Dan Aceda

Last updated

Dan Aceda
Dan Aceda at Thursday Night Live in NaIrobi by Paul Munene.jpg
Aceda performing at The Thursday Night Live show in Nairobi on 10 May 2018
Born
Dan Okoth

(1984-10-10) 10 October 1984 (age 40)
Kisumu County, Kenya
Alma mater University of Nairobi
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • actor
  • architect
Years active2005–present
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • bass
  • drums
Website danaceda.co.ke

Dan Okoth (born Kisumu District, Western Kenya), better known as Dan Aceda, is a Kenyan musician, entrepreneur, architect, and actor from Nairobi. He has recently been recognised by a Kenyan online magazine as having one of the top 10 most iconic male voices in his home country. [1] In 2014 he was nominated to be a part of the Global Accelerator Conference for entrepreneurs organised by the UN Foundation in New York City. [2] He is also a 2013–2014 Global Health Corps fellow. [3]

Contents

Education

Aceda holds two degrees from the University of Nairobi: a bachelor's degree in Architectural Studies attained in 2008 and a bachelor's degree in Architecture attained in 2010. He attended Strathmore School where he got his nickname “Chizi” from a close friend Jones Mwenda; and Kilimani Primary School as well as Shadrack Kimalel Primary School.

Awards

Aceda was the recipient of two Kisima Awards garnered in 2008 for Best Male Afro Fusion artiste as well as Songwriter of the year. [4] He was also nominated for the 2011 Kisima Awards in the Best Afro Fusion category. [5] [6] In 2011 he became the first Kenyan musician to perform at the Lake of Stars Festival in Malawi. [7] Prior to this Dan had performed at the 2010 SawaSawa Festival in Nairobi, Kenya. [8] He was also a cast member in the 2009 musical Mo Faya, which was written by compatriot Eric Wainaina and staged at the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival. [9]

Previously he was nominated in the 2008 edition of the Groove Awards in the Category of Artiste of the Year. [10]

Albums

Aceda has recorded and released four studio albums. SULUWE, his debut album was produced in 2005 by David Blackman Muthami and published by Kijiji Records. The album title is a corruption of a Dholuo word that means "star". This album featured one of Aceda's most famous songs "Sanasana". [11]

His second album "Benganology" was released in 2010. It featured production work by Robert "Rkay" Kamanzi, Chris Adwar, Aaron Rimbui, Tim Rimbui, and David Muthami. The album also features the 2009 hit song "Saida". The album caused local Kenyan media to label Dan "the crown prince of Benga" in reference to the style of music called Benga that is indigenous to East Africa and specifically Kenya. [12] Benganology peaked at Number 4 in the iTunes Kenya Chart in 2019. [13]

In 2013 Dan Published his 3rd solo studio project titled "'Made in Kenya'". The album was self produced and featured work by Amileena Mwenesi, King Kaka, Monica Obaga, Jimmy Hope (Togo), Chemphe (Ghana), Kavutha Mwanzia and Victor Seii. [14]

In 2018 Dan's fourth studio album "'Accelarata'"Was released that featured work by Avril, Etana, Fena, Sage, Proff and Winyo. The album is receiving rave reviews and continues to be among the most popular albums in Kenya. [15]

Collaborations

The two albums feature collaborations with several Kenyan musicians including Eric Wainaina, Wyre, Neema Ntalel, Sanaipei Tande and Kanjii Mbugua. In 2007 Dan featured on the Umoja Pamoja project alongside Suzanna Owiyo, Eric Wainaina, Sara Mitaru, Nyota Ndogo, Neema Ntalel, as well as Karen Lucas. The project was funded by the US Embassy in Nairobi.

Aceda was featured on the 2008 Action Aid project alongside Pastor Brian and Tim Rimbui to produce the song "Lift your hands". He was also featured on the song "Colours" by Joseph Hellon.

Aceda featured on Songs by local Rappers Charles Righa [16] and Richard 'A-star' Njau.

Songwriting

Aceda has written songs for several Kenyan musicians including Kanjii Mbugua (what if, Nanana, Posibo, Mr Money), Tim Rimbui (Shamba la Wanyama, Lift your hands), Joseph Hellon (Colours), Atemi Oyungu (Domestics) among others. [17] He was also among the writers of the 2006 Mavuno Worship Project that was published by Kijiji Records in conjunction with Mavuno Church.

Current work

Aceda performs in Nairobi regularly and has created a quarterly event dubbed The Affair which features fellow musicians Chris Adwar, Jacob Asiyo and Atemi Oyungu. In 2011, Aceda launched the Mabawa Project, a charitable initiative aimed at providing school books for needy children in Kenya. [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Kenya</span>

The music of Kenya is very diverse, with multiple types of folk music based on the variety over 50 regional languages.

Eric Wainaina is a Kenyan singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professor Jay</span> Tanzanian hip hop artist and politician

Joseph Haule, popularly known by his stage name Professor Jay, is a Tanzanian hip hop recording artist, politician and former member of the Tanzanian parliament for Mikumi constituency. He is one of the prominent representatives of the "Bongo Flava" Tanzanian hip hop subgenre, which mixes elements from both Western hip hop and the Tanzanian tradition.

