It’s 9am on Friday morning.
The weight of the almost-ending week is weighing on me. I put on my headphones, searching for something—anything—that sounds different. I hit play on a track called Bella – just released.
By the time Blinky Bill sings, “Bella, Bella, mbona hunimiss siku hizi?” I am alert as my fingers fly on the keyboard at work.
There’s humor, ache, groove and something unmistakably Kenyan, yet universal.
That’s exactly what Blinky was aiming for.
When the celebrated Kenyan producer, DJ, musician and genre-blurring artist sat down to create Bella, it was more than just another studio session.
It was a moment of reflection and experimentation. Bella captures the emotional push and pull of a distant relationship, but with a twist.
“It’s not meant to be sad,” Blinky explains.
“It’s more like, 'Bella, why don’t you miss me anymore?’ But said in a playful, almost teasing way.”
The song features the rich vocals of Lisa Oduor Noah, a longtime collaborator and friend.
“Lisa really helps me shape my ideas,” Blinky says. “I had the melody, called in my bass player, got the hook right and from there, it just came together.”
From its vocal delivery to its lush production, Bella feels intimate like you are eavesdropping on a jam session in real time.
“There’s a way I wanted the performance to feel like you’re with us in the studio,” he says. “And people are starting to feel that.”
But behind the breezy tone lies meticulous craftsmanship.
Blinky brought in heavyweights like Commissioner Gordon (known for Damian Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock and Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation and mastering engineer Anthony Dowsley (Jay-Z’s Black Album) to refine the sonic quality.
The track also marks a new chapter after Blinky’s bold, experimental album We Cut Keys 2.
“That album taught me that even if a song doesn’t land, that’s still useful,” he says.
“Maybe it wasn’t the song, maybe it was how I communicated it.”
This constant evolution defines Blinky’s artistry.
“I’m always learning. Always asking ‘how could this be better?’”
Though his sound continues to grow, his foundation remains deeply rooted in Kenya.
Global tours, collaborations with artists like Sampa the Great and GoldLink, and starring in an Emirates campaign in 2019 have expanded his worldview, but also sharpened his identity.
“Traveling made me realise we have something special in Kenya,” Blinky says.
“I don’t want to imitate what’s out there. I want to represent where I come from.”
At the heart of Bella is a simple, timeless goal: to tell a story that connects.
“I want people to feel something,” he says.
“To remember that we can go back to our roots and still make something that feels fresh.”
As Bella gains momentum on platforms like Spotify, Blinky is more energised than ever.
“People are responding. I feel like I tapped into something and I’m just getting started,” he says.
So whether it’s 9am in the office or mid-commute, Bella lands exactly where Blinky wants it: in your ears, in your heart and somewhere between Nairobi and everywhere else.
