Angola
Algeria
Benin
Botswana
Cameroon
Cabo Verde
Congo
Gambia
Ghana
Guinee
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria
Rwanda
Senegal
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Hip Hop in Kenya

Hip Hop in Kenya is hot! Over the last 2 years the scene has seen a tremendous development with certain crews even generating sales to make a living off their music, something unheard of in neighbouring countries. Read the latest updates from our correspondent Anyake (K.A.) in Nairobi.

(top)

Trials and Tribulations of KalaMashaka

It took a while, but now there's an album waiting to be released from Kenya's favorite rap group Kalamashaka. We met with them when they were in the last stages of recording 'Ni wakati' (the title meaning: it's time). Vitumbaya, Kamau Ngiggi and Robert Mutumbai exposed some of the questions that many of us had about the album and the group itself: why did they end up recording in Dar? Who's doing a cameo on the new album? If you are not familiar with the group, you can also listen to 3 of their tracks.

  > Kalamashaka interview


(top)

Social Misfits

Representing Kenya in the diaspora (UK in his case) is Sir Prestige, a producer who's been working with UK based crews like Da Essence and Chris Smoove. Read our page with more info on his Social Misfits Entertainment.

(top)

Black n Brown
Members: Poetic MC, K-Jaymez



All up in Sweden is this fairly new group of 2 Kenyans. Poetic started out was solo but now hooked up with another Kenyan in Sweden. Since coming together they have already done 21 shows, recorded 8 tracks and have 9 more in preparation. His shout to our site: "Wen ever i feal home sick i upt on some kenyan musik and jus surf throu the rumba kali page... I eaven put it in one of our songz!" What does one do wen one is strandid in a contry were people dont know how 2 PAR-TAY"....
Poetic is of Indian origin and was wondering whether we knew of any other Asian-origin East Africans in rap. For all we know, there's one guy in Arusha, Tanzania, a boy of about 16 years old now.
Download & listen to 2 songs of in MP3 format (right-click on each link, then choose 'save as...'):
Bmybaby (solo by Poetic)
Cromosomez (by Poetic & K-Jaymz)

Hot links

There's a dope urban album out in Kenya on cd and cassette featuring many of the new generation of rappers, including Gidi Gidi / Maji Maji, Warogi wawili and Darlin' P.
-Kenya the 2nd chapter: all songs in realaudio (official site) -Kenya the 2nd chapter: some songs in MP3 and even the lyrics to the songs (unofficial site)
-The Kenyan urban music label Ugz records have a website under construction with some artist info, and more upcoming stuff.

August 1999: 1 year after the bombing

On Sunday 8 August there was a big concert in Nairobi, in honour of people who died in the American embassy bomb blast a year ago. A number of artists performed including Majizee (an R&B group from Mombasa), Kalamashaka, Darlin P, Giddi Giddi & Maji Maji, Poxi Presha, Limit X (a contemporary gospel group from Uganda based in the US), Jabali Afrika (a roots music group from Kenya also based in the US), Safari (a Kenyan gospel group based in the UK), Swahili Nation, Hardstone (who is now based in the US). They all came just for the concert. There was a moving moment when over 12000 candles were lit in memory of the dead. Apart from that the show was fantastic, especially Giddi & Maji who are really good at working the crowd and they performed some new songs they have not released yet.
Something interesting happened when Poxi was being introduced to perform his set the crowd started booing (as you can remember this was because of the incident at the last concert when he performed a bit drunk and instead of performing he was busy telling the crowd about his problems) and when he came on stage they started throwing candles and stuff on stage. But Pox just got on stage and started performing a remix of his song 'Wape Really' and crowd totally changed and started getting down and you could not have believed it was the same crowd throwing things on stage a few minutes before. The remix of 'Wape Really' uses samples from Lauren Hill's 'Do Wop that thing' and it is dope (update by Ken)

June 1999 Nairobi update

Ever since Kalamashaka's 'Tafsiri hii' hit the airwaves early mid year the Kenyan hip hop scene finally woke up to Kenyan hip hop. Kshaka became so popular that they brought the house down when they opened for the Lost Boys in their tour of East Africa last year. The contrast with the reception they got when they opened for Coolio just two months before was incredible. They were unknown and Kenyans for some reason were not feeling hip hop in Kiswahili/sheng. Soon after K-south Flava joined the scene. K-south do most of their rap in English and drop in one or two verses in Swahili. In November Kalamashaka dropped 'Tafsiri hii' the CD single containing 3 mixes of 'Tafsiri hii', 'Niokoe' and 'Songa Hapa'. Meanwhile their producer Tedd Josiah of Sync Sound studios had a fallout with the owners of the studio and he left causing problems in the dropping of the K-shaka full album. Tedd since then is working off a new studio. The full K-shaka is imminent.

