One on One with Talented Artist Diddyston Bashimbe

A huge crowd lingers on to the words of the MC, a vivacious and alluring young Congolese man. He easily holds the attention of the audience as he whimsically dances to the music playing in the background and keeps rolling out fresh jokes. The crowd bursts out in laughter and he admirably has all eyes on him. Diddyston Bashimbe is a talented artist, MC and humanitarian worker currently residing at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. We caught up with him during one of FilmAid's evening screenings and this is what he had to say:

Tell us something about yourself?


I am Diddyston Bashimbe, I come from Congo and I currently live and work at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. I am a musician, MC and work with FilmAid as an outreach facilitator.

Tell us about your music?

I started singing in 1999 and I call my music the 'Diddyston style.' It is a blend of reggae and ragga. I have so far worked on 2 songs; Life is the War and From Peace in the Home to peace in the World. The first song was recorded back in 2009 with Issy Brown and the second is my latest song which I recently recorded.

What issues do your songs address?

My music speaks about the general issues we experience at the Kakuma Refugee camp. From Peace in the Home to peace in the World addresses the 16 days of Activism and I came up with the lyrics last year during the 16 Days of Activism celebrations.

One year down the line, what can we expect from you in terms of music?

One year from now I will have recorded a few more songs and videos to accompany them.