David Mathenge, better known by his stage name Nameless, is a Kenyan pop artist.

Harrison Mungai "Harry" Kimani is a Kenyan musician and composer.

Peter Gatonye, known better for his stage name Pilipili is a musician/singer from Kenya. At the beginning of his career, he collaborated with another musician, Gun B. Their best known song was "Nampenda". He also did a song with Ratatat. The song was called "Morale".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kisima Music Awards</span>

The Kisima Music Awards is an annual awards program that recognises musical talent in East Africa. Despite being Kenyan-based the scheme awards artists from a variety of countries, predominantly Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and incorporates a range of music genres.

Hardstone is a Kenyan musician. His music is a mixture of ragga, reggae and hip hop. He sings in English, Swahili and Kikuyu languages. He is a pioneer urban style artist in Kenya and topped the Kenyan music scene for a while in the late 1990s.

Tim Rimbui, better known as "Ennovator" is a Kenyan record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who has worked with many prominent Kenyan and East African artists. He is generally thought of as one of the leading music producers in Kenya. With the foresight of being creative, innovative and unique he chose the name Ennovator, which would best describe his sound and approach to music production.

Just a Band is a Kenyan alternative band whose career was launched with their 2008 debut album, Scratch to Reveal. Their music has explored various musical directions such as jazz, hip-hop, disco, and electronica. The band are credited with creating Kenya's first viral music video after their 2010 music video for "Ha-He!"—featuring fictional Kenyan superhero-inspired protagonist Makmende—sparked countrywide interest.

Lydia Achieng Abura was a Kenyan singer who performed Afro-jazz, Afro-fusion, and gospel music.

Kevin Omondi Migot better known for his stage name Dola Kabarry is a benga musician from Kenya. He leads the band Orchestra Super Haki Haki. His songs are mainly in Dholuo language.

Mr. Googz is a musician, preacher and author from Kenya.

Princess Jully was a benga musician from Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qqu</span> Kenyan musician (born 1980)

Moses Qqu Odhiambo, known commonly as Qqu is a Kenyan singer, songwriter, choreographer, performer, instrumentalist, lifestyle entrepreneur and digital artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauti Sol</span> Kenyan band

Sauti Sol is a Kenyan Afropop band formed in Nairobi in 2005 by vocalists Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi. Initially an a cappella group, guitarist Polycarp Otieno joined before they named themselves Sauti Sol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Rimbui</span> Kenyan pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, producer, festival curator and radio host

Harun "Aaron" Kimathi Rimbui is a Kenyan pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, producer, festival curator and radio host. He is regarded as one of East Africa's finest pianists.

Wilson Abubakar Radido is a Kenyan artist and songwriter from Nairobi. He is the chief executive officer and founder of Saldido International Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atemi Oyungu</span> Musical artist

Carol Atemi Oyungu is a Kenyan singer, songwriter and entertainer. She first made her mark by being in a girl band Intu until 2007 when they each decided to go solo and work on individual projects. In 2003, she joined Eric Wainaina, as an assistant vocal harmony provider for his band. Oyungu released her first single "Happy" in 2004 and her debut album Hatimaye in 2008, and her second studio album Manzili in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Fita</span> Musical artist

Kelvin Peter Wanjohi professionally known as DJ Fita, is a Kenyan DJ, music producer and music journalist from Thika. He is best known for remixing Kenyan pop music into upbeat electronic dance music. DJ Fita is also a member of Fitemba. He was nominated for the VJ of the Year 2015 during the annual Stylus DJ Awards and Alternative DJ of the Year 2022 at Cafe Ngoma Awards.

References

  1. ↑ "The Top Ten Most Iconic Male Voices – Kenya". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Global Accelerator 2014". 10 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Global Health Corps | 2013-2014". Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Kisima Music Awards". Kisimaawards.co.ke. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "Kisima Music Awards list of nominees released". Standardmedia.co.ke. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "Lake of Stars Malawi Music Festival". Lakeofstars.org. 15 October 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Sawa Sawa Festival". Sarakasi.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "Cast". Mo Faya the Musical. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "GROOVE AWARDS 08 NOMINEES | News | KenyanGospel.com". Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Chizi – Suluwe". mwafrika.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "Dan "Chizi" Aceda releases "BENGANOLOGY"". Kwelimag.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "Dan Aceda on Instagram: "Haiyaaaaaaaa"". Archived from the original on 26 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "- YouTube". YouTube .
  15. ↑ "Accelarata by Dan Aceda". 27 November 2018.
  16. ↑ "Rigga – The Awakening". mwafrika.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  17. ↑ "Stories – Kanjii". Kijijirecords.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. ↑ "Kenya: Benga Prince Dan Aceda Launches Mabawa Initiative". allAfrica.com. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  19. ↑ "Dan Aceda Launches 'Mabawa Project'". Vibeweekly.com. 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.