Kenyatta Day may be a Kenyan public holiday, but this year’s celebration was truly an East African affair. A mix of hyped up Ugandan artists and talented Kenyan DJs kept revelers at The Blue Nile Restaurant on their toes all night long.
On the upper level Ugandan artist Roy Kapale and dancers took the stage at 12:15 instantly transforming the empty dance floor into a mass of thumping bodies with his hit song "Tonangira". Though Ugandans danced in response to his Kiganda lyrics, which were interlaced with a couple Swahili phrases, his energetic performance enabled non-Ugandan party-goers to get their groove on to the familiar lingala tunes of his songs.
Kapale is a great musician, but more so an excellent performer and dancer, hence his title as "Uganda’s King of Dance". The first rows of the dance floor were taken by ladies who ogled him as he shook his waist in a manner that would have even the most conservative of women flustered. Many of the ladies were happy to be pulled on stage to dance and one particular woman having not had her chance to dance with "The King" jumped on stage and planted a wet one on Kapale’s cheek. He added to their delight as he handed out roses later during the show.
That is not to say that the guys did participate in the fun, some guys danced to the beat, others found entertainment in the women’s response to Kapale and others kept their eyes on Kapale’s dancers.
On the lower level DJ Kabugi from New Jersey and Minnesota’s DJ Dan kept a mostly Kenyan crowd upbeat as they deftly moved through different genres of music.