Kelly Brown, originally named Abdulkadir Mohammed Ali Bux, was born in Mombasa, Kenya, in 1954. He became one of the most recognized Kenyan musicians who settled abroad, earning the moniker of Kenya's pop ambassador to West Germany in the 1980s. He started his music career performing for tourists on the Kenyan coast in the seventies, impressing them with his stage presence and dance. This led him to perform at Nairobi's Bonanza nightclub, which served as his stepping stone to a larger audience. He soon moved to Europe, settling in Stuttgart, Germany, where he adopted the stage name Kelly Brown as a tribute to his idol, James Brown.
During his career in Europe, he worked as a disc jockey and performer for 11 years, recording, touring, and performing in various clubs. He started as a singer with Beaver's Band, then joined another band, Trans European Express, before eventually forming his own group, Kelly Brown and Family. He was an eccentric performer, known for his skin-tight costumes and for being very particular about his curly, bushy hair, earning him the nickname "Cally the Bushman." He was a songwriter and producer and even started his own record label in Berlin. Kelly Brown never forgot his African roots; he frequently returned to Kenya and gave charity performances for his less fortunate countrymen. His albums included hits like "Higher," "Love Power," and "African Disco." He could speak Kiswahili, English, German, Arabic, Hindustani, Spanish, Taita, and Ngiriama.
Kelly Brown's life was tragically cut short in January 1989 in Stuttgart, Germany. After being missing for about six weeks, his dismembered body was discovered in his apartment. While the police initially ruled out foul play and a postmortem indicated he died of natural causes, his family publicly cast doubt on the circumstances, especially after it was discovered his eyes had been gouged out when his body was brought to Kenya. The mystery surrounding his death, which occurred in the same year, has led to speculation of racism or music rivalry. At the time of his death, Kelly Brown lived in a posh, well-furnished apartment and had a Mercedes limousine. He was survived by a German wife and two children, Yasmin and Ali Mohammed.