Tedd signed up two new rappers as members of his Mau Mau Camp which consists of K-shaka, Hardstone, In-Tu (a female r&b duo), Nikki (female r&b singer). There is Darling P who has a song called '4in1' in which he raps in 4 Kenyan languages, it was a massive hit on radio for the last 5 weeks and there is Giddy Giddy & Maji Maji who have song called 'Ting Badi Malo (Put your hands in the air)' they rap in Luo and it is also a major hit on radio. All the songs shall come off an album called 'Kenyan the second chapter'. Darling P and Giddy Giddy-Maji Maji are bound to cause a sensation in the course of the year.

Also K-south Flava got signed up by Samawati studios, they are yet to drop their own album but they have several songs they have done together with a group called 'Zanaziki' (the owners of Samawati studios) off their album released a few months ago. Their album is also being eagerly awaited.

Pox pressure still exists (for evidence see picture), what happened is that he left his original producer Bruce Odhiambo because he felt that he was taking too long to do his album he then got signed up by Tedd Josiah when he was still at Sync Sounds, then following an incident at a concert where Pox jumped on stage and caused chaos till the concert had to be stopped, Tedd dropped Pox. Pox has a new producer and he has two new songs that have been receiving good airplay on radio and he says that his album is also coming out this year. His raps are in luo and Swahili.

There are a couple of other small groups that are about to enter the scene like UGz short for the Underground based in Eldoret but we are yet to hear what they have to offer.

Studios

Sync studio is probably the most well-known, though not the only hip hop studio in Nairobi. They have a web site which is maintained by the PG Media people in Germany.

Darlin P
Solo artist - no album out

Darlin P is newcomer to the Kenyan music scene. Like all the current rap artists Darlin P (whose real name is Alex Antony Wainaina) started off doing the talent show competition circuit of Florida 200, Zig Zag and Vybestar discos. Darlin P says he used to take part in all these talent competitions, make it to the finals but never won. However, in one of the competitions held early this year at Florida 2000 he caught the eye (or should I say the ear) of producer Tedd Josiah who was present to look for new talent. Although he never won he impressed Tedd enough for him to be signed up to Tedd Josiah's Audio Vault Studio.
The song that has brought Darlin P fame is '4 in one', a humorous satirical commentary rapped in four Kenyan languages (Kiswahili, Masai, Kikamba and Kikuyu) hence the name of the song. '4 in One' shall be one of the tracks off the upcoming 'Kenyan, the second Chapter' CD from Audio Vault Studios. Needless to say Darlin P (derived from darling of the people) is bound to make a big mark on Kenyas growing rap scene (K.A.)

Pox Pressure
Solo artist
Album: Total balaa (1999)

Poxy Pressure has finally released his long awaited full length album. The ten track album contains his popular radio hits 'Dhako' and 'Mummy' done with former producer Bruce Odhiambo and 'Jaber' and 'Wape Really done with his new producer Gabriel Omondi of Solid Rock Studios. Last Year Poxy left producer Bruce Odhiambo then got briefly signed up by Tedd Josiah at Sync Sound Studios only to be dropped after he threw a tantrum at the 'Love Jam Concert'. Poxy then returned to Mombasa where he was originally based and got Gabriel Omondi to finish up his album.
One of his new songs (sounds suspiciously like Snoop Dogg's - Doggy Dogg World) 'Wape' really hits out at the old guard of the Kenyan music industry for keeping young musicians down. New rappers Giddy Giddy and Maji Maji credit Poxy for inspiring them into rapping in Luo. (K.A.)

Giddy Giddy & Maji Maji
Duo - no album out

The group consists of Giddy Giddy (Joseph Ogidi) and Maji Maji (Jahd Adonijah). Giddy Giddy was a regular performer at Florida 2000 talent competitions. Giddy and Maji met for the first time at the house of Kamau 'Githingithia' of Kalamashaka. Maji Maji was originally from Kisumu but came to Nairobi to enter the Florida 2000 competition where Tedd Josiah would be in attendance. While in Nairobi he went to visit Kamau.
Giddy Giddy came by later and was so impressed when he found Maji Maji rapping in Luo that they decided to join forces and do songs together. They performed together at the Florida 2000 competition and won and were promptly singed up by Tedd Josiah. Their song 'Ting Badi Malo' (Put your hands in the air) is a major radio hit and is one of the songs in Tedd Josiahs Audio Vault studios debut CD entitled 'Kenyan, the Second Chapter'. Giddy and Maji say they shall not record their other songs until they get good promotion and backing. (K.A.)

