Eric Donaldson To Make Debut Performance In Kenya

Seven-time Jamaica Festival Song winner Eric Donaldson received royal treatment upon landing in Kenya after he jetted into the East African country on Monday, for his first-ever performance.

Donaldson is booked to perform at the Reggae-themed event, the “Umoja Splash Festival”, on Saturday at the Carnivore grounds.

The St. Catherine native, who is most known for the mega-hit Cherry Oh Baby and the legendary This is the Land of My Birth, was officially received in Nairobi by Governor Ann Kananu, and promised fans a thrilling show, according to a report from the Nairobi City County.

Governor Kananu has heaped praises on Donaldson “for his deep songs with captivating messages to the society” according to the report.

After feting the Join Di Line singer at a luncheon, Governor Kananu called on Kenyan musicians to emulate the legendary artiste by composing songs that will change the society.

“I have attended his concerts and I’m sure reggae fans will enjoy his performance. I’m urging all reggae fans to turn up in large numbers,” she said.

In an interview with the media, upon his arrival, Donaldson promised a magnificent show.

“Well, its one bucket I have; its full of Reggae music enuh.  And that is what I want to offer to people: love, unity… if these songs that I am going to sing are on the lips and the minds of the people, then everything is going to be OK,” he said.

Local reggae musician Noah Yusuf alias Refigah, who is also headlining the “Umoja Splash Festival”, has appealed to reggae fans to turn up in large numbers.

“Nobody can stop reggae. It’s part of us…,” he is quoted as saying.

Eric Donaldson has been composing and recording songs since 1964.  He rose to national stardom in 1971 with his winning entry in the annual Jamaican Festival Song Competition, with the mega-hit  Cherry Oh Baby then followed up with Sweet Jamaica in 1977, Land of My Birth in 1978, Proud to Jamaican in 1984 and Big it Up in 1993.  In 1995 he scored again with Join the Line and then Peace and Love in 1997.

His visit to Kenya comes at a time when there is a growing push to get Jamaican entertainers to look to countries in the Motherland, in particular Kenya, as a place to ply their trade, as Reggae music is well-loved there.

Earlier this year, following sojourns by Dancehall and Reggae artistes such as Konshens, Beenie Man and Popcaan –  who had called for direct flights from Ghana to Jamaica – to headline sold-out concerts in sections of the African continent, suggestions had resurfaced that the Motherland is the “new frontier for the Dancehall genre” and this is where Jamaican artistes’ should place their focus.

The opportunities for touring Africa, particularly countries on the West Coast and in Kenya in the East, was also a hot subject for discussion during an Onstage interview conducted by veteran entertainment journalist Winford Williams with Dancehall producer Notnice in February 2021.

Williams had posited that Africa was fertile ground for Jamaican artistes, as Dancehall and its parent Reggae, reign supreme and are the “soundtrack of that country”, where in Nairobi, their largest city with more than six million people “is Reggae” and the flight music of the Kenyan national airline flying from Nairobi to New York “is Reggae”.

In Nairobi, Konshens is a huge favourite, likewise Christopher Martin, Etana and Vybz Kartel, who has a massive following, racking up 12 million YouTube views there, his third-highest for 2021.

“What Africa was 20 years ago, is very different from where they are now.  There are economies in Africa that are growing way faster than economies in Europe and North America and South America.  Africa is on the rise and we need to know that… We are from that continent,” Williams had said.

In November 2019, Mojo Morgan of Reggae Grammy Award winning group, Morgan Heritage, had said that Africa was highly lucrative for Jamaican acts.

“I think if Jamaican artistes would look at Africa like every other touring region around the world like the US, Australia, Europe, Canada … we will be able to tour consistently. But we continue to look at Africa as a remote destination. Africa is a continent. We’re not talking about an island – but a continent that has a population close to or more than 1.5 billion people. America has a third of that,” Morgan, who has toured multiple African countries had said.

“Our whole mentality is, if we can get on a tour bus and a drive across America, or even sometimes fly from city to city touring, why we can’t do that inna Africa? A place that I and I as a people identify as the root of our music?   If we’re going to do what we have to do to build certain regions in the world as markets where we can go and tour consistently, we have to take that same mindset when we go to Africa. It would be very lucrative for all of those that decide to take up the challenge,” he had added.