Mighty King Kong

Mighty King Kong

Paul Otieno Imbaya (1973 – December 25, 2007), better known for his stage name Mighty King Kong was a reggae musician from Kenya. He was born in Ugenya, Siaya District.

As a young child he suffered a severe polio and was disabled from the waist down. He went to Ambira Primary School, but dropped out at Standard Six following the death of his father. He moved to Kisumu city where he became a street kid and beggar. [1].

In 1993 he moved to Nairobi. With the assistance of DJ Stone, a local deejay whom he had met in Kisumu, he was able to perform at Nairobi clubs on weekly basis [1].

Few years later he moved to Mombasa and performed with bands like Them Mushrooms and Pressmen. Later on, he moved to Kampala, Uganda to perform with the popular Simba Ngoma band. In Kampala he earned enough money to records his first album. He went back to Nairobi where his album, titled Ladies Choice, was produced by Maurice Oyando of the Next Level studios [1]. It was released in June 1999. His second album, Cinderella was released in 2001, again by Next Level studios.

His third album, Return of the King, was released in 2004. However, Mighty King Kong publicly blamed its contract of being exploitative [2][3]. In 2007, he released a compilation album "The Best of King Kong" [2]

Outside Kenya, he performed in Germany, Netherlands and South Africa [4].

Above all, he was a die-hard supporter of Raila Odinga's ODM political movement which had promised to nominate him to the next parliament to represent the disabled persons of Kenya. He was seen dressed in orange colours as a sign of firm commitment to the party in his last days.

Death

He died on Christmas Day, 2007 at the age of 34, after being poisoned (as attributed in the local newspaper). He was transported to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, where he died as he was being treated. He is survived by his widow, Jackline Ouma [5] and a child. [6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Nation FM: Rags to Records - The reggae musician who started off as a street beggar in Kisumu (published around 2000)
  2. ^ a b Daily Nation, June 23, 2007:Mighty King Kong now poised to bounce back
  3. ^ The Standard, February 22, 2007: Gone with the lyrics
  4. ^ Kenya Times, March 19, 2006: From grass to grace
  5. ^ Daily Nation, December 26, 2007: Curtain falls on singer Mighty King Kong
  6. ^ The Standard, December 26, 2007: ‘Mighty’ King Kong passes on

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • King Kong vs. Godzilla — Original theatrical poster Directed by Ishirō Honda Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka …   Wikipedia

  • King Kong in popular culture — King Kong is one of the best known figures in cinema history. He and the series of films featuring him are frequently referenced in popular culture around the world.Erb, Cynthia, 1998, Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture , Wayne …   Wikipedia

  • King Kong (1933) — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase King Kong (desambiguación). King Kong …   Wikipedia Español

  • King-Kong — Affiche du film King Kong, le …   Wikipédia en Français

  • King kong (film, 1933) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir King Kong (homonymie). King Kong Réalisation Merian C. Cooper …   Wikipédia en Français

  • King Kong Le Robot — King Kong (en anglais Mytek the Mighty ) est une bande dessinée anglaise. Sommaire 1 Les auteurs 2 En France 3 L histoire 4 Les personnages …   Wikipédia en Français

  • King kong le robot — King Kong (en anglais Mytek the Mighty ) est une bande dessinée anglaise. Sommaire 1 Les auteurs 2 En France 3 L histoire 4 Les personnages …   Wikipédia en Français

  • King Kong le robot — King Kong (en anglais Mytek the Mighty ) est une bande dessinée anglaise. Sommaire 1 Les auteurs 2 En France 3 L histoire 4 Les personnages …   Wikipédia en Français

  • King Kong — This article is about the character. For the film, see King Kong (1933 film). For the 2005 remake of the 1933 film, see King Kong (2005 film). For other uses, see King Kong (disambiguation). The original stop motion animated King Kong from the… …   Wikipedia

  • King Kong (2005 film) — For the video game, see Peter Jackson s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie. King Kong Theatrical poster Directed by Peter Jackson …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”