FILMMAKER EDU GEE ON QUITTING MUSIC AND GROWING UP WITH E-SIR 

Popular filmmaker Edwin Nyongesa aka Edu Gee, recently opened up about his formative years rubbing shoulders with legendary artists like E-Sir, Bebe Cool, and Chameleone during an appearance on Buzz Central Podcast with host Cheptoek Boyo.

Fresh out of high school, a young Edu Gee ventured into music, joining a vibrant creative hub at the Catholic Church in South B, where budding artists gathered to hone their craft.

“I had time on my hands and decided to try music just to see where it would take me,” he recalled. “That church was a melting pot for talent, Kalamashaka, Redsan, One 2 Moja, Roughtone, and Mercy Myra all passed through there. My first-ever recording was a collabo with Roughtone and Mercy Myra, a secular track before Roughtone transitioned to gospel.”

Edu Gee also shared nostalgic memories of South C, the undisputed hotspot for Kenya’s rising music scene in the early 2000s. He revealed a friendly but fierce rivalry between his hip-hop crew and E-Sir’s camp, which leaned into Kapuka style.

“South C was the hub of creativity where you would find all the emcees. DJ Loop used to have a camp that was in competition with E-sir and Ogopa because us guys were hiphop heads and they were doing Kapuka,” he said. “I also crossed paths with Big Pin, Longomba, and even Ugandan stars like Bebe Cool and Chameleone, who lived there before returning home and blowing up.”

Though music was a passion, Edu Gee eventually shifted focus to filmmaking, where he has since made his mark with shooting top TV shows and film. “For me music was more experimental, I was having fun. At the same time I was doing music I transitioned to film because we had to shoot our own videos. Nobody was doing it and that’s when I picked up the camera and never looked back.”