By: Mohamed Jalloh
Kingdonkish senior 1 and Mendemahein (Mende Chief) are his alias but he is born Aliesus Vandy Kanneh in Freetown on March 24th 1994 from parents who hail from Daru, Kailahun district in eastern Sierra Leone.
Kingdonkish has four sisters and a brother, making him the youngest sibling among six children and he is proud to say that the moral support from his family is the ultimate hope that keeps his musical dream alive.
“My family is proud of me whenever they watch my musical videos on the national broadcaster. That is why they are appreciative and supportive of my musical commitment because I’m not a Kush addict and I’m not bringing home problems like some other guys in the community,” he reveals.
Mr Kanneh attended the Model secondary school and the Akibo-Betts Junior Secondary and later proceeded to the Rokel secondary school where he gained his West African Senior Secondary Certificate.
It would interest readers to know that Kingdonkish was a professional dancer who has choreographed for local legend LXG, helping to propel the artist to stardom way back in 2012.
Kingdonkish is naturally attracted to music and he did not shy away from the fact that his musical inspiration was cemented due to the love he has nurtured for international artists such as P-Square and Michael Jackson.
Since Kingdonkish is a very good dancer, he heeded to the advice of his fans to go solo, by way of dancing and singing for himself instead of dancing for other artists.
In 20214, he made a breakthrough by recording his first song with the triple A trio called `till the end of time,` which was before the composition of the New Vibration Empire(NVE).
“One day I was called for a stage performance and the fans thought that I’m going to dance, when I started singing they were amazed with my singing talent and they advised me to continue singing,” he explains.
Kingdonkish is very versatile, he can play afro beat, amapiano, dance hall but maintains further that he is currently stuck with the traditional genre because he wants to show case the culture and traditional of Sierra Leone to the rest of the world.
That is why his video release “Nyakigorkoh” entirely composed in Mende is a must watch, not only for Mende speakers, but for all lovers of traditional music.
The song Nyakigorkoh is uniquely made of Mende lyrics, a traditional rural setting, with the `Mendemahein` and his people adorned in cultural attires.
Kingdonkish`s musical aim is very high. He intends to dominate both the national and international musical landscape by winning the best recognized musical awards in the world.
“I want to tour the world and perform in different countries and I would like to collaborate with my local and international musical idols and the proceeds from my success would be utilized to helping my people,” he affirms.
Kingdonkish also plans to bring love and unity in the Sierra Leone musical industry and play the role akin to what Don Jazi the musical producer and promoter in Nigeria is doing.
“Another burning objective is to establish an entertainment company that encompasses music, film making, dancing etc, in Sierra Leone,” he discloses.
Kingdonkish is appreciative of the support rendered to the NVE by the chief executive officer Dr Jackson Blamo for elevating the group from nothing to something.
“We will show him one day that he did not made a mistake by investing his resources on the NVE and we will only make him proud by attaining the zenith in the world of music,” he assures.
Kingdonkish advices youths who have taken to smoking `Kush` and engaging in other illegal activities to eschew from such deeds, discover their talents and make a better use of their natural gifts.
Such youths must see the NVE as a very good example that is worth emulating, therefore, Kingdonkish invites all and sundry to witness their talent explosion show on the 11th November 2023 at the Ministry of Works and infrastructure carpark in New England Ville, Freetown.