Alright, peep this! All artists have a progress curve. You know, a genesis when they’re virgin (if you will) & unfound, then if providence is their ally there’s that one piece in their early catalog that catches some semblance of steam. If there’s real meat to that attention, they go on to establish themselves on the scene. They can do that too without substance, if they have some higherup foisting them onto the masses but that’s another conversation altogether.
Point is, those three or more stages are common. Most culture publications in many settings feature some artists from the second stage and most at the third; for image and sustainability reasons. But for artistry’s sake, we intend to have a discovery angle to us. Because some journeys are worth tracking from the start and seeing through. At least our gut tells us so in the case of this piece. That’s it, enough breaking of the fourth wall, let’s bite in! Enter Kiggy B…and inevitably, Yenxi.
Byrone Jerome Kiggundu; that’s Kiggy B for you, dude standing to the right in both stills. At the risk of sounding carried away by trivialities, it’s lowkey admirably hilarious how locked-in Kiggy looks in both instances. Other guy Yenxi’s pulling off the mildly smiley chill shtick, but Kiggy seems to be in that ambitious “must-have-been-there-in-another-life” zone. There’s a visual star quality to him, and we don’t mean to drive a division between the pair, just drawing an innocent lighthearted observation. But we digress, Kiggy’s musical influences are Wizkid, Wstrn, Michael Jackson & Justin Bieber. More on his sound later.
Yenxi on the other hand , né Osbert Byensi, is influenced by Bob Marley, Burnaboy & Protoje. He also shares with Kiggy an affinity for Wstrn & Wizkid. And it’s these contrasts and convergences in tastes that make them quite a pairing, as witnessed on their debut single, a dancehall number titled “CANA”.
We’re not in for a review of the single now. But it’s worth noting that it’s quite well thought out for a catalog opener. Lyrically hedonistic and loose in tone, there’s a mature artistic moderation to it. The pair could’ve easily “done too much”, but they played to their strengths with poise. It’s not like there’s no shaky spots, but none are that detrimental. Going by the tune, this act could be at the start of something beautiful. All the makings of it are there, the sonic and visual “it” factor, signs of a simmering ambition, and the complementarity of the pairing. We’re betting on them, and would like to chronicle their journey ’til they hit that sweet apex they seem to be made for!
