The documentary Hip-Hop Colony is a real treat not only for music fans but for all Africans and those who want to know more about Africa. You walk away after watching this documentary on the Kenyan hip hop movement knowing the entire history of this movement.  You get to see Kenyan youth in their element and realize that people are people no matter what part of the world they reside in.   You get to see Nairobi in a way not always shown all over the world.  There is not one scene of despair and drugery in this entire documentary.  Jamati caught up with very busy director and producer Michael Wanguhu and he filled us in on how life has been since Hip-Hop Colony’s release and what he’s working on now.

Jamati: I read that 8 mile was your inspiration for Hip-Hop Colony. You watched the movie and wanted to make a movie that showed Africa from a different angle, not the overplayed visuals of wars, jungles, and starving children. But what was it about the film making process that appealed to you? 

The raw performances from the artists, their passion that has driven the industry to create artists who are diverse, from entrepreneurs to social activists and the sign of a new generation that’s not accepted the status quo but ready to put into effect changes to better not just themselves but the nation as a whole.

Jamati: You screened the movie in Africa, the United Kingdom, and all over the States. How was the movie received? What was the reaction when you sat in during screenings?

We got to screen in London, which was amazing.  Ilka Schlockermann in London and Annette Gathoni in the States did a great job with the publicity. The tickets to the screening sold out in less than twenty minutes. Surprisingly, Kenyans hadn’t yet bought the tickets as many of them were expecting to get tickets at the door.  Getting seats for even us the producers was a problem and we had to stand during most of the screening as a result.  They weren’t expecting such a big turn out at the BFM international film festival.  It was interesting to see the different reactions to the same comments on the screen. We were also invited to screen at different learning institutions within the States including Harvard and Stanford Universities among others.

New York was also a milestone in our screening at the Hip Hop Odyssey Awards Film Festival. This was the litmus test as New York is where Hip Hop was birthed. Once again we played to a diverse audience. The film ended up screening twice due to public demand. Finally we were lucky to win the award for Best Documentary feature and Emerging filmmaker, which had an additional cash prize. The icing on that cake was that we got the attention of QDIII, Quincy Jones son, a producer in his own right who helped us  secure our  first distribution with Image Entertainment. It’s the first African title that they stocked.

Jamati: You were nominated for a lot of awards and won Best Urban Documentary at the Hip-Hop Odyssey International Film Festival, Houston Black Film Festival, and the Oakland International Film Festival. Congratulations ! Have all of these accolades sunk in yet? 

We’re definitely grateful. Count your blessings or they’ll turn into curses.  More especially for the opportunities that continue to present themselves and the people in the industry we continue to meet. Hip Hop Colony isn’t just a film, it’s the beginning of a movement to revive the images of a continent.

The artists within the film have equally gotten exposure which led to them landing soundtracks on Hollywood films.  Necessary Noize got on the film Constant Gardener, Bamboo on Primeval and most recently Kalamashaka’s song Ni Wakati was recently picked for a film. We were also featured on renowned hip hop author Jeff Chang’s latest offering Total Chaos.  A book revered for illuminating the special truth that hip-hop speaks to youth around the globe.

We also don’t forget the people and organizations, like LRG and Jamhuri Wear who catered for part of our wardrobe for the different festivals we attended. And most importantly God and our families for the opportunities that have been made available to us. We continue to work to get better and be the best at what we do.  Last but not least, the fans who voted the film, bought the film, continue to buy the film and those about to buy the film.  Hip hop is generally creating opportunities where none existed before.

Jamati: You wanted to make sure that the viewer walked away from this movie experiencing Africa in a very different light. I love the scene in the movie when Bamboo says, “I’m in Nairobi AND I’m on a cell phone!” You made sure to show the urban setting of Nairobi and how people actually wear clothes and drive cars. Before the movie had you finally got to the point of ‘enough is enough’ when it came to views on Africa?

Growing up in Kenya the screens have always shown the glamour of America. We grew up watching American stories, having American aspirations.  While the Americans and the rest of the Western World’s only interaction with the continent of Africa had been and still is limited to the adverse images of war, feminine and disease. The refreshing images only reflected jungles and the rich wildlife. Very little has been done to boost the urban and modernized images of Africa. It is true that Africa has its fair share of shortcomings, no continent is exempt from it’s share of flaws, but now there is a new Africa that’s boiling with opportunities. Hip Hop provided a unique avenue due to it’s universal appeal to present these refreshing images. 

Jamati: Even now after showing such beautiful realistic images of Africa, are you still getting the clueless people asking dumb questions about Africa? 

Those questions still do exist. That’s why we work to get better at breaking into the mainstream audience and hence the movement. There are many who honestly don’t know about Africa and the trusted sources that they have present the stigma’s which only fuel the negative imagery. There also those who just have their minds fixated on Africans being backward and awaiting hand outs. It’s unfortunate that the global efforts deal primarily with fighting poverty and disease. Why not focus on creating wealth which will help root out poverty and disease, eradicate corruption or at least reduce it?  Africa losses more than 120 billion annually to corruption. It’s not aid but trade that will help empower the African people. Out of the 53 countries within the continent of Africa, there are primarily six that dominate the news headlines due to war and diseases.  What about the 47 or so countries?  The other challenge is Africa is presented as a country and not a continent, the good gets diluted with this misinformation. It’s also an information war that we’re fighting. We’ve got a unique opportunity. Africa is one of the richest continents in the World, we need to know our value and act on it ASAP! 

Jamati: Any plans on feature films in your future? 

Feature films have always been the focus. It’s a matter of making the best of the moment that leads to a more rewarding moment. We have been writing scripts.  There’s one that has been presented to Danny Glover’s people.  It earned a top ten spot in one of the Hollywood Black Film Festival script competition.  For us at Emerge Media Films, documentaries presented an avenue that would get immediate attention as the subjects we cover are both timely and entertaining and it fit well with our mantra of stepping up and stepping out as we upgrade the image of Africa. If Africa was software, the world is still using Win 95 to view us, we’re doing the upgrade to Vista. We currently are working on four scripts, some are in the research stages, other’s are completed and in the process of rewriting. We’re in talks with potential producers and it’s exciting.

Jamati: You set the bar really high with Hip-Hop Colony. What are you working on now and when can we expect to see it?

Thank you for acknowledging the effort in Hip Hop Colony. It’s really the artists that set the bar high, with their exceptional performance. All we did was put together a story already being told that the masses wanted to hear and present it. We’ve come to believe hip hop is not dead, it just moved back to Africa. 

It’s a journey and we work to keep getting better. In fact, we recently came back from Kenya and Tanzania, where we went to shoot our latest documentary. We were lucky to have M-1, one half of the revolutionary Hip Hop duo Dead Prez accompany us along with Umi from P.O.W - they all belong to the RGB umbrella. It was a very rich experience as we tackled the stigma’s that keep people divided and worked on the chords that unite us. We’re currently cutting the film.  It’s exciting. Check out the clip below to see the Kenyans react to one of their shows at WaPi in Nairobi .

(from left: Russell Kenya, M1 of Deap Prez, Umi of PoW, and Michael Wanguhu)

Jamati: Any advice to up and coming African directors on what it takes to make it in the industry? 

Do your homework, interact with everyone regardless of color. While working on Hip Hop Colony, we got suggestions from David Gensler who was working for Roc-a-fella at the time.  His perspective helped us broaden the appeal for the film amd work on stories with a local flavor but a global appeal that people can relate to. It’s a good time to do film with the internet breaking boundaries.  The World is ready to hear African stories that are well executed.  Forest Whitaker winning an Oscar for his role in Last King of Scotland cleary states that the world is ready and receptive to our stories. Last but not least believe in yourself and be patient. Dreams can be delayed but not denied.
 
Jamati: Any message to Jamati readers?

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Elias and the Jamati crew, the site is dope and its been a long time coming….and with that said make sure you have passion for whatever you’re trying to do. It’s the fuel that keeps you going when the odd’s arise.  Do small things with the big picture in mind.