Category: Kenya
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Final Project Mixtape
Across the world, the hip-hop community is very male-dominated and now in the current years more female artists are breaking the barrier by becoming as successful as male rappers. