MUSICAL FACTS: Faith without works is DEAD!

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! May I present to you Kenya's version of a modern Fela Kuti...Activist- Rapper, Entrepreneur, and a man of creativity, and substance in his own right (steel pans please!)...JULIANI!

In the words of Eric Wainaina (Singer/Songwriter), who has succinctly described Kenya's shooting star:

Possessing an unmatched socio-political nous, beautifully tempered in spirituality, Juliani comes correct with an infectious message of religious, social and political emancipation, fresh and relevant in today's society. His sleek and unique lyrical flow, passionate delivery and electrifying performance have collectively and officially hailed him as "an important voice for our time"

With Jesus Christ at his helm, this young man aims to change his society and impact the world and the Earth's environment with a much-needed brand of Hip-Hop, which is unashamedly Kenyan, unashamedly African, unashamedly street, and unashamedly Christ. With the polished combination of his eloquent street poetry, rapped and crooned in Kiswahili (Swahili), intermixed with Sheng - the vernacular of Nairobi's streets (soon, as he claims, to become a legitimate international language), Juliani hits hard with bars and metaphors that leave you to pause, as you ride upon beat after beat of well produced and fully strung music. If, like me, you don't speak Kiswahili or Sheng, you still find yourself locked in to his versatile flow and easeful punctuations of English. He raps seamlessly in all three languages throughout any song. Many of his tracks, like the haunting Bahasha Ya Ocampo, feature female Singers or Femcees, who rock your heart's core and keep aflame the mesmerizing grooves that Juliani so easily fills.

From the ruggedly raw old school Hip-Hop flavor of Red, Black and Green, and the boombastic jazzy-rock of Exponential Potential, you dip and sway through Afro-beat sounds, jazz, blues, RnB and Pop, onto, a little known, and underrated soulful, hypnotic worship masterpiece, by the name of Niko Ju Juu. Before @JustAlffie of Kifalme.com was kind enough to translate the lyrics into English, for me, the hook to the song was already on heavy rotation in my membrane, and much heavy wailing of my Soul would ensue at the first beat of the song.


As if that were not as good as it could get, Juliani adds to his virtuoso, the type of passion and energy you can expect from the heaviest of heavy live metal concerts. He jumps onto the stage - literally, immediately engaging the crowd with a combination of his gaping smile, charm, and a bounce and dance that would leave Tigger, of Winnie the Pooh fame, begging for rest. His live concerts are not to be missed, for the sheer entertaining value of counting how many breaths you hold as he reaches hoop-height above the stage, slam-dunking the crowd with energy, great poetry and solid musical ball.

Add to his musical prowess, a natural and determined ambition and drive to truly impact his community, country and the world, through the vehicle of Hip-Hop, and social/political/economic and environmental campaigns, and Juliani makes the average Artist look lazy. He recently flew in, this weekend, to Washington D.C, U.S.A, from Nairobi, Kenya with a full schedule for the Climate for Change Forum, and immediately turned round to fly back to his home town of Dandora, Kenya, to hold a concert yesterday.

From the moment I discovered him, via a facebook share (Dennis Sauke, please stand up!), to an inundating of Juliani's and other Kenyan music shares, offered by some other multi-talented social network buddies, and mutual music nuts (dap to @Kifalme @JustAlffie @Uncle_Fro), I have been all out impressed with Juliani. From his suave and impish glee, his ever-rocking, kinetic trail of dreads, his versatile, retro and classic fashion combos (Did I mention he has his own clothing brand, "RBG Republik"?), to his energy on and off-stage to engage youth and young adults towards a brighter and better society, he is a name, brand and image, which commands notice. The man is simply a tour de force. I dare say, he is the new face of Hip-Hop and the new poster child for how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be utilized in an all-encompassing manner that answers to the everyday living and needs of our communities, countries and globe. It takes more than faith to move mountains. It takes work.....and Juliani appears to have his hand and back to the plough.

Check out his documentary, which invites you to get to know the man behind the music - his childhood (not so long ago), his inspiration, his passion for community, his poetry and his music - as he journeys on a road-trip from Nairobi, to a concert in Mombasa, with five selected fans (This video is multi-lingual - Kiswahili, Sheng and English, with English subtitles throughout):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV5FT_jhmsU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Also...Check out the MTV Voices Article and video interview of Juliani, as he tells how he uses his music to promote positive change among his peers, and impact his world to be a better, cleaner, greener place (all- English video and article):

http://mtvvoices.com/en/2012/06/tve-presents-rapping-green-in-kenya/

You may listen and/or purchase and download Juliani's music here:

- New album "Pulpit Kwa Street": http://www.kenyandownloads.com/JulianiRBG/


- First album, "Mtaa Mentality", available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mtaa-mentality/id305677000

 - Listen and watch music videos on Juliani's Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Julianimusic%20

FOLLOW JULIANI:
*Twitter: @JulianiKenya - http://twitter.com/julianikenya
*Facebook: Juliani - http://www.facebook.com/JulianiMusic
*Google+: Juliani Muzik - http://plus.google.com/116507519840837638571%20
*Youtube: JulianiMusic - http://www.youtube.com/user/Julianimusic *Web: http://www.julianionline.com/

MUSICAL FACTS: Renew your bOOgie down mind

The rampant socio-sexualization of the youth of today is obvious. Kids are having sex at younger and younger ages. Teen pregnancies are skyrocketing. The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world:

• Unmarried teenagers having children account for 24 percent of all unmarried expectant mothers. 
• More than 2/3 of all teenagers who have a baby will not graduate from high school. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually. 
• Thirty-four percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 -- about 820,000 a year. Eight in ten of these teen pregnancies are unintended and 79 percent are to unmarried teens.
• In 2006 19.3 abortions per 1000 teenage girls was recorded
• In 2006 teenage pregnancy between the ages of 15-19 years was recorded at a rate of 126.6 per 1000 Hispanic girls; 126.3 per 1000 Black girls ; and 44.0 per 1000 White (non-Hispanic) girls.

Criminal delinquency among youth is equally alarming:

• Approximately 1/3 of all victims of violent crime are teenagers, between the ages of 12 and 19. 
• Homicide is the second-leading cause of death for young adults, after car accidents. Each year, more than 1,500 murder victims are children and teens.
• Almost half of all violent crimes are committed by perpetrators under 25 years old. In 2006, 15% of all arrests were made on people under the age of 18, while more than 1,100 homicide suspects were under the age of 18.
• Juveniles account for more than one-third (36%) of those known to police to have committed sex offenses against minors.
• In the 1980s, 25% of the murders involving a juvenile offender also involved an adult offender. This proportion grew to 31% in the 1990s and averaged 37% for the years 2000–2006

Just as overwhelming are statistics on juvenile drug use:

• According to the 2008 Monitoring the Future study, 19.6% of eighth graders, 34.1% of tenth graders, and 47.4% of twelfth graders reported using any illicit drug within their lifetimes
• According to the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 38% of high school students surveyed nationwide used marijuana during their lifetime 
• In 2006, Hospital Emergency Department drug-related episodes for persons ages 12 to 17 were estimated to be 58,428. Of these episodes, marijuana was mentioned 44,088 times; cocaine was mentioned 10,984 times; stimulants were mentioned 7,740 times; and MDMA (Ecstasy) was mentioned 4,524 times
• According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, there were 109,444 juveniles (under the age of 18) arrested by state and local law enforcement agencies for drug abuse violations during 2007, representing approximately 10.6% of all drug arrests in which the offender's age was reported
• According to a one day census of juvenile offenders in residential placement on October 27, 1999 there were 9,882 juvenile offenders in custody for drug offenses. Almost one third of the juvenile drug offenders were in residential placement for drug trafficking
• In 2004, juvenile courts in the United States handled an estimated 193,700 delinquency cases in which a drug offense was the most serious charge.

To perpetuate the evil of the world by dancing your life away to music that glorifies illicit sex, guns, get money mentality, thugs, gangstas, pimps, hOs, & drugs and then have the audacity to cuss and shake your head at this generation of children who are mimicking YOU, is pure foolishness! Get your mind out the streets, out of the gutter, out of the party-hearty-like-there-ain't-no-tomorrow-club.

RENEW YOUR BooGIE-DOWN MIND from street mentality. The future of the world is in YOUR hands - YOU shape and mould the Leaders of tomorrow!






MUSIC COURTESY OF Juliani. Album "Mtaa Mentality" available for purchase on iTunes (click). Keep up with his music here: http://www.julianionline.com or http://www.facebook.com/julianimusic or http://www.myspace.com/julianimusic


"Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2

"The fear (respect, honor) of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." Psalm 19:9-11


Teen Pregnancy Statistics:
- Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Public Health and Services, “Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs,”
- The Guttmacher Institute: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf

Juvenile Delinquency Statistics:
- Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/default.asp

Juvenile Drug Statistics:
- Office of National Drug Control Policy: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/juveniles/juvenile_drugs_ff.htmlJuvenile