 We have a new EP that is called Foreign Exchange with a new music video called Come Over. Let's start with, why Foreign Exchange? Why the name? Because first of all, shout out to my bro, Bobby V, formerly known, excuse me, Bobby Valentino. And he's a legendary R&B artist, platinum selling. He's had all the hits with Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, everybody. And it's Foreign Exchange because he's, of course, from the US, I'm from Kenya. And I went to the US and we exchanged our, you know, musical talents to create a beautiful body of work. You know, like, we did Oceans of You in London. We, where did we do? Like this, we did in Los Angeles. You know, Mama Nileo, we did here in Kenya. Caribbean Girl, we did in Atlanta. Lituation, we did in Atlanta. Come Over, we recorded that in DC. And where else did we record that? Yeah, DC and Maryland. And we shot the video in DC, Jamaica and Miami. That shot on the yacht is actually, you know, on one of Bobby V's birthdays. And we just made that whole material and turned it into a video and it was just an amazing, amazing. Yeah, it was epic. I mean, Bobby Valentino is an international artist. Is there something that you saw that he actually does different that you could take home? He's true to the art. He's a master of his craft. He's a musician, plays the piano. I've watched him. He recorded Mama Nileo line for line, not writing anything down. And he's just a master of his craft. Like he doesn't play with performing on stage. Like I learned from his showmanship on stage. Ooh, he's a show killer. And I was a show killer, but he made me a better one. Like he made me step up my game. So, you know, he's an amazing person, artist, friend, you know, and he's taught me a lot of stuff. He opened a lot of doors for me. He's like, you know, he, he, there's gatekeepers, but he opened some doors for me that nobody else would open for me. So big kudos to Bobby V, you know. What's up, everybody? Welcome to SPM Buzz. My good name is Miss Kithingi, and this is Buzz with Stars. I am hanging out with a star. And before I introduce him, guys, please make sure you subscribe to SPM Buzz. We are heading to 200K subscribers. So, Tafadali, eh? To barricade your subscription. All right, guys, I'm hanging out with a star in case you consumed his music. You know, back in the days, he is the legendary King Kanja. Yeah. What's up? What's up? What are you doing? I'm doing good. Kanja, it's been a long time. Where have you been? Let's start from there. Where have you been? Man, you know, like for me, I realized my purpose was to push the envelope of Kenyan music being Kenyan abroad, you know. So I've been overseas. I've been touring the world at the shows in Zambia, London, Jamaica, you know, Abu Dhabi, Dubai. It's been, it's been quite a journey. So, you know, I've been having a ball, you know, just enjoying life. I became a father. I have a son in Toronto, Canada. His name is Mosey, baby Mosey. He turns two in August. That's been something really new. Yeah. It's been like the excitement of my life, you know, working hard so I can catch up to go spend time with him. Okay. Nice. I mean, I feel like that's a summary of where he has been for sure. And now you're back in Kenyan. Are you visiting? Are you on tour? What are you doing? Are you staying here for a while or are you just going back? I'm here till August. You know, I'm here a little bit longer. I was here in January. That's when I shot the video for EA Party with Butros. That's out now. You know, amazing single, you know, just kind of feeling what's going on in the industry. Seeing what, you know, where I could put my feet in and kind of just make things happen. So, you know, and of course spending time with family, with my show show and everybody, you know, it's been, it's been cool. Nice. Now you've come back and you've done a collaboration with Butros. And I'm wondering, I mean, King Kanya, Butros, there are so many other artists also doing good. Why Butros? I was just paying attention. And at the time I was here, like I was hearing Angela everywhere. And the song was just different from the typical songs I've heard out here. And we had mutual friends, mutual contacts. They kind of brought us together. We just clinked. That's my little bro, man. You know, I'm really proud to see what he's done, what he's still doing. He's just like on a train that's not stopping, you know. I love his energy, you know. So, yeah, our collab is really doing really well. You know, in like eight days, I think almost 300,000 views on YouTube. It's been an amazing record that's, you know, captivating people all over the world. So, you know, talk about EA parties, the East African party. I think we have parties different from anywhere else in the world. Okay. Now, looking at Butros, because I feel like he is doing international music, especially see Angela has been sung across the world. What do you think he's doing different, especially from others that have actually just made music that we consume locally? First shout out Caxian, the beat. He produced Angela and he produced EA party. And you know, me as a mad scientist, I was like, okay, I like that formula. Let's use that same producer because he has a certain frequency that works. You know, when you see a producer has a certain frequency that's working, you stick to it. And he just, like Butros is very good. He's a producer. Like he's good at beat selection and he's creatively on the spot. We created EA party in the same place. We shot the video on the spot from scratch. You know, and he's just a great artist. You know, there's always a great artist. It just comes and just goes without a vengeance. You know, I pray the best for him. I hope he don't stop. Yeah. You know, because he's on the roll, but he he's very passionate about it. I watch him. I've been to some shows with him watching perform. He's just very passionate and passion is what leads above all else. If you're not passionate about it, doing it for other reasons. Yeah. You're not going to last long. But when you have a passion, you can do it forever. Now, I've been seeing that most legends that we call legends, you know, people are doing music back in