WORDS GRACEY MAE
It’s not easy to reinvent yourself after 20 years in the game, that’s if you’re not Bien. With a GRAMMY award under his belt and the title of founder/member of Africa’s Most Popular Boy Band, Sauti Sol, you’d imagine there wouldn’t be much left on his bucket list. Bien takes his achievements in his stride with child-like excitement for this new chapter as a solo phenomenon. With his name translating to “good” in French, it almost seems like a disservice for the incredible journey Bien has taken to become an icon. From topping charts, to selling out tours, the proud Kenyan singer, songwriter and musician is nothing short of inspiring. Find out what life is like lately in this exclusive F Word interview with Bien!
Gracey Mae: Welcome to the F Word. How are you today?
Bien: I'm fine, Gracey. What's good?
GM: I'm so happy to see you. You‘ve dropped the deluxe version of ‘Alusa, Why Are You Topless?’ Can you tell us the meaning of the album title?
B:In another life, I was in a band called Sauti Sol. We put out a song called 'Nishike'; which means "touch me" in Swahili. That was around 2011... We were whining topless in the video, oiled up with women all over us. It was so scandalous at the time because Kenya is very, very conservative. The song was even banned from all TV, all radio, and we even lost gigs in Kenya but for the first time, we started getting international shows. That song broke the glass ceiling. My native name is Alusa. At the time the 'topless' video was viral and making waves, my mother called me, and the first thing she said was, "Alusa, Why are you Topless?". And that informed the name of my next album; which brings to life the audaciousness and energy of being topless! That moment of toplessness, and the energy that I had, is what I'm channeling right now in my life. In my new career as a solo artist, I'm carrying that with me.
GM: After 20 years in the biggest boy band from Africa, what would you say surprised you the most about going solo?
B: Honestly, I feel like I've been living a quarter of my potential throughout my career. I can be so much more and I can be of so much more benefit; even to my band. I just wasn't seeing this other side of things. I've had to grow a lot more over the last two years than I ever have in the last 20 so I'm definitely a better human, I'd say.
GM: Would you have done it sooner if you could rewind time?
B: No, I wouldn't have done it sooner. I wasn't mentally ready. I'm glad I did it now. I have so much experience, so many relationships, and my wisdom of the game is at an all time high. If I did it before, it probably wouldn't be as fun.
GM: You mentioned wisdom in the game... If you were speaking to a 20 years old Bien, what would you advise him?
B: Take your time but don't waste your time. Spend your time on the things that matter and practice because a good performer never goes out of style. Genres come and go, things change, but practice, especially on your craft. Not to say that I didn't do that, but now that I'm really 100% on the gas, I feel like I should have done this when I was 20. I could have done more, but hindsight is 20/20 and that's not me regretting. That's just me discovering my potential.
GM: Bien, how did you discover music?
B: As far as I can reflect, I could sing. I was the kid in school who used to lead the chorus in church. I was always very confident in my singing abilities. The first time I ever earned a living, I was paid 65 shillings because I was singing. I recollect my life in songs. Every year of my life has a song that marks it. I actually discovered pretty early in my life that I want to be a musician. I was probably six when I told my cousin I wanted to be a star and she laughed at me at the time. We laugh about it now.
GM: You're an incredible songwriter, do you remember the first song you wrote? How did it go?
B: I do, it was trash. Please I have street cred and I don't want to ruin it right now. I'm doing so well. I just came from a whole beef in Nigeria and I need to maintain that secret because if they find that anywhere on the internet, it's finished.
GM: Okay, we'll let that one go. Talking about the beef of Nigeria, I know that you're currently trending online right now for comparing Nigeria and Kenya’s Olympic performance. Was sports ever an option for you?
B: Yes, I did play basketball.
GM: No way! What position?
B: I was a four, sometimes playing three, sometimes playing centre because in Kenya, there aren't that many tall people but I was too skinny for that. It was high school and I had to pick between music and basketball - I would just say that basketball didn't survive.
GM: Do you still watch basketball, at least?
B: I do. Very closely.
GM: I know that because I saw you in the front row with Adekunle Gold at the Africa Basketball Africa League. Was that the moment you guys met to record your single 'Wahala'?
