for now Daddy Owen would deservedly continue enjoying his stay at the top at the expense of others, like Juliani, because of one simple thing:  his ability to involve other musicians in his songs and not only to involve but also fuse them so well that listeners would think is their own songs other than his-remember the hit songs saluti, Tobina, system ya kapungala, kiriro? Second, his projects are cheap and appeal across the board. Juliani’s albums have for long been comparatively on the higher side-take for example, his latest album, Pulpit Kwa Street, steered by his latest hit, Bahasha ya Ocampo which retails at over sh800, as opposed to Daddy Owen’s System ya Kapungala which retails around sh300 or so. The difference in prices is huge and for the record it could have contributed to Daddy’s winning more appeal and more votes.

Aside from that Daddy Owen’s experience in the industry, close-watch from his older brother, Rufftone, his versatility and humbling down to make stunning collabos with a wide range of musicians have combined well to uplift him above everyone else.

Additionally, what will continue ringing in the minds of many gospel music enthusiasts as from last Saturday (30^th April 2011) is what Papa Fololo did. It was phenomenal in all sense. An act of humility, bereft of pride and worth emulating. It’s also fair to mention his song Saluti won in each category it was nominated in this year’s Groove Awards: Collabo of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year. It’s very fair too to say last year he scooped a number of awards and emerged the top-Male artist of the year.

Daddy Owen’s move is a timely gesture to all, including those politicians who are ever ferocious in their greediness. They should pick a lesson from this signal and learn that what makes a man great is what he does to those around him. If he appreciates he earns more respect, if he unapologetically steps on their feet and boast of his achievement, he loses, and loses miserably.