the days, relocated to the U.S., to the U.K., the likes of Nonini, Robal of Nyashinsky, Nyashinsky of Klepto, yeah. Nyashinsky was there as well, but he came back. Let me ask, is it that you feel that in Kenya, you've already just used all the resources that are available here and you want to get higher, especially for you. Why did you feel that, you know, just to go out there? I mean, I'm also a voting member for the Recording Academy, for the Grammys. So for me, my goal is to be the first Kenyan to bring a Grammy home. Like, you know, you have to strive outside the box. You have to be comfort outside your comfort zone to be comfortable in this industry. And for me, it's like, I always come back to Kenya. As you see, I'm always here. I'll always do every interview, every single thing I can do just to show love to the 254, you know. But for me, everybody's journey is different, you know. But I think I can be here without being here. You know, that's why I'm releasing music. So, you know, it just lasts and keeps playing and keeps going and, you know, that's where we're going. Is there something that you feel that, you know, most of our artists don't really do to take themselves international? Or is it the fans that don't really support the music? Because we've had this debate, you know, Kenyans don't support our very own. Is there something that we don't do? I mean, I put it like this. I did see one time some statistics that showed that Diamond's biggest fan base is in Kenya. And I don't know. I guess it comes a time where Kenyans and our audience need to support our own first. You know, I don't know where that separation comes from. But for me, I do my best to bring it together. But, you know, there's one thing I see about Tanzanians, you know, the way they support him. But then for his biggest audience to be from Kenya, that kind of shows you, you know. But again, that could be like Kenyans don't feel like the Kenyan artists are delivering enough. I'm not going to say it's the fans fault, you know. It could be the artists. I don't know. But I mean, and also the people, like there've been some people who've been gatekeeping the industry that have hindered some artists from taking it in Kenya, within Kenya, to where it needs to be. So hopefully those people just fade out and the new people come and take over and push the agenda of putting Kenyan music to the forefront, you know. And just look at the way Nigerians, are the leaders of Afro beats, of what is considered African music today, around the world, you know. Then Ghana, then South Africa, I'm a piano's rising now. I think it's Kenya's time, so. Yeah. So talking about gatekeepers, because I've spoken to Gengiton artists, especially in Kenya. You know, that's a genre that has emerged from Kenya. And these young boys and girls always say they're gatekeepers that are trying to make our music not go out there, you know. And I'm just always wondering, why are we not calling out these gatekeepers? Is it worthy calling them out or should we just put in their work? I say putting in their work. I would love to call them out, but that's just not my place. But, yeah, if you feel like calling them out, those people have that brand to call people out. You know, Kanye's and them, you know. Yes. But if it's part of your brand, you got to think it's a music business. So you don't want to call out people. You don't want to create enemies too early on in your career, you know, but I've experienced it, but I still kept going. So, you know, it's like, if it's real and it's good, nothing can stop it. So I wouldn't advise that. But, I mean, it just has to be a change. You know, it's kind of like, this shouldn't be that mentality, why should I let this person get on? You know, why should I let this person, you know, should be like, hey, let me uplift this Kenyan artist. You know, I've even experienced it since I've been here and just clever. And some people just don't, you know, want to show you love. It's just how it is. It's just how the game is. As many people that will love you, there'll probably be as many people that will not like you. So you just got to have tough skin. Yeah. Okay. Now talking about music business, because you've just mentioned that, you know, your profile on your page, I feel like this is someone who has actually made money from his art. Whereas some of the three things that you could advise an artist who's probably just looking at your page and is like, oh my God, I would want to get to this place. Three lessons that you could share. My first manager told me two things you need to survive in this music industry is patience and humility. If you have those, a lot of artists don't have humility and that hinders their growth to become a bigger. So I put that as one, you know. And then also, I mean, I remember starting this like when I didn't have the financial needs I needed as an artist, but I still pushed it. Enjoy the times where you're struggling and you're putting out great content. Like you have to embrace the journey. Like Nas said, it wasn't the destination, it was the journey that made the impact. You see what I'm saying? So you have to enjoy the journey. You have to be on your Bob Marley. They asked Bob Marley, does he have a lot of money? He said, no. He said, my richness is life. You have to have that kind of mentality. And then before you know it, the money will come and when it comes it wouldn't even feel like it came. It's just like there. You see what I'm saying? And that's not what you're doing it for. But like you take care of your art and your art will take care of you. And my art is taking care of me and my life. Okay. Now talking about art taking care of you, you have a new EP that is called Foreign Exchange with a new music video called Come Over. Let's start with why Foreign Exchange? Why the name? Because first of all, shout out to my bro, Bobby V. Formerly known, excuse me, Bobby Valentino. And he's a legendary R&B artist, platinum selling. He's had all the hits with Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, everybody. And it's Foreign Exchange because he's, of course, from the U.S., I'm from Kenya. And I went to the U.S. and we exchanged our