by Aameri Jiwaji

G21 AFRICA Staff Writer

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NAIROBI, KENYA - In a country where the media popularizes trends seen in the American entertainment industry, Fareed Khimani, presenter of the Drive show on a local radio station, Nation FM, has attained celebrity status.

To most Kenyans, Fareed is just a voice -- a voice that talks to them on the radio as they negotiate rush hour traffic. But he isn't just a glorified chauffeur.

He is arguably the best male presenter in Kenya -- but not a Kenyan.

"I'm American," Fareed asserts, brought up in Jacksonville, Florida and just another "redneck" with Southern rock flowing through his veins. "That's just part of my fabric," he says.

And it is to his American identity, with its brash attitude and token accent, that Fareed owes his Kenyan fame. It is what the Kenyan audience love most about him. The fact that he is from the same country as their hailed Jay Z and Snoop Dogg demi-gods, with their flashy convertibles, gun touting bodyguards and bikini clad super model girlfriends; the world of Michael Jordan and his hoop shooting stunts; the ideal world to live in.

And Fareed's voice on a local radio station, playing a mixture of American music and local hits, allows them to escape for just a while, believing that they are closer to the glamorous world of lights and fame.

Escapism. Fareed practices it every day when he walks into the studio for his show.

"Hang your hat at the door and pick it up on your way out ä you worry about your problems three hours later. You just get into a zone and the adrenaline kicks in."

But in all honesty, it isn't just the accent that has made Fareed such a popular presenter. It's his attitude. Cheeky, challenging and always on edge.

A few weeks ago, when Kenya's Western Province was hit by famine and drought and its inhabitants were dying of starvation, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Assistant Minister and lawyer, Robinson Githae, publicly said that those that were starving should eat ants, rats and donkeys, if they were that hungry.

While the rest of the Kenyan public was astounded at his callous insensitivity, Fareed and his listeners on "Drive" voted him the Stupidest Politician. Of course Fareed was asked to apologise. Nobody insults a Kenyan politician on-air and expects to get away with it. But in his characteristic cavalier attitude, Fareed refused.

Such scandals are good, he believes: "In radio, there's no such thing as bad press".

So he likes to test the limits ä with his on-air stunts.

"Its all acting on radio, its like theatre," he says. "I wouldn't say it's fake ä it's my character. But you have to exaggerate, you have to emphasise emotions."

And the real Fareed? "I am probably the most uncultured, tactless, mannerless," he begins, and then with a quick laugh adds, "ä No I'm not mannerless".

His relaxed, easy going attitude is not an on-air persona that he adopts. And his name is genuine too != no pseudonyms for Fareed, although when he began presenting he never thought his name sounded right.

He was nearly a Shafiq or a Mohammed, which are the other two names his parents considered when naming him.

Shafiq Khimani, driving the nation home. It doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

Some of his friends call him Ross, the divorcing guy, on account of a rocky divorce he went through in his early twenties while he was in the States. But he is nothing like the gauche, nerdy scientist character that David Schwimmer portrays in [television program] "Friends." Fareed is confident of who he is and where he wants to go.

He likes to have fun and lives a healthy lifestyle (apart from the chilli sauce on fried eggs habit) which is why he loves the "Drive" show and Rock music.

"It's fast-paced, happening, it's quick" and that's what he is. Full of energy, and full of anecdotes.

More than anything, Fareed loves to talk which is why he loves radio. "I sit there and I blab for three hours ä I have fun, and I get paid for it." Around $3,000 a month.

If he could, Fareed would talk for all three hours and not play any music. "I'm a real story teller," he says, "I like to elaborate."

And serious emotions, straight faces and sensitive topics are not his forté.

When he had to do a show on abortion, his producer made him rehearse his script over and over, at least 20 times, with the right nuances and the correct tone. Another time, while narrating a story about a kid who was literally scared to death by a bear, his opening sentence, "I bet you thought being scared to death was just a figure of speech", threw the entire somber mood and he could hold the straight face for just a few minutes into the story before he started laughing.

"But Kenya doesn't have a sophisticated market," he says. "Some of the humour I use is not relevant to the Kenyan market". But that doesn't mean the Kenyan public doesn't enjoy laughing with him whether they understand the joke or not.

"I'm a big fish in a small pond," Fareed says and he doesn't plan to hang around for very long with the rest of the guppies in the Kenyan media industry. Radio for him is "a thing of the past, a way to get into TV", as Kenya is a stepping-stone for him to the world stage.

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As a journalism student in Atlanta, Fareed used to work in a bar opposite the CNN center, a bar which the CNN journalists used to frequent.

"That was a real kick in the face," he admits with a laugh. But he is determined that before he dies he is going to get onto CNN, as Zain Verjee* of Capital FM fame did. And presumably revisit the bar != this time on the other side of the counter.

But before that he "wouldn't mind" going to Hollywood and becoming an actor for a few years. His favourite actor, Al Pacino, his favourite movie: Scarface, his ideal role: "the villain that everyone loves, the bad guy that everyone doesn't really like to hate but they have to."

And with his rough stubble and languorous eyes you can almost be fooled into thinking he does have a villainous streak ä that is until he starts talking and the mischievous note in his voice makes you forget the machiavellian traits he professes.

Fareed's TV career was launched earlier this year when he was the Kenyan field presenter on Big Brother Africa. Currently, he is juggling his job as a Nation FM presenter while working on Studio 53, an M-Net* production that looks at positive aspects of African countries, and which takes him away from his Drive show for 2 weeks every 3 months. Later this year Fareed will be emceeing Miss South Africa Universe and Miss Teen South Africa Universe in Sun City, South Africa.

"Its happened fast but I've put in the effort. I haven't just laid back and waited for it."

But fame has its pitfalls. "I don't have many real friends in this country .. people gladly take from me but no-one wants to give back ... Its just hard to know who to trust, especially in this industry," he says.

But has the fame gone to his head? "In this industry there are five people who can change the style of the station," he says, "you can trade the rest". Fareed knows he is one of the five but that doesn't mean he's full of himself. Although he comfortably admits that he could be.

"My mum helps me ground myself. You have to consistently stay away from people who stroke your ego."

Footnotes:

Zain Verjee: currently a CNN presenter, who was discovered while working as a presenter at a local Kenyan radio station, Capital FM.

M-Net: a South African entertainment company.