Hello people…It’s been a while since I did a feature spotlight on the CAMpreneur..
Her post got the most engagement so far in on the going #HowIRepCamer campaign..
Meet Ebangha Njang of Kreef Ent
“Kreef Entertainment is all about raising awareness of the amazing talent in Cameroon. We bleed 237!!!”
Well, I’m Yvonne (Ebangha Njang). I’m a 30 year old mom of a 7 year old daughter (yes I always talk about my age I don’t know why lol). I was born and raised in Douala and Edéa respectively and I love showbiz.
Ummm… about Kreef.
Kreef is basically two young Cameroonian women who want to help show the world what amazing talents Cameroon have. We started Kreef September 2014. Myself and Eva just wanted platforms on social media to help promote Cameroonian talents. We honestly were not sure about where it will take us. We just wanted to promote in our own small way but just over a year later, look at us. We are just like wow!
What was your motivation and inspiration?
Pretty much my motivation. Not forgetting Eva..It was hers too lol. We wanted to do something in Entertainment but we just needed someone to say “Yes You Can”. You know that feeling right? When you know you can do it but just need a little push? Yea, that lol.
About inspiration, I will not talk about Eva’s but I can definitely talk about mine. Well I’ve always had a passion for showbiz way back in the days of Tube Vision. Remember Nadine Patricia? I swear I always wanted to be like her…[hahaha]. But yeah, long story short; in 2011 Jules Nya of Mumak (who was my big friend way back when I was still in Cameroon) told me about some of his artists (at the time). Magasco & Jovi. They were so good I was like why don’t we dance to their music in clubs here in America? Even parties we don’t hear them! But I didn’t put much thought into it. I’ll just share them on my page and tell my friends to watch and share too.
In 2013, Stanley Enow appeared and “Hein Père” became a phenomenon. I swear I was literally stalking and annoying people with “Hein Père” all over my timeline and for the first time I got Ivorians & Togolese tell me I made them like “Hein Père” & African clubs started playing it while people will sing along. I’m NOT saying I made it popular in America but I helped in my own way so I had this “Aha!” moment like.. ” why don’t I create a platform to share all these great songs from Cameroon and people get familiar too?” Get it? Pretty much those were some of my inspirations. I talk a lot huh? Lol ok let’s move on.
What are some of the challenges you faced starting up and how did you overcome them?
There were not many challenges though. Just one or two things & I’ll just shrug them off. But one that got me pissed off most of the time was the fact that many people in the industry didn’t take us and our ideas seriously because we are women. Plus we live in the United States and we “don’t know” the struggles in Cameroon. They forget we grew up in Cameroon and always visit. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we are, what matters is our passion and hope for a better Cameroon.
About overcoming it, we pretty much ignored all the side comments and negativity and focused on what we believe we can do. Thank God it’s been a great journey so far!
As an up and coming persona in Camer Entertainment , tell us a bit about what you think are current trends in the industry.
Honestly, the growth of the Cameroonian entertainment industry is appalling. Two or three years ago things were not how they are right now. I swear now there are undoubtedly 3 or 4 Cameroonian songs on Top African charts. Are you kidding me??!?
Then the most current trends in Cameroon that got me so excited are makeup artistry and fashion design. The make up tutorials and fashion designs I see online from Cameroonians that live in Cameroon got me like wow, we made it! Other trends are video directing and photography too. Oh, last but not the least, blogging! I swear I believe everyone in or from Cameroon is a blogger now. Right? Some of them I notice actually blog for informational and online branding purposes or to promote positivity, but a few I notice they just wanna use as a platform to be “instafamous” lol but okay.
Your top 5 Tracks right now
Hmmmm I wish you asked for my Top 20 tracks. Only 5?? Ughh. Well I’ll just list my Top 5 of the moment! Like the ones I actually wake up listening to and listen to in the car too. Like, i mean, my songsssss!!! Lol.
Ok. In no particular order, my Top 5 Tracks of the moment are:
PIM BOYS “Ici Au Kamer”
N Stan “Mbambe”
Daphne “Mother’s Love”
Arré “Low Waist”
Magasco “Mummy Love”
Bonus Tracks
Stanley Enow featuring Ice Prince “Yours”
Jovi “Bad Influence”
(Lol sorry I had to add bonus tracks because honestly those are my songs!!!!!)
Highlights and low lights of Camer Entertainment in 2015
2015 was one of the best years of the Camer entertainment industry according to me. 1 of 3 of the highlights is: the introduction of “Coller La Petite”. That song!! It did something else… and it’s still trending.
Then Magasco dropped an EP (Raw Gold) which I personally think is one of the best & original piece of work from Cameroon. It has the hit “Wule Bang Bang”. I swear I’ve seen African-Americans dance the “Njang” dance because of that song. Cameroon should be proud!
Then there is this Penjo Baba dude, the photographer. I don’t know much about him but I found out he has a Facebook page where he showcases pictures he takes from various Cameroonian weddings. It’s so dope! I think it shows a different side of our culture and style.
About low lights, I think every country’s industry has their weaknesses. Right? Sometimes we have to keep talking about it in order to see progress. But it doesn’t mean we can’t applaud when positive changes are happening. So far the entertainment industry has grown positively so much I can’t lie. The only thing is I will love the artists especially to have more online presence (not only when they want to drop a song) and brand themselves as stars. Most of them do not yet know the meaning of being a star but let’s move on lol
“Ebangha…I go marry you”…One more song about someone marrying you and I will flip..lol. On a serious note though, is one special in your life?
Haha get over it! & yes there is. Don’t even ask who lol let’s move on.
Any concluding words for aspiring CAMpreneurs in Entertainment
To succeed in any field you have to learn from those who are already succeeding in the business. I will say we are succeeding with Kreef so far but we need more work and God. My advice to aspiring CAMpreneurs is: believe in yourself, challenge yourself, do what you truly care about, surround yourself with good people. People who wanna see you succeed or already are succeeding (you need the motivation). Then take action, because the world is full of very great ideas but to succeed you need to take action.
There are actually two young women in our entertainment industry right now that I’ve been following on the low and really love how genuine and sincere they want the industry to grow. The young woman behind the Facebook page Trend Camer and the Miss Gina Promotes blog. I love the way they are pushing it. We will soon get there!
Thank You Ebangha..Keep flying the 237 Entertainment flag high.
Stay Fabulous..Keep Reppin’ 237
IRepCamer