B: That's the day we met to shoot the video. Adekunle and I have been friends for over 10 years. That's my brother; I love him to death. I'm currently modelling my career after how he's lived his life. I love the evolution of Adekunle Gold and just seeing him grow over the years has been so inspiring to me. He's always in my DM, sending me inspiring messages. We'd already recorded the song before that. I recorded the song in January at a writing camp in Ghana. I sent him the track because I just felt like his voice and his style were perfect for the song. He recorded the verse in two days, sent it back, and honestly, when I heard his verse, I had to change mine. The verse you heard on the song is not the initial verse I had recorded. He came with that pepper!
GM: With this record, you are currently the first and only Kenyan to enter the top five on the Nigeria Charts! Do milestones like this still matter to you when you’re 20+ years in the game?
B: I'lll be very honest with you, my wife is my manager and she really is keen on such things as markers of success. I understand from her end. How does she mark success? How does she measure success? To me a lot less. Just because of my experience of the last 20 years, it's very hard for me to get excited anymore over the Charts. I do get excited when I see Nigerians commenting on my socials and interacting with my music on Tiktok and using my music. That turns me on more than just the Charts because honestly, they are superficial. They're going up and going down. Some people are stream farming. Some people are doing all kinds of things to be on the Charts. I just feel like the music and what it does to people is what I care about now. I want them to be happy when they hear it. I want them to dance with their siblings, with their parents. I want them to build moments in their lives around that music, I want them to have good memories and use that song!
GM: What country are you most excited to take your music to next?
B: Wow! I've just wrapped my tour! I've been to America. I've toured Europe, Australia and a bit of East Africa, and I’ve done the UK. That's where the music is going so far. I just feel like the album for me is old but it's still very new to some people because a lot of people are just discovering me and the music right now. So I think it's up to me to take it to them as far as I can. I'm touring a lot with this album.
GM: When was the album actually recorded?
B: The release was 2023 November and it's over a year now. As an artist, I'm always recording. I already have another album that I want to put out so bad but my manager won't let me. By the time I put out that album, I've already moved on from that music. I've heard it a ton of times. I now derive pleasure from playing the songs on stage more than just listening to them because they don't do anything for me anymore. When I play them on stage and I see how the fans are going crazy about songs - making moments with them - that's when I fall in love. I fall in love with the album. That's how I interact with albums by the time I put it out. Now, I'm in the listening stage of my next album and I love it.
GM: What can you tell us about the next project?
B: Well, I'm not allowed to say anything because I've also not figured out the name but it's definitely going to be more cultural. I felt like my ‘Alusa, Why Are You Topless?’ is me trying to fit into the world but my next album is going to be about me inviting the world to Kenya. I’m bringing you into my world; showing what Kenya is about musically. I'm going to involve a lot of samples and sounds from different ethnic communities, different traditional instruments, different kinds of drums and percussion. I just want to make it more like a proper Kenyan cultural experience.
GM: I love that you're doing that. A lot of times when people use the term 'Afrobeats’, they use it to group all the music from the continent, and they forget that there are 60 genres that come from Africa.
B: I also like what Rema did with his album. I feel him when he said Afrobeats has become too easy to copy. African music is being whitewashed by the day just so that it can be understood by the world. I understand we need to take up space but at the same time all the answers are at the roots. This is also me having a full circle moment in my career. I remember when I was much younger, one of my mentors who is also the guy who discovered Sauti Sol, said, "I need you to put more of your culture in the music. Right now, you're sounding very R&B to me. It means it will be hard to tell you apart from anyone else in the world. Your voice is great but you need to go to your roots". At that time, I didn’t understand it because I was young and cool but now with this next album, I'm definitely having a full circle moment.
GM: On the topic of R&B, who were your inspirations growing up?
B: I have two lives! My dad loved Rumba music. Growing up in the house that's the kind of the music that played in the parties. When I was growing up, 90s R&B was everything. I think it still is the best, the greatest era of R&B. They don't make power ballads like that anymore. That's the era that shaped how I sing. Fortunately, R&B gives you an edge and allows you to be understood globally, but also, it can work against you if it detaches you from your culture. So now I'm putting the two together to craft the next version of me. Honestly, we don't even hear R&B anthems anymore. Okay, we do… but I don't think they slap the same.
GM: What can we look forward to from you in 2025?
B: Another album, of course. I've never actually spoken my album to existence more than I have on this interview. As I bring new music, I also really want to have a style evolution. I want to involve myself more in curating my next personality. So in the next few months, you'll be seeing a difference in the music, in the fashion, and a lot more personality. I realised that I don't put myself out a lot; I need to speak more.
GM: With that said, we'e come to the end of this interview but before I let you go, I do have to ask, what is your favourite F Word?
B: I'm gonna go with fried fish.
