The African King of Bald Men, Bien-Aime, has released his first solo EP titled – ‘Bald Men Love Better’ in collaboration with well-known Kenyan jazz maestro, Aaron Rimbui.
This follows the success of the project’s lead single “Bald Men Anthem” that has surpassed 1 million streams across all digital platforms since its release 3 weeks ago.
Bien-Aime and Aaron recently released the second music video of the EP titled “Mbwe Mbwe”. “Mbwe Mbwe is undoubtedly my best song in the EP,” adding, “It’s a song about making merry and enjoying the spoils of your hard work” Bien said. It was a very beautiful challenge from Aaron to Bensol and I to write a Rhumba song that resonates with the 80s.
At a press conference held on Friday, 5th November 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya – Sauti Sol’s creative enterprise also announced Bien’s signing to Sol Generation Records as a solo artist. The three year deal worth 50 million Kenya shilling will see him record and release his solo music and albums under the Sol Generations outfit. Bien-Aime’s project ‘Bald Men Love Better’ is the first release under Sol Generation Records through a joint venture with Exodus Entertainment.
The 5-track EP features the newly released single “Mbwe Mbwe”, “Bald Men Anthem”, “Stamina”, “Coming Home” and “Reset Rewind”. Aaron says of their collaborative project, “Bien and I will always make art and music when we meet. We did a live recording for the whole album. It was a project of fast executions but you can feel the timelessness of it and I love it for that.” Bien adds, “When we started making the project, I didn’t know what to expect. We were not trying to exist in any genre and the music we made is not in any genre. I did not expect it to be that beautiful and I hope our fans, old and new, will feel the same.”
“Bald Men Anthem” is a song about self love and self worth. The anthem echoes the EP’s concept of self-love and accepting yourself for who you are. For a long time around the world bald people were made to feel like they did not belong; it was embarrassing to be a bald man. This is an anthem to make bald men feel secure within themselves and reflect positively on how they live their everyday lives. This is also an anthem for those who are not bald – it’s an ode to make you feel confident and have more self-worth. Co-written with Bensol, “Stamina” expounds on the experience of the evolution from a boy to a man, and the challenges men go through in their lives in this transition.
Bien says, “It’s a reminder to make hay when the sun shines and use your youth wisely and dance when you still have stamina”. “Coming Home” is an interlude and a jazzy version of one of Sauti sol’s classic hits, inspired by the duo’s deep love for the original song. Written by Bien-Aime and Chiki during the pandemic in hope for better days; “Reset Rewind” is a song about uncertainty – penned during the pandemic at a time when we didn’t know when we would have our lives back in order. “Mbwe Mbwe” as Bien fondly says, takes him back to his younger days, being a child listening to Rhumba music and playing with his uncle’s radio. “It reminds me of places I ate fish in town like a place called Abondas and Ronalo, among many others. They would always play Rhumba.”
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Bien-Aime and Aaron Rimbui might seem like world’s apart but the longtime collaborators are a perfect show for soul meets jazz. Their first collaboration “Say Mama” was released in 2016. Aaron also collaborated with Sauti Sol on the original “Kuliko Jana”. Bien says, “We have always made music when we had the chance to break bread. He’s in Kenya right now visiting from New York where he lives and I am sure that for the 8 weeks he’s around we will be making music. Bald men love better tunes on the way.”
