ONE ON ONE: Redsan

Swabri Mohammed, popularly known as Redsan, talks of the secret of being in the scene for so long and why the durag is here to stay

Do you sometimes feel that the name Redsan is bigger than you?

Sometimes yes, but not all the time because I knew what I was getting into when I started calling myself Redsan. I knew I was going to advertise that brand more than my character.

People always associate the name with the character, which is very wrong. So you will find people saying: “That guy feels so sweet”. No, that’s the brand. The brand has to sell, the brand has to feel sweet and be expensive. But the character is different.

So is Swabri down to earth?

Yes I am, that’s how I was raised. Plus, that’s how Kenyan people are, it’s our culture, we are very down to earth. But when you are already a brand like Redsan, it becomes very hard to associate with just anybody.

There are those people who will just want to come and say “hello” just to test you, not because they support what you do or like what you do. I always say approach is very important. If you come and say “hello” with a serious face, I’ll be like: Okay, fine;

because I can read you. Approach is very important.

How have you managed to maintain an aura of mystery around you? Because, aside from music, people really don’t know much about you.

I’m managed by a very good team and they understand there’s Redsan the professional brand — the person who hits the studio and comes out with hit songs and asks what next.

And there’s Swabri Mohammed, the person who hurts, bleeds, cries, has headaches, and says “I’m tired, I don’t want to tour”.

I value my background, my family and my religion very much.  When I’m home with my family, there’s nothing about Redsan. That is private and you will not hear or read about it on the Internet, no matter how much you try.

I’m always with my family, so you won’t find beef in the media; it’s always sorted right there and then. But when you mix your friends and managers and other people, that’s where the problem comes in.

Sometimes I wish someone would just come and say “Hi, Swabri, how are you doing?” That would make me feel good.

Did you know ‘Shoulder Back’ was going to be a hit?

We anticipated it, but we didn’t know. I have one policy: never to get into the recording booth if I don’t feel something is going to do well in the market. I’m signed under Sony Music, I did Shoulder Back in Nairobi and when they heard it, they were amazed

that I did it here. Our producers are that good. So they said, “Let’s wrap it up and package it properly”. We did the choreography and the dance and pushed it and left it to the management to publish and print it.

When I got here two weeks ago from South Africa, I was shocked. A security woman at the airport did the Shoulder Back for me. These things really make me feel good as a person and as an artiste. I’m all about giving Kenyans the best, elevating the

Kenyan music standards and industry because, if we don’t, this crowd of ours will never move.

What is the secret to surviving the music industry this long?

Respect yourself before you respect yourself as an artiste. Respect God, your standards and know your limits. You have limits as a human being, an artiste has no limits.

When you’re famous, you feel like you are above everyone else and you can do whatever you want. Cut that crap out, that is not you. You are a human being and this is a name that you are creating.

People have to associate the name with who you are first. You have to put God as the first priority before you go to sleep, when you enter the studio and when you want to make any decision in this world, big or small.

You have to speak to God in your heart because He guides you. You may feel like, “Oh I’m Redsan, Shoulder Back will drive these people”. No. If God did not give you breath and good health, Shoulder Back would not be driving anywhere.

How come you never take off the durag?

That’s a huge secret and that’s part of the brand. Have you ever seen Blueband without the yellow? You’ll find Swabri without the durag, but Redsan is Blueband; he’s OMO.

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

I stay away from guilty things (laughs). I don’t have guilty pleasures; I love hanging out with my family, reading, learning new things, watching movies and working out.

About 80 per cent of my time, I’m working out because it’s the only free time I can get into the gym and have at least two hours by myself just thinking and not seeing anything on the Internet or television about me. I treasure these moments. Guilty

pleasures are for wicked people (laughs).

What goes through your mind when you are in a line-up of Kenyan artiste, like at SportPesa Festival, without other headliners from other countries?

Oh man, you see how I’m easy, how I’m smiling? It’s because every artiste that I’ve seen here is someone who I know personally. There’s no other country that’s coming to take over ours, we are managing and doing it as us, it’s really making me feel

good. The artistes that are here, these are friends that I know — Nameless, Mejja, Sauti Sol, those are the stage names. I know their real names and their personas. We are very comfortable here, if there was a Nigerian artiste who was going to perform

among us, or before us, you would see a different show.

Do you know H_art the Band?

I do and they are really doing well. They contacted the management one time they wanted to do something but I was in South Africa so I looked them up. When you see them, tell them I got their request and we will reply to them

I don’t want them to feel like the management kept quiet. It’s just that I don’t engage in collaborations by myself as an artiste, my management has to look at the benefits, how are we going to sell, who’s the distributor, how much are we getting? It’s all about revenue.

How much would someone have to pay you to dress like H_art the Band?

What! That’s a difficult question. They have their own style, but I don’t think I would dress like H_art the Band, even if I was paid (laughs). But I respect the movement.

You don’t seem like you’ve aged since Julie, what’s the secret?

I thank God for that, thank you very much. We were given hands not just to touch, hold, and build, but to pray for better health, long life and good people near us.

What is your best body feature?

I love my body, I really work hard at the gym, so it has to pay off.

How many times do you go to the gym?

Six times a week.

Do you live in Kenya full time?

No, I’m based here and in Johannesburg. But my family — my brothers and my mum — are here and I miss them. I stay in Kenya for about nine months, then go away for the same period because of work. It’s what is required of Redsan because of the

album and the collaboration. But East or West...

What do you miss the most when you are away?

I miss the food, I miss the women because they made me big here. I used to perform at beauty pageants before I started performing anywhere. The gifts I was receiving; it was crazy!

What kind of gifts?

I once got a Nissan 110 from a woman in 2006. I value the love and appreciation a lot. I’d just like to urge Kenyans to support us, we need you guys behind us if we are going to take over the Nigerian, South African and Ghanaian market because they have

really dropped a bomb on us. Everywhere I go nowadays, it’s 80 per cent Nigerian music and 20 per cent local songs, which is not good. We need to change that.

Who’s your favourite Kenyan celebrity?

I have so many, I don’t want to say just one because I will offend others. If you asked me who’s my favourite deejay, I wouldn’t say who; if Stylez read that in the paper… (laughs).

Have you ever trimmed your locks?

So many times, I don’t like long dreads. One of the reasons is because my dad told me he didn’t want my dreadlocks to grow past my shoulders. Ever. He also did not want tattoos and piercings on my body.

So you don’t have tattoos at all?

No, people have different values. It’s a promise I made and I stuck to it.

Are you close with Demarco?

We chat all the time, he still asks about "Badder Than Most" and we are doing another single with him. It’s in the new album called "Baddest".

When are you launching the album?

We were supposed to launch it in April but the collaborations are not finished because these guys are recording in their countries. It’s hard to find time to record, or they keep changing what they’ve recorded. We are releasing it in August; it will be one of the biggest concerts in Kenya.

In concerts, does it matter whether you close the show or not?

Anyone who closes the show is the biggest artiste, there’s no doubt about that. So if you want to be the biggest artiste over the biggest artistes, you have to close shows.

@jmmosongo