 We circulated on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to nazingojiya apu awwepe. Vdj Khalifa. Yaman. Situ nazingojiya apu. Lazimu. Safika bise. Now our next guest, he has a really interesting stage name, I really like it. It goes by the name Kokodita Prut. Yes, ay. Ah, that's a nice, nice name. And he's joined by Natali aka Tali Mkali. Yes. There's an interesting story to how you got that stage name. At the launch. At the launch. At the launch a month ago of the song Kokoriko. Yeah, at the end of it after the presentation, Fundifred Frank came over and said, what's your name? I said, Tali. He says, what's your name? I said, Tali. He says, oh, Tali Mkali. Awesome. There's a song you did. There's a collab you did and that's how you met Fundifred at the launch. Yes. It's called Kokoriko. We're going to get into it. But first let me start with you. All right. You got into the game in the year 2000. Yes, 2000. And tell us about that because your genre is like... It's a long journey. You know, those days we had cassettes. Cassettes. We did not have the CD. The CD was not yet out. We had cassettes. So therefore to have a cassette was like we were in our gold. Because you could select some of the songs you like. And then these songs you go to the disco Vumbi. We used to call it Loko Disko. Disko Vumbi. Everybody's like, who would cassette do you have? Then I had Ladraro and I had Naf Crisis of Culture. Then when I came to Mombasa with the two cassettes, they were stolen. I was so disappointed. So then I wanted to continue music. I loved this style of Ladraro and culture. So I remember Naf Crisis, the album. So when they were stolen and I felt so bad, then I went to Malindi, FB Records was in Malindi by then. That's where I recorded my first song called creation in our situation. Creation in our situation. Yes, it was a situation. That was a reggae song. It's a reggae song, yes. And you see it's not do well. I don't know about marketing, but I had the CD. I could only go to the club. Then the DJ, I have to bribe. The DJ has no moities. So the market name. I don't know whether him knows this song. The DJ Khalifa is a nice guy. They wouldn't do that to you. And nowadays they have this business. They say that the cable is not connected because it's gone. You have to come earlier. So if you're not coming early, you're going to listen to your music. They have to come where there's not enough cables. So they will tell you, this cable is my wife. So you have to give money for the cables. You have to give money for the cable in a particular area. The DJ Khalifa, this is what you do to the artist. The DJ of the compressor, he says we can't go on like this. We can't DJ. We can't continue. We just get there. We just go for it. Maybe the director will try to convince us. That's why Kodesh is mad. He can't just say he is not a good guy, he can't do anything bad. Wea ho nukutupi, kwa klumisha kwa nga mozi. Miki niya mozi wa beeni wanda miki na miki. So kwa miki niya mozi. Kwa kwa kwa bati na kwa magi? Na miki niya wanda miki niya wanda miki. Miki niya wanda kwa magi. Ya. But is it the same way in the music industry, where you from? Do the artists have to bribe the DJs to get the music played? I know, I don't know how it is these days. I know, I remember hearing on the radio in my youth about discandals. Discandals? Ya, about that same issue. Ya, so I don't, but I don't, I, you know, money, money talks as they say it. Money talks. Everything has its price, I'm afraid it's probably the same, but I can't tell you for sure. I haven't been involved in the music industry in the United States. Ya. Ok, koko de tapu? Yes. So, the cassette, then you made your first track, then you had to bribe the DJ. But let me ask you, when was it, did you feel like now you had fans who are accepting your style of music and you as an artist? Ya, you know what I did, I went to do the ground, I went to Meru. When I went to Meru, I went to a club, then that club because I was performing, that was my first performance outside the Mombasa count. Meru. Then I was given a stage. Then I think what I wanted to do, I brought up all the talents, acrobats and our Tungino talent of out, chakacha dancers, di kawapeleka Meru. So you went with them from Mombasa? Mombasa to Meru. And then the stage, ilishika sana. Even I remember a professor coming from Chuka saying, I want to say I am Jay. I was Michael Jackson, reiki nation show. And then we create those days. So ilishika sana. Because you know what I have, I don't only love music. I have talent in acting. You became an entertainer not just an artist. We have just an entertainer. And we have taken up materials from other people. Because you know you cannot be the one and the one. And you cannot be the one and the one. But they need more content from you. They need more content and different content. Therefore you need to find your connection. And still that's my passion. I am thinking also going to get the street talent from these street children. I had some of the rappers. I used to go and eat with them. I buy bread with street children. Then I went with a friend, told me, why do you think I'm born and I don't know what to do? Then he told me, I am a father of two. I am a good teacher. So I said, ok. Then he said, what is the name of the band? Street is a talent. Yesterday