Camp Mulla

Camp Mulla
Origin Nairobi, Kenya
Genres
Years active 2009–present
Labels Sub Sahara
Associated acts
Website campmulla.wordpress.com
Members
  • Kus Ma
  • Shappaman
  • Tiri
Past members
  • Karun
  • Thee MC Africa

Camp Mulla is an alternative hip hop group originating from and based in Nairobi, Kenya. The group rose to prominence with the release of their debut single "Party Don't Stop" on 31 August 2010, with that and their subsequent works earning them a nomination for Best International Act (Africa) at the 2012 BET Awards. Following their release of their debut studio album, Funky Town, the group's lead singer Karun and rapper Thee MC Africa both left the group to pursue solo careers.[1]

The group's musical style, fashion sense and origins have drawn comparisons to The Black Eyed Peas,[2] while they have also been criticised for making "bubblegum music".[3]

History

2009–2012: Beginnings, rise to fame and Funky Town

After honing their skills through a series of experimental projects, Mykie Toni and rappers Shappaman (then known as Young Kass) and Thee MC Africa (then known as Taio Tripper) co-founded the group in mid-2009. Karun (then Miss Karun) and Kus Ma (then K'Cous) later joined. Initially distributing their music through websites such as ReverbNation, SoundCloud and SoundClick for digital download, their song "Low" was the first to gain radio airplay, having been introduced by radio presenter Eve D'Souza on Capital FM when it debuted on radio.

Camp Mulla released their first single, "Party Don't Stop", on 31 August 2010 to generally positive critical acclaim, peaking at number 2 on Capital FM's "Hits Not Homework" playlist and number 13 on Homeboyz Radio's "HitList".[4] This and other songs that followed won them several awards, including the "Teeniez' Group or Collabo" and "Teeniez' Nu Artist" awards at the 2012 Chaguo La Teeniez Awards held on 20 April 2012.[5][6][7] Camp Mulla got their first public appearance on 12 February 2011 at Collo's Valentine's Day concert, where he revealed the music video for his new song "Chini ya Maji". They served as the opening act for Nigerian R&B duo P-Square at a live performance at The Carnivore on 26 February 2011.[8] Camp Mulla also opened for Nigerian acts at Naija 9te (or Naija Nite), including Naeto C and Flavour in October 2011. The group was billed to perform at the Big Brother Africa 7 opening ceremony alongside J. Cole, Davido, Aemo E'Face, P-Square, Naeto C and Flavour on 6 May 2012,[9][10][11] but were not able due to delays in their travelling documentation.[12] However, they performed on the show's first eviction show on 13 May 2012. Camp Mulla also performed at the grand finale of the fifth season of Tusker Project Fame in 2012.[13]

Camp Mulla was nominated for Best International Act (Africa) at the 2012 BET Awards—becoming the first Kenyans ever to be nominated for a BET award in the process—alongside Lira, Mokobé and Ice Prince,[14][15][16] but lost out to eventual winners Sarkodie and Wizkid. On 29 September 2012, the group released their debut studio album, Funky Town.

2013–present: Departures and solo projects

In May 2013, Sub Sahara announced that lead singer Karun was leaving to pursue a solo career and further studies in the United States, with rapper Thee MC Africa also leaving to pursue a solo career.[1] Tiri Murai (known mononymously as Tiri), another Kenyan singer and Kus Ma's girlfriend, was brought in to replace Karun in June 2013 after performing live with the group at the MTV Africa All Stars concert in Durban, South Africa the previous month.[17] On 22 August 2013, Kus Ma released a solo mixtape entitled J's and Purple,[18] while Tiri followed up with a mixtape of her own, Nefertiri, on 8 March 2014.[19] On 20 April 2015, coinciding with the 4/20 celebrations, Shappaman released an extended play entitled Wild Life on Tape.[20] He followed that up with a mixtape entitled Love Wild on 2 March 2016.[21]

Musical style

A majority of Camp Mulla's songs incorporate hip hop and contemporary R&B. They call their musical style "2-5-Flow" or "254Low" (pronounced "two five flow"), which is a play on Kenya's calling code +254.[22]

Members

Current members
Former members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details
Funky Town

Singles

Title Year Album
"Party Don't Stop" (featuring Collo) 2010 Funky Town
"Feel No Pain" 2011
"Fresh All Day" 2012
"Hold It Down"

Music videos

List of music videos with directors, showing year released[24]
Title Year Director(s)
"Walkin' on a Dream"
(Remix of "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun)		 2011 Camp Mulla
"Party Don't Stop" (featuring Collo) Clarence Peters
"Addicted"
"Fresh All Day" 2012 Andrew Macharia
"Hold It Down" Clarence Peters
"Feel No Pain" Private19
"If You Believe" 2013 Enos Olik
"oH mA gAd" (featuring WondaBoy) Kevin Bosco, Jr.
"All In" (featuring M.anifest)
"Look @ Me Now" (featuring Kanja and M.anifest)
"Chafua" (featuring Collo and Tiri)

Solo discography

Kus Ma
Shappaman
Tiri

Awards and nominations

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Year Event Recipient Award Result Reference(s)
2012 BEFFTA Awards Camp Mulla Best International Act Nominated [25][26][27][28]
BET Awards Camp Mulla Best International Act (Africa) Nominated [14][15][16]
Channel O Music Video Awards "Party Don't Stop" Best Newcomer Video Nominated [29][30][31]
"Fresh All Day" Best Duo, Group or Featuring Video Nominated
"Party Don't Stop" Best East African Video Nominated
"Fresh All Day" Video of the Year Nominated
Chaguo La Teeniez Awards "Party Don't Stop" Teeniez' Group or Collabo Won [5][6][7]
Camp Mulla Teeniez' Nu Artist Won
The Headies Camp Mulla African Artist of the Year Nominated [32][33][34][35]
Kora Awards Camp Mulla Best African Group Nominated [36][37][38][39]
MOBO Awards Camp Mulla Best African Act Nominated [40][41][42][43][44]
MTV Europe Music Awards Camp Mulla Best African Act Nominated [45][46]

