Jamaican dancehall recording artist Garfield Spence, alias Konshens, has reacted to comedian Eric Omondi's campaign against the continuous dominance of foreign music genres and artists in Kenya.
Omondi launched the campaign a fortnight ago in what he said aims at restoring the dignity of Kenyan artists and also promoting local music.
The campaign pushed the comedian to pen a protest post against Konshen's show scheduled for December 31, where the Jamaican singer is headlined.
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Omondi took to her Instagram page to question whether Kenya has no artist that can pull crowds for the local promoters to opt for Konshens as the headliner.
"Honestly are we doing this badly? Is the state of our music industry this bad. I really have nothing against international artists. My heart is profusely bleeding for our industry. Do you honestly want to tell me that a @khaligraph_jones @otilebrown @realshinski concert cannot pull crowds on the last day of the year?.
"I have no problem with Konshens. my issue is our own messaging!!! we are and have been killing our own!!! it's all in the messaging people, messaging is everything. so next week Kenyan artists will be unveiled as curtain-raisers," he said.
Though the comedian never tagged Konshens in the posts, the Jamaican singer got wind of the protest and penned a response in the comment section.
The singer defended himself saying his invite to Kenya does not mean that he is after depriving local artists of their rightful share of concerts revenues.
According to him, many foreign artists have a soft spot for Kenyans because of their raw energy and willingness to accommodate different genres of music.
The Jamaican singer at the same time revealed he had four other shows that he could have opted for but he prefered Kenya to the rest, despite being more lucrative because the Kenyan fanbase is special to him.
"Nobody is trying to milk your country, your country just has a craazy love for all genres of music and a respect for artistry that's why artists love it there.
"I had 4 offers for Dec 31st all waaaaay closer to my home and less of a hassle but I chose KENYA because of the raw vibe and energy there and I'm sure I can speak for other artists to say nobody is broke at home waiting for Kenya to call lol, we just love your country and your people and they love us back," Konshens said.
He also asked the comedian to come out clear on what the real issue is so that they can perhaps have a talk and see how they can better the situation instead of having online attacks.
"Would love to sit down and hear what exactly your issue is, are you upset with international artists for loving your country? Local artists and promoters for not doing enough shows? Local fans for showing too much love to international artists or not showing enough support locally? Or what?
"You should be direct with what your real issue is instead of these “Trump-like tactics. Let's talk one day. Or maybe ur just joking. But if ur serious let's open a line," the Jamaican singer added.
Comedian Omondi has been consistent recently in his demand for local artists to be given preference and the chance to headline at local concerts.
According to him, the Kenyan industry is sinking each passing day and this has left many singers struggling for survival.
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