So American rapper Kanye West just dropped a new studio album, ye and Kenya is fully represented in it.
Legendary musician Ayub Ogada and his one-time bandmate James Mbarack Achieng are some of the credited appearances in the album. They are listed as composers of the album’s second track, titled Yikes, alongside Kanye West and Mike Dean.
There’s one problem, however. Ayub Ogada, real name Job Seda, cannot seem to recall what exactly he contributed.
Speaking to Nation, Ayub noted that, “I’ve done so many projects. I cannot remember everything.”
He added, “I cannot remember at what moment in time I did that job.”
What this means is that the two Kenyan musicians may not have actively participated in composing Yikes. Kanye likely borrowed some aspects from one of their songs and was gracious enough to credit them for their work.
“People use my music to do their own projects,” said Ayub.
Regarded as one of the greatest Kenyan artists of all time, Ayub, whose characteristic instrument is the Nyatiti, is internationally recognised.
One of his most successful songs, Koth Biro (Luo for the rain is coming) was played at the Rio 2016 Olympics as Kenya’s athletics legend Kipchoge Keino received the Olympic Laurel award.
Ayub has also appeared in several motion pictures, including Out of Africa and The Kitchen Toto.
He has also performed numerous large festivals and concerts including WOMAD, the Live 8 concert and the Eden Project.
