Bald man Bien Aime Barasa is among celebrities who are used severally as memes. In his particular meme, the Rhumba Jappani singer appears puzzled when perhaps he was asked a question he couldn’t answer.
He then looks around bewildered. He rolls his eyes and then takes a sip from a glass before expressing himself with the word, ‘Weh’.
That meme is used countless times by Kenyans when they relate to something online. Speaking to content creator Kelly Mouse, the Sauti Sol member explained how it came about saying,
“I can’t even remember mehn, I was shooting what do you call this…you know like …so you know like in our show there used to be a moment where we used to sit down and do like a reflective talk.”
The show they were shooting was Sol family. The Showmax series made its debut in 2020/2021.
In season one, Sol Family introduced Sauti Sol as mentors in the music industry, leaders in the company, role models in the society and friends in their circle as well as introducing their spouses.
Season 2 was all about their mantra; DOPE (Discipline, Order, Passion & Excellence) and how they apply this principle in their daily lives, personal relationships, businesses and musical prowess.
He continued, “Like a debrief, and when we were shooting the debriefs, I was busy drinking jaba juice. I just remember I was talking to the crew and then I said weh and then I drank it.”
He didn’t think much of it until it went viral as a meme.
“I didn’t know and then I just saw it online and then now I’m on WhatsApp groups, I’m everywhere. That’s crazy mehn.”