Which parts of Sol Family made Bien cry?

It’s not surprising that Sauti Sol’s new documentary reality series Sol Family has been among the top ten most-watched content on Showmax since it premiered in August.

Sol Family offers fans a glimpse into the personal lives of Sauti Sol members Bien, Chimano, Polycarp and Savara, as well as Sol Generation’s Nviiri and Bensoul.

With this show, which airs on Maisha Magic, with episodes coming to Showmax at the same time, Sauti Sol are looking to “inspire a generation of epic thinkers” as Savara puts it, by showing them their lives beyond the music and the stardom; their passion in their craft; and their vulnerability and realness.

Watch full interview below

“It’s not like we’ve set up a scenario and we’re like, ‘Okay act this out.’ It’s just realness,” says Polycarp. “We’re talking about our actual lives. We’ve been in the industry for 15 years, and we have so much to talk about, so much to share with the people.”

For a show birthed in the bleakest period – during the uncertain early days of the coronavirus pandemic – the response from fans has been overwhelming. Like everyone else, Sauti Sol’s lives were disrupted by the pandemic – they had to cancel numerous events and global tours, even resorting to a virtual launch of their new album Midnight Train. Therefore, Sol Family couldn’t have come at a better time.

“When corona happened and we started making all this content, we didn’t know what we were preparing ourselves for,” says Bien. “All the content we’ve created over the last four months has now started to be put out, and it’s clearly working because people are really connecting with this reality show beyond a glam level.”

Bien adds that the show is not what people expected. “They expected to see cars, partying, those things they associate celebrities with, and now they’re realising, Polycarp is a husband, Delvo (Savara) is a boyfriend and Sauti Sol is growing up before our eyes… the humanity aspect, which people are connecting with in this program, is what’s actually the fuel for doing more.”

While Sauti Sol’s journey is inspirational to many, it is the stories of their two Sol Generation protégés – Nviiri and Bensoul – that Bien finds most impactful in the already-aired seven episodes of Sol Family. He says the show reveals Nviiri and Bensoul in a way they (Sauti Sol) didn’t know before, like finding out that Bensoul grew up in a slum in Embu. “When I look at him now, I can’t believe he’s the same guy who grew up in the ghetto.” It’s an emotional episode that made him cry, Bien admits.

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Catch Sol Family on Showmax, with new episodes every week.