Malkia Rukiya
Solo
Tracks: Penzi Kwetu, Macho Yake, Dhahabu (Buni Collection cd, Mambo studio Mombasa, 1999)

Malkia ('queen') Rukiya came up with a new concept, mixing taarab singing of the Swahili coast (she's from Mombasa) with hip hop beats and some rapping. The resuly is very pleasing and thanks to a promo-only cd of the Mambo studios she got airplay up to Tanzania where Clouds FM have a copy. More important she started out a new style, so it seems - rapper Cool Para from the taarab-loving island of Zanzibar (Tanzania) immediately took over the style, creating a track where the chorus is sung by two professional taarab singers and the verses are his. It seems like in Tanzania more rappers will be experimenting with fusing taarab and rap, and there's even a name for it - TAARAP!
Listen to 'Penzi kwetu' in streaming realaudio. In the meantime, look out for more from Mambo studio, because in their sampler cd there are more talented Mombasa-based groups such as Daddy Junior & K Short (ragga style), Premature and Richimp. (J.4.)

Kalamashaka



Kalamashaka live performance. Pic: Kalamashaka site

Trio that uses the Kiswahili language in their raps. Their track 'Tafsiri hii' is available on the cd 'Kenya the First Chapter'. Next up was a single (August 98) called 'I need to know' which was recorded for a project of the United Nations Population Fund. There's also an r&b version of that song by Tichi Nyasani and members of the girl group 'In Tu', Carol Atemi and Natasha Gatabakiy. The production has been done by Tedd Josiah of Sync Sound Studios who also worked with Hardstone. The idea behind 'I need to know' is to stimulate the debate on whether to introduce sex education in primary schools. At this time, most Kenyan pupils don't get any sex education, something which long ago was taught at initiation school. Now with the spread of AIDS and other diseases, the need is felt to 'arm' the kids with more knowledge so that they won't fall into the trap. Our suggestion would be also to promote listening to gangster rap, for the lyrics of Geto Boys and others are veru honest about these facts :)

From 'Nation' newspaper, December 1998: "At the Mamba Village, Kalamashaka, the home-grown gangsta rap group of Tafsiri Hii fame rocked the young and old alike. This was their first concert at the Coast. The group had the exuberant crowd, mainly teenagers, dancing till dawn. The climax of the performance was a stupendous show by Nikki who brought the house down with her chart-topping hit, Nikupe mapenzi"

David Jomeli
Solo artist
Album out, containing the singles Sometimes I wonder and Malifly

"The rap artist participated in the Lost Boys concert alongside rap-taarab queen Malkia Rukia, and Poxi Pressure. He also performed at the recent highly acclaimed Mombasa street cultural carnival, and has previously entertained at other charity events such as the Christmas tree lighting fete and the Metro FM launch in Mombasa. Besides having a keen interest in music, Jomeli is also a CD logo and fashion designer. His label is David Jomei Apparel.

The proceeds from the launch of the CD, which focuses on the August 7 terrorist bombing of the US Embassy and adjoining buildings in Nairobi will go to the Bomb Disaster Fund. Jomeli, who is pursuing a career in building engineering at the Mombasa Polytechnic has produced other rap songs in the past. They include a CD entitled Salvation Armageddon that includes the track Malifly which he produced in 1997. The Nairobi-born rapper first composed and wrote two songs, Put Milwaukee on the Map and They don't want Justice which were played by a US radio station" (source: The Nation newspaper, Kenya)

Website: http://www.visit-kenya.com/jomeli

Hardstone
Members: solo
Albums: Nuttin' but the stone (97)

Raggamuffin from Nairobi.... Some years ago Shabba Ranks came to perform in Kenya, after that some people must have decided that they could do as well. Now a cd called 'Nothing but the stone' out on the Kenyan market proves Hardstone right. The guy played back-to-back with Tanzanian rapper 2 Proud in late 1997 during the latter's Kenya tour. Hardstone also performed during the Kisima Awards ceremony at the Carnivore, Nairobi on 17 April 1997.

Latest news is that he married to an Afro-American woman. Hardstone is now living in the USA but he didn't forget home.

Notice: you can order the Nuttin' but the stone album on cd at Amazon bookshop. In association with Amazon.com. That is we'll get a percentage if you'd order this cd. Hmmm.... sounds fair.
His label's site is here.
There are some more songs available on two budget priced cd's called 'Modern African Dance' and 'Afromantics' which have been released by a label called P & G Media services in Germany. On the same albums are tracks by Shadz o' Black, Hart and the Safari Sound Band (aren't they the guys who made the much dreaded tourist anthems tape 'Jambo Kenya' or something??)

Shadz o' Black

This R&B duo have good voices that they put to use on tracks that sound very international except for the occasional Swahili lyric coming in. They have 3 songs on two compilation cd's (see Hardstone text on this page). Find more info on their cd at their label's site.

Swahili Nation

'Mpenzi, hakuna matata'... this bloody commercial r&b track was played many times on the radio in 1997 and the tape and cd must have sold real well. It is said that Dr Alban from Sweden has something to do with it. The group consists of Kenyan and Ugandan musicians living in Sweden.



Nuttin' but the stone: first in a row of Kenyan ragga & hip hop releases


:: KENYAN HIP HOP ::
 Kalamashaka
 Nazizi