you remember we met the band on the street. Very good band. I would like you to bring those people. They are the talent. They are blind people. They are blind people. They are blind people. They are playing guitar. They are drumming guitar and singing. Is it the culture that you fell in love with in terms of the music industry in Kenya? What was it exactly? Is it the language, the culture? I have a love for Afrika, music, rhythm. This is very old. For my childhood. I was brought up in East Africa. Mostly in Uganda. So at that time my sister and I learned Shiganda dancing. My sister took drumming. She learned to play in Galabi. A lot of Ugandan music at the Ugandan museum. Myself, I followed my sister. She was number one. She was a dancer in a Chaganda club. Like a group that went from place to... They were kids, high school students. So when I went back to the United States I joined Afro-Caribbean Afro dancing. Dancing and drumming. I just had to do it. You just had to do it even when you went back. Then I was in the Caribbean for many years. Again, there's the music. I was in the Dominican Republic, Moringa Pachata. That stuff is similar, but not the same. Now I came back to Africa now. The last year to this year. I just love it. I don't want to... It's placeable Congolese music. I'm there. You just immersed yourself in the African culture and African music. How did you guys meet? All right. You can explain. I want you to explain. I went into a national function in Masjade, 20th of October. In Kisi Stadium. I was told to perform without payment. I said yes. I want to perform for free. My intention was to showcase my talent. I know I'm good. So I knew if I start to say pay me people won't know what I have. So I said all right. I went into stage. In 30 seconds people screaming including policemen that were marching. I go to my anti-corruption song vampire It's a great content. I talk of Thomas Sankara the president of the Bukina Faso. He was assassinated by them because of being an anti-corruption crusader. So then I collected the material to bring out the anti-corruption song conquer the vampire. So I performed that. Then the whole stadium exploded. Then there was Elkhana Ongesa. This is a legend in Kisi's culture. Then he said, you come to the symbosium. I have a function. You may not know but I'm not going to pay you. I said yes, I'll still come. You see still him he wanted to give me a platform because he told me but I can give you a transport. He saw your capability as an entertainer. He told me transport I can give you but you just come. Then it was lucky he gave me transport he gave me food and I met her there. Because I was a sculptor in the symposium. A sculptor. She was a sculptor so we met we talked and said I'm an artist then we went for lunch together. I remember inviting her for dinner but I did not have money. Not have money but I invited her. So when the dinner time came I was just looking then I was going to my friends Boro Mibu Anandawa then I don't know what happened because she was a potato and she told me she was going to buy me a pot so we went for lunch but eventually the next day we went for lunch together and I went to the studio and she said you know what we do in the studio I went to the studio and she told me I have been a sculptor for a long time and she said I have a composition of children's song so we went to the studio and she told me which language she said any language she said I want to sing Spanish but the French part I want to teach the children so that's how it's through our opinion that we now use children for our songs and it's doing very well Have you ever done something like that before I started a school for my own children another lifetime and so I always was teaching children music I was learning children's songs and for me it's just like do you want it in Spanish or English I know some French too so I've never done it on stage for recording school you teach kids so they have a show to the parents so I've done those kind of shows low technology but for the first time now you're on a track with a Kokoriko this collaboration is amazing I love the story behind it now Kokoriko is the song you don't even know half the story of where the songs come from the Kokoriko song prior to you joining in and putting the French you know this song the Kisi part this was a song of the girls therefore then these girls are singing I was asking myself why is this so nice like this but you know they can't allow me because I'm a boy so how do I get to the game I say I wanna fetch for you firewood then one girl told that that guy wanna fetch for us the firewood so then you can join the game so that's what I used to do I go fetch firewood very fast and you listen so that they are not going to fetch firewood so that the game continues so you're really curious about those songs I was so curious then this thing has been ringing in my head and the Luopat Oyundi Oyundi is a guy who says his leg is broken but during food smelling he forgot that the leg was broken and then he came running for the food and this is a poem of Kurt Pitek that was aired by KBC this channel those days we aired KBC English service so it was a curricula in school then they were bringing the poem of Kurt Pitek that they say Oyundi niti mochi Oyundi na kekeke then after some time