Exactly 19 years ago today, Kenya’s music industry lost one of her top musicians, E-Sir (Issah MMari ) to a tragic accident that happened along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway. He was only 21 years at the time.
On the day of the accident, E-Sir had just finished performing at a beauty contest in Nakuru and was travelling back to Nairobi alongside other musicians including singer David Mathenge alias Nameless.
Nameless, who was riding in the same car with E-Sir at the time survived the fatal accident and got away with a broken collar bone.
Following the tragic incident, Nameless is among the Kenyan celebrities who came out to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the late music icon.
In his way, the Salary hitmaker decided to celebrate the death of his friend by listing a couple of songs E-Sir did before departing.
‘19 years since you left us. March 16, 2003, love and miss you, bro. You are still inspiring the new generation with your awesomeness. Fam what is your favourite Esir jam? Mine was Moss, Leo ni Leo and of course Boomba.’
Other celebrities who also paid tribute include singer Bigpin and E-Sir’s brother, Habib.
To date, E-Sir is still remembered for changing the Kenyan music scene and he is still being considered as one of the top rappers in the country.
In his days, E-Sir won many awards and nominations thanks to his great time. In 2003 alone, he won three Kisima Awards and got nominated at the Kora Awards for the Best East African Artistes.
The music legend was also nominated in the 2004 Tanzania Music Awards for his album, Nimefika.
If you don’t know who this celebrated musician is then don’t you worry, we got you covered.
For starters, E-Sir was among the first artistes who redefined local music and sold it to the international audience.
His prowess in lyric writing still stands out to date. His songs captured the attention of his audience with flawless poetic lyrics, a quality that most modern songs lack in Kenya.
E-Sir was among the pioneer rappers who did not need to do much to convince the Kenyan audience that local music is indeed palatable.
However, the music scene has matured, giving ample space for both the seasoned and the budding artistes.
His was a broad mastery of music writing that either entertained or shared a life lesson; from Hamnitishi to Saree. From “Bila Spare Tyre, Nasafiri kwenye barabara ya maisha bila kutaka, Saa yoyote naweza kupata puncture, Kwa hivyo naendesha gari yangu pole pole sana” to “Nina mabeshte ndani ya gari (Si usaree), Manze, kitu lazima ahanywe, Kagomba leo lazima kanase.”
Fans continue to remember him today and always with tweets and posts about him on his timeline. May he continue resting in peace.