musical talents to create a beautiful body of work. We did Oceans of You in London. Where did we do? Like this, we did it in Los Angeles. You know, Mamboonileo, we did here in Kenya. Caribbean Girl, we did it in Atlanta. Lituation, we did it in Atlanta. Come Over, we recorded that in D.C. And where else did we record that? Yeah, D.C. in Maryland. And we shot the video in D.C., Jamaica and Miami. That shot on the yacht is actually, you know, on one of Bobby V's birthdays. And we just made that whole material and turned it into a video. And it was just amazing, amazing. Yeah, it was epic. I mean, Bobby Valentino is an international artist. Is there something that you saw that he actually does different that you could take home? He's true to the art. He's a master of his craft. He's a musician, plays the piano. I've watched him. He recorded Mamboonileo line for line, not writing anything down. He's just a master of his craft. He doesn't play with performing on stage. I learned from his showmanship on stage. Oh, he's a show killer. And I was a show killer, but he made me a better one. He made me step up my game. So, you know, he's an amazing person, artist, friend. And he's taught me a lot of stuff. He opened a lot of doors for me. There's gatekeepers, but he opened some doors for me that nobody else would open for me. He's a kudos to Bobby V, you know. He's a real one. Now, let's talk about, you know, the reception of, you know, the music that you're releasing now, especially in the Kenyan market. How is it? Is it the same as, you know, back in the days? Is there something that has changed? How are you finding it? Yeah, everything is always, these days is more social media based. So, definitely great reception. People come up to me all the time. You know, people like EA Party. You know, people like the movements. You know, they watch calmly. Sometimes saying nothing is saying something, you know what I mean? So, it's been a great journey. So, I think it's been embraced right, but I'm not stopping. There's another record I just did with Yulopo Goma, like, that's crazy. I just did that. That's going to be a game-changing song. So, yeah, it's coming. Let's talk about what you wear on your head. Is that a hat? Is it a crown? It's a crown. It's a crown, a.k.a. Coofy. They're all mine, originally custom made by my designer. You know, shout out to her. She's a West African lady. We've never met, but we have a great business relationship. And it's just part of my signature, you know? In the U.S., it helped represent before it was cool to be African or Afro beats, people would notice me for the hats. It's just part of my brand. As an artist, you have to be branded. You have to have something that makes you everyone that sees it, that's all that can count. You definitely have to do that. Oh, mine. It's African. You've maintained it for a very long time, but you started it a long time ago. What was the inspiration back then? Was it still branding? I'm going to tell you. When I won the competition on BET, people thought I was pretending I was African. They thought I went on Ancestry.com and just found my roots, but I was like, I'm 100% Kenyan. Both my parents, Kenyan, Kikuyu, and this colorism in American, people were looking me and be like, you're light-skinned, you can't be African. Because the assumption is, we have all different shades of beauty in Africa and Kenya. And they would think light-skinned means that you're mixed with something. And I'm like, no, I'm 100% Kenyan. Sounds good, guys. Artists, if you don't have something that people recognize you for, are we? Come on, do something. Mine is my short blonde hair. I don't know. Thank you. Let's talk about you being a dad. Moses, that you look like you're so proud of just being a dad. What are some of the values that you actually want to instill in your son that you want him to grow with? To work hard and whatever you want to be, whatever you want to do, do it with a passion. Follow your heart. Don't do what I want you to do. Don't do what your mom wants you to do. Do what you want to do. I will support you. Just knowing that he has someone to look up to and, you know, that he can do whatever he wants to do. And just to be a good young man. Yeah. It's two years now, almost two years. Yeah, gotta take him to show shows soon, you know. Yeah. Spend some nights at show shows and gone. Shags, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Because that really installed a lot of values in me when I was young. Yes. Culture is culture. Okay, sounds good. Now Kanja, please tell people where to find your music. Where can they catch you next? And is there actually any other collaboration we are expecting from, you know, a Kenyan artist? There is, but I want to speak on it until it happens. But you can definitely find my music everywhere. Just you can Google it, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, threads, you know. King Kanja, K-I-N-G, K-A-N-J-A. My music is everywhere. You know, King Kanja Empire, my record label. Got a new label deal. Shout out, you know, Happy Jack Rackers, you know, label that I'll be doing a deal with. My focus is on the mental health of an artist. You know, so shout out them. Shout out my management, the Santiago firm, Melinda and Leon. You know, they're one of my prized possessions. You got to have good management. Of course, shout out my publicists in Kenya and Niko PR. You know, they always hold me down. So, you know, shout out to the team. We out here. All right, King Kanja right here. Congratulations. Keep flying. The Kenyan flag very high. I'm going to be here to cheer you on. Yeah, hopefully I can grow some hair like yours. Okay. It looks like you're going to have to lose your branding, you know. I know that I can't do that. Yeah, so it's okay. You don't have to get a matching koofy crown to my hair. Probably, yeah. That would work. All right, guys. That was King Kanja right here on Bazut's Taz. Make sure to catch his new music on his social platforms. Follow him. Let him know how did you find the music on the comments section. But thank you so much for watching Bazut's Taz. My good name is Ms. Kethingi. Until next time, get better as beyond Baz.