I thought it's good to bring the Oyundi issue into my son Kokoriko to complete the philosophy of the children any other language now Spanish that's a pattern of French so we have five languages in one song that's amazing I don't think has anyone done something like that before I think it's something you know I thought it was a research so if you want to do something you can do it you know the reason we are not doing well in the music we are copying everyone is sounding the same so I thought if you want to do something like that if you want to do something like that if you want to do something like that then just go to the diamodistry then that's why we do it but we don't know the culture we don't know the culture people explode it's loved it's loved it's loved 2007 there was this political attention no, 2013 because there was Sairona worth politics between kikuyu and los I went to a kikuyu club and DJ played kanoongu they exploded the music was amazing awesome we are about to play Kokoriko up next but prior to that I want to ask you Talim Kali are you planning on venturing into music fully was this a one time thing? will we have another song? you do will this turn into an album or a mixtape infact I'm retrieving my songs I'm upgrading the beat from what I did I have 3 albums that's 18 songs and the 3 singles that counted 21 songs so for 18 years I've done these songs but they are in the archives so I want to bring one by one redo them vision with the tradition so that I can have something different this is amazing news guys back at home kukode taproot and Talim Kali they have an album coming up and we are going to research it's not going to sound like anything else what can someone find you by their own social media it's always going to be a mix it's always going to be a fusion because what I want to do if I get a kikuyu I'm singing a gospel I want to sing a gai so you're looking for someone kikuyu means see this thing in the gospel after come after escape after what you've done what can someone find you in social media kikuyu singer who wants to jump in what I want to tell Kenyans please let us have our own content tujeri pusa na kwangali nimoze tuza kitamo abadari redo ya daudi kabaka dan redo ya diamond because diamond is not a Kenyan I'm not being discriminative but you want people to do the research but you want people to do the research they are not playing Kenyan music it's because of this content it's not coming to reality it's not really Kenyan content I better play the America I think we did it but we all agree with you and I think that's very true we need to be putting more research into our work our work we have rich heritage and I think you guys can also mentor some people so what can someone find you in social media if you need the mentorship and another thing I want to say me I want to be a role model of everyone there is only because I am past the age that I can be like I don't know and another thing is you cannot purport to be your not a role model of someone and yet you are in a public gallery unless you go into your private affairs then you cannot be a role of no one the channel is we use you to put on your dirty pictures the channels are for the public they also don't belong to you so are you referring to a Kote? yeah I have to do this I don't know how you should call yeah I am referring to that because she is my friend in Facebook she is my friend before she became a celeb so all our videos I know them so I say like you media don't call me like that you know find salvo and then like you said this I fear learn from Instagram so it has become so if you want to be a role model if you want to be a role model you want to be a public model you owe us something we will wait so you feel like you know it's nobody's business then who is media so you feel like once you are in the public eye you are responsible for everything you feel the same way naturally? yeah we were talking about it after your conversation this morning yeah personally from my religious point of view I was a Baha'i remember the Baha'i faith and we are told to bring ourselves to account every day at the end of the day so I think of course we are accountable how can I say I am not accountable okay if I do something unconsciously I can then ask forgiveness if I become aware of the person I have offended if I have or God whatever I just feel like I have to watch my own back I have to be trying and be as good as I can be and hold yourself accountable and hold myself I can't say oh for me that's my personal we all have opinions thank you guys so much for coming I have not talked of my twitter handle yeah that's where I am going right now this is what we are going to do I want to start with Natalie that's your camera right there okay what do you want me to do tell us where we can find you on social media please I'm sort of old school still I've got a facebook page it's under tally t-a-l-i saxton s-a-x-t-o-n at facebook that's it koko ditaprut k-o-s-p-s-d-e taprut I want to say the philosophy of taprut taprut goes to the depths brings out the energy takes out the energy to the leaves and then we have production of the fruits as conception for human nature that's why I say I had a taprut in my bed I'm going down to the depths then I'm bringing out the energy in reality, in affection, in the music yeah