Blazing the trail, again

"We have done a lot of research," says John Rabar, one of the directors. 

"And we are convinced marketing is a lacking ingredient for today's talented musician. We have, therefore, vowed to market and see the musicians sell as a product."

Sema, the group comprising the top three performers in the Coca-Cola Pop Star contest, Sema, are the first beneficiaries of this brand venture.

"We have signed on Sema fully. We manage them, do public relations for them, dress them, arrange their diary and ensure they are where they are supposed to be."

Although the ventures is expensive, Rabar says that you can never have a good product without spending money. 

"We are investing, that is for sure, but like with any other product, there is an initial cost that must go into the marketing." 

He says one of the reasons musician are unable to stir a crowd in live concerts is because they have not been packaged as a product and sold for consumption. He says that people just wait to hear songs on FM stations and do not care who is behind it. "We have talent but we must package the talent tastefully", he asserts.

In the 10 years that they have been around, Homeboyz have expanded from just being DJs to perhaps the largest name in the entertainment industry. There have been many obstacles, but the company has worked to overcome them to pursue a passion that runs deeper than money.

"Many times people have questioned our motives. Whenever we launch a new product, we know there are people who feel it is just a hype but let me tell you, we have invested our heart and soul in this company and can only accept the best." 

The Homeboyz group comprises Homeboys Creative, Music box, DJ School, production, audio production, a monthly magazine on entertainment and a video editing suite. 

"We are confident that our products have been accepted on the market, so it is now time to market music and the musician."

Rabar reckons that some artists abroad have achieved success with only two percent of talent! He says that some of the very successful artistes have little or no talent and rely heavily on marketing, which ensures them fantastic sales. 

But this is not the trend they are planning to follow, he says,adding that the Homeboyz will sign up 100 per cent talent backed and back it with100 per cent marketing to take music and musicians a notch higher.

The Homeboyz are starting noble with their ambitious project but they say they have already been approached by musicians from Uganda and Tanzania. However, they wish to take things slowly.

"We are not in a rush to sign up musicians, we want to do this right. Artistes must first and foremost have that 100 percent talent, or else it might be difficult selling them," says Rabar. 

He says they really frown upon the idea of highly successful singles. " "This is the disease that is eating our artists. They sing one nice song and refuse to go back to the studio to come up with a complete album, it is tiresome trying to sell one song surely!"

For a long time the Homeboyz have kept off handling artistes, and it would now seem that this was a well calculated move.

Says Rabar, "We had a plan, and it had to be perfect. Now that things are in place, we are ready to roll."

But the venture is not without hitches. For instance, Sema's album, Mwewe, which should have been released in August, is not out yet. But there is no need to worry, assures Rabar .

"We are doing quality work, and this means outsourcing. We are doing this album in London with a company called Hilton Groove. We know we are being watched and that tongues are wagging but we can assure the market that there will be no short-cuts with Homeboyz." 

He says the album is now ready and will be in the country in the next two weeks. 

Rabar says that in their contract with Sema, they have lined up an overseas tour that will include concerts in several European countries.

"We want artistes signed to Homeboys Records to be international, that is why we insist that they must have100 per cent talent because we intend to package them, market them and distribute them across borders," he explains.

Rabar says that when they look back in another two years, they want to look at the artistes they signed on them and see success," We are even looking at a collaboration with a larger record label like Virgin Records as a partner. Like I said, it is all in the interest of music and the musician."

However, he cautions that these are long-term plans, and that for now they are only scouting for and approaching talented musicians to sound them out for possible contracts. Now that we have signed on and produced a singing group, we are most probably going to look for a rap artist just for diversity. We acknowledge that Kenya has different styles, which we would like to present."

What about the rumours that the company has been warming up to bad boy Nonini and king of Bling Prezzo ?

"They are not true," says Rabar. "We are looking at how best to tap into the talent of artists and although these two rappers are unique in their own way, we have not signed up either of them."

What about Tatuu?" 

We are testing the waters and like I said, scouting for talent before we make a move".

So that's Homeboyz latest first, and they're determined to make it work. The results, they say, will prove them right or wrong.