References

  1. 1 2 "CAMP MULLA: Was the split inevitable?". Daily Nation. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "3 Things Camp Mulla and the Black Eyed Peas Share in Common". Ghafla! News. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Philip Mwaniki (12 November 2011). "Why we need bubblegum music". Buzz.
  4. ↑ Camp Mulla – Blue Tooth MCs – StarAfrica.com – http://www.starafrica.com/en/music/news/article/camp-mulla-blue-tooth-mcs-164488.html
  5. 1 2 "CHAGUO LA TEENIEZ AWARDS 2012 WINNERS". Nairobi, Kenya: KenyanGospel.com. 21 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Chaguo La Teeniez Awards 2012 – Winners". Nairobi, Kenya: VibeWeekly. 21 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Here Are The Winners of the 2012 CHAT Awards (According to Ghafla)". Nairobi, Kenya: Ghafla.co.ke. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  8. ↑ Camp Mulla performs LIVE at the Carnivore in Nairobi – Uploaded by CampMulla – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMlO07NKS9k
  9. ↑ "News: Camp Mulla For Launch Show!". Big Brother Africa. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Davido,Camp mulla,Aemo E'Face To Open 2012 BigBrother Africa". CelebRegion.com. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Camp Mulla To Premiere The Big Brother Show". CelebRegion.com. 11 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Camp Mulla set to miss the premier of BBA 7". Ghafla! News. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Camp Mulla Dazzle at BBA7 Live Eviction Show". VibeWeekly.com. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Best International Act: Africa – BET Awards". BET. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Camp Mulla Nominated for BET Awards". VibeWeekly.com. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  16. 1 2 "Camp Mulla Nominated For BET Awards. (Full List of Nominees)". Nairobi W!re. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  17. ↑ "BN Exclusive: Introducing Tiri! The Newest Member of Kenyan Hip-Hop Group Camp Mulla". Bella Naija. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  18. ↑ "Kus Ma New Mixtape Js& Purple Release". PRLog. Sub Sahara Entertainment. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  19. ↑ "The Beautiful Tiri’s Mixtape Launch". Ghafla!. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  20. ↑ "ShappaMan Has Dropped His Debut EP! Have A Listen". Homeboyz Radio. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  21. ↑ "Former member of Camp-Mulla ShappaMan, drops Love Wild mixtape". Kenyan Musik. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  22. ↑ Camp Mulla: Cool Kids on the Edge of A New Frontier? – Open Mic – 29 April 2011 – http://willpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/camp-mulla-cool-kids-on-edge-of-new.html
  23. ↑ WHO IS CAMP MULLA? <<campmulla - http://campmulla.wordpress.com/artists-2/ - Camp Mulla - Wordpress.com
  24. ↑ "Camp Mulla Video Archive". Afrobeat360. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "Nonini, Nameless and Camp Mulla nominated for BEFFTA awards". The Kenyan Post. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  26. ↑ "Camp Mulla Nominated For Another International Award". Jambo News Spot. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  27. ↑ "Nominees – 2012 BEFFTA Awards". BEFFTA Awards. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  28. ↑ "Breaking News: BEFFTA 2012 Winners Announced at a Star-studded Awards Ceremony". BEFFTA Awards. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  29. ↑ "Camp Mulla Does It Again: List of All Kenyans Nominated For Channel O Music Video Awards". Ghafla! News. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  30. ↑ "Camp Mulla Get Chanel O Awards Nomination, Release Funky Town". CarlThaTruth.com. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  31. ↑ "Camp Mullah top Kenyan Channel O nominations". The Standard. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  32. ↑ "Camp Mulla Headed For Headies Awards 2012". Vibe Weekly. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  33. ↑ "Camp Mulla nominated for The Headies 2012". Zimbio. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  34. ↑ "Camp Mulla invading the Headies". Channel O at DStv. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  35. ↑ "Camp Mulla Lose to Sarkodie at the Headies". Hot Secrets. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  36. ↑ "Full List: Kenyan Artistes Nominated for KORA Awards". Ghafla! News. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  37. ↑ John Muchiri (3 November 2012). "Awards: Camp Mulla raising Kenyan flag high in the continent". The Daily Nation'. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  38. ↑ "Marya, Jimmy Gait, Redsan and Camp Mulla to know their fate…….KORA awards". The Kenyan Daily Post. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  39. ↑ "Marya, Camp Mulla et al miss out ……KORA Awards". The Kenyan Daily Post. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  40. ↑ "Breaking News: Camp Mulla nominated for M.O.B.O Awards!". Ghafla! News. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  41. ↑ "Camp Mulla Nominated For MOBO Awards 2012". Vibe Weekly. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  42. ↑ "Vote, vote, vote: Camp Mulla for MOBO Awards.". PressPlay.co.ke. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  43. ↑ "Camp Mulla nominated for MOBO Awards". The Star. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  44. ↑ "Camp Mulla Nominated For Mobo Awards". 89.5 FM Ghetto Radio. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  45. ↑ "Camp Mulla Nominated at the MTV EMAs. That's Two Big Nominations on the Same Day!". Ghafla! News. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  46. ↑ "Camp Mulla Bag MTV EMA nomination". PressPlay.co.ke News. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
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