By Cliff Njoki
The Kenyan music scene is alive thanks to the gengetone wave that was popularised by the ever controversial Ethic Entertainment group whose hit single Lamba Lolo became an anthem of sorts. Their success gave rise to Boondocks Gang, Ochungulo Family and the likes of Sailors Gang, who are the subject of this piece. Sailors came, quickly learned the ropes and now command a following that leaves veteran artists green with envy. Whownskenya takes a look at the journey of this young and refreshing group starting with their names.
How The Group Was Formed
In an interview on Kenyan Vibe, Miracle Baby shared how he formed the group together with Qoqos Juma and Lexxy Yung in 2017. The group was then known as Trio Sailors until at the tail end of that year when Shalkido and Masilver joined them. They dropped ‘Trio’ and opted for Sailors Gang.
Life Before Music
Miracle Baby: He was a street boy and at one took up a job as a morgue attendant. Miracle Baby told Nation FM Anto Neosoul his past before the fame:
“Nikiwa myoung nilikuwa chokosh halafu nikaanza kudu kwa mortuary Kuwaosha after that nikaanza kuuza mawe pale ndederu ndio maana mi nikipiga ngoma na energy sitaki kurudi huko walai Ni kubaya,” (loosely translated: I was a street boy before I took up a job as a morgue attendant. Later I started selling stones in Ndederu. This is why I work hard in my music to avoid going back to my past life)
Known for his hooks and the choruses, the artiste tried his hand in Kikuyu stand-up comedy before he hit it big in music. Apart from music, he is a reggae host at Inooro TV.
Qoqosjuma: was a hairdresser and also in did comedy before Sailors happened.
Masilver: was a majengo guy while Shalqido was a tout.
Collaborations
They worked with Nadia Mukami in a song titled Tekenye which means “tickle me”. The song went on to gather over 1.7 million views.
YouTube Subscribers, Earnings And Number Of Videos
Subscribers-84,200
Video views-4,281,021
Video count-12
Note: These are the videos under Sailors 254. Wamlambez and Pekejeng have over 6 million and 5 million views respectively are under Mwalimu Rachel TV YouTube channel.
Via YouTuber.me
LAST 90 DAYS
| date | video views | estimated earnings |
| 29.04.2020 Wed | +961,263 | $ 360 – $ 2.16K |
| 15.03.2020 Sun | +206,008 | $ 77 – $ 463 |
| 01.03.2020 Sun | +55,995 | $ 21 – $ 125 |
| 27.02.2020 Thu | +51,798 | $ 19 – $ 116 |
| 24.02.2020 Mon | +182,504 | $ 68 – $ 410 |
| 18.02.2020 Tue | +171,042 | $ 64 – $ 384 |
| 13.02.2020 Thu | +46,373 | $ 17 – $ 104 |
| 11.02.2020 Tue | +58,971 | $ 22 – $ 132 |
| 08.02.2020 Sat | +130,927 | $ 49 – $ 294 |
| 03.02.2020 Mon | +45,046 | $ 16 – $ 101 |
| 01.02.2020 Sat | +31,577 | $ 11 – $ 71 |
| 31.01.2020 Fri | +54,162 | $ 20 – $ 121 |
| 30.01.2020 Thu | +23,479 | $ 8 – $ 52 |
| 29.01.2020 Wed | +51,194 | $ 19 – $ 115 |
Charges Per show
Sailors can charge from kes300,000 to kes1million to perform in an event.
