One of my recent highlights was attending Thandiwe Muriu's artist talk at Circle Art Gallery on Saturday, 27th June 2026. I walked into that space with absolutely no expectations. I don't think it's necessary to mention how sleep deprived I was or how calendar reminders and people with an accurate sense of time deserve their flowers. Coffee too, recommended by said people.

As creatives we're constantly surrounded by other people's work. Every scroll introduces another idea. Every event reminds us of someone doing something interesting, something new. Every conversation has the potential to make us question whether we're moving fast enough, creating enough or building enough. Sometimes inspiration quietly turns into comparison before we even realize it's happening. Listening to Thandiwe speak reminded me that the work only becomes interesting when it genuinely belongs to you, not because it's the loudest or because it follows whatever is currently working. But because it's unmistakably yours. Running OV has taught me how easy it is to be distracted by what everyone else is building. You see incredible festivals, beautiful campaigns, sold out events, successful podcasts, viral moments and suddenly your own journey feels much smaller than it actually is. Then I remember something. Nobody else is trying to build what you’re building. That means trusting the instinct that says, "Cover this event." Trusting the curiosity that makes me walk into galleries I've never been to, attend conversations outside my comfort zone and keep documenting the creative spaces I care about. It means accepting that not every idea will work, not every event will be packed and not every piece of content will immediately find its audience.

Looking back at last week, I realized every meaningful conversation I had started because someone chose to show up. The artists, the audience, the organizers, the people asking questions, even the ones quietly sitting at the back of the room taking notes. Communities don't magically appear. They're built by people who keep showing up for one another. That thought stayed with me throughout the artist talk because the conversation wasn't just about photography. It was about everything that exists around the finished work. It's easy to experience art at face value. You see the finished photograph, hear the song, watch the performance or walk through an exhibition and think you've experienced the work. But the more the conversation unfolded, the more I realized the finished piece is only one layer. Behind it are years of references, lived experiences, communities, histories and countless creative decisions that most audiences never get to see.

That got me thinking about OV. When we attend events, review or sit through listening experiences, we're usually talking about what happened. The songs, the performances, the production, the audience etc. But increasingly I'm becoming interested in everything surrounding the work. The conversations that shaped it, the spaces that nurtured it, the references the artist is drawing from and the philosophies that are quietly holding the entire project together. Such rooms remind me that art rarely exists on its own. It sits inside an ecosystem of people, memories, influences and communities. The more we understand those connections, the richer the work becomes.

I then realized this wasn't the only conversation that had been nudging me in this direction. Earlier in the month, I attended Baraza Media Lab's Lunch & Learn on Branding Your Rate Card & Talent Management 101, facilitated by Spontaneous the Poet and Kefa Odindo. On paper, it was about rate cards and talent management. In reality, it became a conversation about sustainability. How you communicate your value, build a career around your craft and making sure your creativity can continue existing beyond passion alone. I left that session thinking about the business of creativity. I left Thandiwe's artist talk thinking about the philosophy of creativity. Put together, they reminded me that creative work doesn't exist in isolation. It's shaped by artistic vision, yes, but also by the systems, relationships and decisions that make it possible to keep creating in the first place. It's also why I think documenting Kenyan creative spaces matters. If nobody records these conversations, years from now we'll remember the art but forget the thinking and stories that shaped them. We'll remember the finished work and forget the journey.

If you'd like to continue with this rabbit hole, I'd highly recommend watching a live reflection of Thandiwe’s artist talk on Sanaa kwa Sana pale YT that was covered during Sunday Sessions. Naona pia the blog post is up on it. I actually invited afrikan to attend the session with me then forgot about it. Surprised alikubali, glad he did. Reminder iliingia bright and early. The actual live is 3 hours plus. I remember battling sleep with resistance songs playing. We do have so many of them, a lot I had no clue about. A girl loves a challenge (music discovery). Which reminds me, we got introduced to some Kenyan rock jams that were covered kwa blog during Mziki ya Wiki #70 back in 2022. See how important documenting is.

Here’s what yo girl has been listening to. Zikikubamba piga nduru kwa comments.

Episode 36 is on the way lakini siezi waacha mikono mitupu.

We've finally uploaded DJ Sunnie Honey's live set from The OV Setlist 2.0 to YouTube. If you were there on 3rd May 2026, here's your chance to relive the afternoon. If you missed it, here's a little taste of the music that was the interlude between the two sessions. Press play and let DJ Sunnie Honey do the rest.

Watch the full mix here na kama wewe ni wa Mixcloud, Sunnie uploaded it pia. Skiza hapa.

The BAKE Awards happened over the weekend, and while Ongeza Volume didn't take home the Audio Creator of the Year award this time, being nominated among Kenya's top audio creators is still something we’re incredibly proud of twice in a row. Congratulations to everyone who won and thank you to everyone who voted, shared the voting link or simply cheered us on. It genuinely means a lot.

One thing that made my night during the ceremony (apart from sitting with Kare who is still trying to convince me to hike - best lifestyle creator imo) was seeing Ach13ng and Lexasmshairi take the stage during the interludes. Kwanza after niliwaplug Ach13ng’s song in the first edition of The OV Read. It was a small reminder that even awards ceremonies can intentionally create room for Kenyan artists beyond the award categories themselves. I'd honestly love to see more of that.

In other news, the cat is finally out the bag! We mentioned something about our upcoming workshop in The OV Read 002. We are very excited to share that registrations are back open for our workshop happening on 23rd July 2026. The workshop is designed as a space for women within the music ecosystem to learn, connect and have honest conversations about navigating the industry. It's being delivered in partnership with Spotify’s EQUAL during Spotify Greasy Tunes and we're really looking forward to bringing this room together. If you're a woman working in the music ecosystem (or know someone who is), we'd love to have you with us. You can register here. Wamama hoyee!

And because one event is never enough... 👀

We're also preparing something for 25th July 2026. Let's just say the conversations won't be ending with the workshop. We're working on a showcase that will bring together some incredible talent and we'll be sharing the full lineup, tickets and everything else very soon. Meanwhile mtufuate pale socials for updates.

Zenkyu for taking a few minutes to read the third edition of The OV Read.

If you enjoyed it, feel free to share it with a friend who’s into discovering Kenyan music, going to events or getting into unnecessarily long conversations about songs and everything around them.

Tuendelee kuongeza volume

Turus :)