The Imminent Arrival of Matatu Express

Matatu Express had a fundraiser a few weeks ago, and thanks to the kindness of friends and family, has raised enough money for it's completion. In addition a donation has been made to the Hot Sun Foundation, a non-profit charity in Kibera which provides youth in Kibera the opportunity to learn filmmaking and tell their own stories.
Matatu Express is currently in it's final stages of editing...so stay tuned! And thank you to everyone for their continued support.

Hustlers Get Reverberated

Hustlers from Kibera now have a page on Reverbnation. Click here to check it out and download and or listen to their entire album for free!!!

Matatu Express on Youtube

Matatu Express now has a channel on Youtube, just click here, and remember to subscribe for all the latest clips of Matatu, and also for my other documentary, Sketched Out.

Video Fix, 2 New Teasers and Asante Sana Kibera

All video with the exception of the pre-production ones have been converted to flash. This should make them considerably faster to load. Once again I apologize any inconvenience caused by the delay in watching the videos, I hope you understand that it had to do with circumstances beyond my control. I used a great free program called cute mov to flv converter. They are the same folks that make the very excellent and free cute ftp program, but unfortunately it now has a time limit, so for ftping, I use coffee cup, which is high quality, reliable and best of all - free.
I also uploaded two new teasers. They are a little on the rough side, but I wanted show some more video content to get people a taste for the film. I will be working on a more polished trailer soon, and of course the film itself in the coming weeks and months, so keep checking back here. In the meantime, you can see the first teaser here and the second one here, or just go straight to the video page.
In other news, I will be leaving Kenya soon, so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone involved in Matatu, especially John, Njeri, Christabel, Peter, Buck, and all of Kibera. It has been a fascinating journey. Thank you so much for your help, and I hope I have the privilege of seeing you all soon again. Thanks also to everyone that became fans of the hustlers of kibera, please tell your friends about them. And keep posting comments on this page or email me at colm@matatuexpress.com I love hearing from you...so keep in touch.

Matatu Express: The Video Podcast

I'm working on two trailers for Matatu, but for fun (or most probably, as a diversionary method of procrastination) I started cutting a video podcast. It's basically a collection of production photos and behind the scenes shots. A special thanks to Jane for providing the music - she is singing a very beautiful traditional Maasai song. It's on the video page. Or, here is a direct link to it as well.
****Special Bulletin***** As I've mentioned before, I do not have a high speed connection, it is low speed and extremely unstable, making uploading or downloading video content a near impossibility where I am here in Nairobi, so I am unable to verify the video. As I understand it, the promo video is working fine, although it may take several minutes to load, so please be patient. Please email me asap at colm@matatuexpress.com if something isn't working as it should be. I will convert and upload some of the videos to flash (which should make them much quicker to load) as soon as it's technically possible for me on my end. Another option for the video podcast is to click the "download to my ipod link" below the video. Thanks for your patience and understanding everyone.

Hustlers of Kibera Album Available Online

I have uploaded the debut album of the sensational Hustlers from Kibera online. You can hear it on their facebook page. Please check it out, and show them some love by becoming a fan, commenting on their page, or drop them an email. Here is a link to their facebook page. I am still waiting on song titles and album information. I will provide additional info when it arrives. For anyone interested, the music used in the recent promo video is Track 10.

New Promo Video Available Online

"Me and my gun makes you
break your spinal chord
ready to blow understand this metaphor
Gimme the dough
Walk down we are ready to go
so come slow."
- The Hustlers

After dealing with about a kazzilion technical issues, I was finally able to cut a promo for Matatu. It is a collection of B Roll shot around Kibera and features a wicked track from The Hustlers. It is slightly larger and has better resolution than the other videos, so it may take a few seconds to load. You can find it on the main page at Matatu Express. Here is a direct link to the video.

Matatu Ride with Mras

Last official day of shooting was Friday. Who did I interview, you ask? Well you don't do a documentary called Matatu Express without doing an interview with a Matatu driver. So that's what we did. We met Mras who has one of the most dangerous jobs in Kibera. He navigates the treacherous roads of Nairobi picking up and dropping off people and cargo all over. He dodges police, people, bandits, and most importantly, other matatus, all in a day's work. We had a great interview and went for a ride in his matatu all along the outskirts of Kibera for some B roll. What can I say? It was fun, and as a bonus, I never once dropped my camera, despite sticking it out the side window to capture people jumping on and off and hanging on for dear life while standing upright out the open side door.
In other news, I am really happy to announce that the Hustlers will be providing the soundtrack for Matatu Express. I think these guys are seriously talented, so I provided a facebook and youtube page for them. I will be adding more content to the pages as time goes on. Now the long and arduous process of editing begins!
Photo above taken by Peter Opudo

Explosions Rock Kibera! More news at Eleven.

Planet Earth was my place of birth
Born to be the SOLE controller of the universe
Besides the part of the map I hit first
Any a rhyme that I can adapt when it gets worst
The rough gets going, the going gets rough
When I start flowing, the mic might bust
The next state, I shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes
- Eric B. and Rakim, "In The Ghetto"

A series of explosions have recently rocked and shook the foundations of Kibera, leaving a powerful trail of destruction in it's wake. Shortly after a great interview with Sururu and his crew, who together form the hip hop crew "The Hustlers", a simple freestyle performance outside Sururu's home turned into a barrage of intercontinental ballistic missiles of words and rhymes that both stunned and shocked, resulting in a massive explosion of Hip Hop that came suddenly and without any warning. Casualties are still mounting....more details to come, please stand by.
Photo above taken by Peter Opudo.

Millicent, Mohammed and Chuck D.

"We don't see the people who are doing real things getting enough props. We often see politicians who are everywhere but nowhere at the same goddamn time. You know the kind of person: You see them everywhere on television but nowhere in front of your face."
Chuck D., Public Enemy

Meet Millicent and Mohammed.
Millicent works at a health clinic in Kibera that runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Not only that, she is a single mom and raising her young child alone. Her one room home is pretty deep into Kibera, so she makes the 45 minute trek daily to treat fellow Kiberans. Most of the illnesses are related to infections from drinking unsafe water. Her marriage broke up because her husband was from a different tribe, and things got ugly around post election time, so they are no longer together.
Mohammed volunteer coaches a Kiberan girl's football team. When I asked what tribe he belonged too, he simply stated, "I don't believe in tribes, I am a proud Kenyan."

When I asked them where else would they live if they had the choice, both of them replied they would not live anywhere else.

In other news, I have re-uploaded the podcast that is slightly better quality and less distorted. I am new to the podcast thing, so hope you can forgive me. Using Audacity, which is free to download in case you're interested.

Matatu Express: The Podcast

I just finished making the first audio podcast for Matatu. I recorded audio from the journey into Kibera, all sound is recorded on location in Kibera to give listeners a sense of the sights and sounds of Kibera. Hope you enjoy it. Click here to listen to the podcast. Picture above taken by Peter Opudo.

DJ Jah Hill!

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality . Wake Up and Live!”
-Bob Marley

Day 3 of Matatu. Interviewed DJ Jah Hill, who has a radio show on Kibera’s only radio station Pamoja fm, which means “Together” in Swahili. Jah Hill is simply a legend in the Soweto district of Kibera, where he resides. We covered alot of ground today, walked for probably a total of 10 kilometers, into Soweto where Jah lives, then into the outskirts, and up on the surrounding hills where there was a school in one of the many buildings that were burned down during the post election violence. Every where we went, people would call out “JAH HILL!” I knew I was in the presence of a true celebrity. We then proceeded back into Kibera, uphill, past the railroad tracks and were just about to go into the radio station when we ran across the station manager, who despite having a family emergency was gracious enough to do a very quick interview. We then got to the station where Jah went on air live. What a day! Thought I was doing one interview today, ended up doing about 6. Had to use the backup battery and slip in a new tape. Must have met about 30 amazing residents of Kibera who were all generous with their time and gracious over all. Most of all though I have to give maximum respect to DJ Jah Hill for his time, his talent, and an amazing freestyle rap he gave on the outskirts of Soweto. Respect Jah Hill!
Photo above taken by Peter Opudo