Jalang'o, Trio Mio and more stars grace Kenyan record label's artist unveiling at city gala

The event, attended by some of the fastest-rising music stars in Kenya, was graced by the label's CEO, Lang'ata MP Felix 'Jalang'o' Odiwour and a slew of other notable names drawn from the business, entertainment and political world.

R&B singer Emmy Muthiga and Afro pop upstart Dogo Skillz led a rich lineup of singers performing that night, with each musician taking to the stage to perform two of their best hits to a packed crowd.

The event, organized by the CMG Records' honcho Stephen 'Dezz' Aoll, was a celebration of the record label's various milestones and fresh signees as well as an opportunity for the label to unleash new talent, reward the label's founding members and also dish out several humanitarian goodies to needy but talented artists.

Lang'ata lawmaker Felix Odiwour alias Jalang'o, who arrived at the event some minutes past 10pm, came bearing goodies and also surprised the audience by doing a thoroughly impressive impromptu rap freestyle as upcoming rapper 'Trio Mwitu' helped him hem in the rhymes.

Rap sensation Trio Mio also delivered a knockout performance, taking fans through his rich repertoire before being joined on stage by viral impersonater 'Trio Mwitu' for their first-ever meeting as they both extemporized one of Trio Mio's biggest hits. 

At the same time, upcoming young raptress Queen Rose brought the house down after performing several freestyles and a few of her own recorded music, impressing the Lang'ata MP who immediately promised to clear her entire school fees from her current stage (Grade 8) to high school.

"In conjunction with CMG Records, I promise to pay Queen Rose's school fees all the way to Form Four. Even as she plans to move schools, I will stay in touch with her management to ensure that her schooling needs are fully taken care of for the rest of her schooling," Jalang'o said to a riotous applause.

Quinta Akinyi, alias Queen Rose, a protégé of Stephen 'Dezz' Aoll, is currently a Grade 8 pupil at Kanya Medha Junior Secondary school in Kisumu.

On her part, R&B starlet Emmy Muthiga shut down the stage with a powerful rendition of her hit 'Taratibu', before moving into 'That Love' featuring Kristoff and finally 'Doremi' featuring singer-songwriter Control Bwoy.

Dogo Skillz, the first and most prominent CMG Records signee, also took to the stage to perform 'My Type', 'Rotate' featuring Stevo Simple Boy and his latest hit, the Kristoff-assisted 'Light the roofs'.

Nakoche Msela, who just won the FEMA Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, also took the stage - backed by CMG's official Tiktok dancers - performing his renowned track 'Mwisho' to a thunderous acclamation.

As the night wore on, the event MC YouTuber and comedian 2mbili invited the label's CEO to make a short speech and deliver several encomiums to his label's artists.

"I wish to express my gratitude to everyone for making this happen, for creating time, being with us here tonight to support these talents and show your unequivocal patronage to the CMG brand.

"I'm also grateful for the far we've come - grateful that we have been around for more than a year now and have continued to grow, sign new talents, do more releases and are still in pursuit of the CMG vision, " he said.

While appreciating the acts for their performances, the US-based label president also revealed that more music, projects and tours were in the pipeline.

"Already, a lot is being worked on. Everyone here has new material they're releasing soon. Nakoche's new video is dropping this month and the rest have tons of material to release as we kick off the year. Keep looking out for that as CMG seeks to conquer more fields and onboard more talents, " he said.

Popular rapper Kristoff, who joined the label towards the end of 2023, did not make it to the event due to pressing family matters.

"You know Kristoff is already part of the family. He was going to be with us tonight but, unfortunately, couldn't make it. He had some urgent family issues to take care of and sent his apology," Dezz, widely referred to as Bossy, said.