(13 Mar 2018) LEADIN
A record enthusiast in Kenya is doing booming business from what could be the country's last remaining vinyl store.
Jimmy Rugami sells to customers from all over the world - and was even sent a special Grammy nominated gift.
STORYLINE:
Tucked in the middle of a busy market in Nairobi is what could arguably be the last vinyl record store still in operation in Kenya.
This is "Real Vinyl", a record store commonly known as 570, which has been in operation for the last 28 years.
65 year old James "Jimmy" Rugami, a former DJ, is at his shop every morning as early as 6 a.m., sorting out records for potential customers, seven days a week.
With the shift of technology from vinyl to digital, many record shops globally took a hit.
Customers are able to buy hundreds of tracks sitting comfortably in their homes at the click of a button, rather than making the trip to a record store.
In Kenya, the development of digital technology along with poor legislation saw a rise in piracy and this was the final nail in the coffin for many music stores in the country.
Jimmy Rugami took advantage of the decline and started collecting records from stores that were shutting their doors.
His love of vinyl has seen his collection grow into thousands and earned him the name 'Mr Records'.
"I started buying vinyl records from closing down music shops and every time I knew somebody is closing down and he has records I couldn't stop the urge to buy more, including even crossing borders looking for some," says Rugami.
But in the last decade there has been a rise in the popularity of vinyl records, with the millennial generation getting hooked on a technology that existed before they were born.
Now hundreds flock to Rugami's store to buy his records.
Over the last year, Jimmy has got a lot of media attention for being the only person in Nairobi who sells vinyl records, gaining him something of a global reputation.
At the recent Grammy Awards, a Somali album titled 'Sweet as Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn of Africa', was nominated for the best historical album category.
Because of his love of records, Rugami was gifted the album by the producers.
Jimmy has a smile on his face when he pulls out the crisp record from his collection:
"On record store day which was celebrated here on 22 April last year (2017) these guys, the producers, sent it as a present to me. This is it!"
Somalia has been in turmoil since civil war broke out in 1991. To have something positive coming out of the country in those circumstances is a great feeling, according to Rugami.
Rugami's customers are both local and international, many are on vacation in the country and want to sample authentic African music.
Vinyl enthusiast Firouz Khairoullaev is visiting from Turkey.
"Finding a vinyl shop in Nairobi was quite an exciting thing," he says.
"I think the vinyl is back, essentially it's something that is cool and it's something that unites and essentially it's like a hobby. Essentially you could try to go to different countries and places and look for different music. For instance I came to the Real Vinyl shop today to Jimmy's, just essentially to try to find some local African music which I wont be able to find overseas for instance."
But not everybody appreciates or understands Rugami's passion. He says some have even gone as far as to label him "insane":
But whatever people think, Rugami is certainly having the last laugh.
His business is doing so well that he has been able to employ five members of staff to help him cope with the demand.

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