You Can Do It

In the 1970s many of Kenya’s bands made a name for themselves playing the hotel and lounge circuit on the coast, in cities like Mombasa and up-and-coming beach resorts in Diani and Malindi. Pandering to international audiences meant playing a lot of pop and soul covers, and much of the music to emerge from that time is undeniably cheesy. Some of Slim Ali’s songs do get dangerously close to falling into that category, but his saccharine voice — which he modeled on that of his idols Otis Redding and Al Green — is balanced by the Hodi Boys’ gutsy instrumentals. Slim Ali was a giant in the Kenyan music scene for decades, and in 1977 the pop gem “You Can Do It” was the country’s biggest hit, but there is little known about him now. Wherever he may be (some say he moved to Yemen, where he “uses his voice to call the faithful to prayer from the minarets of an Aden Mosque”), Slim Ali & The Hodi Boys’ music is still popular in Kenya, even among younger generations.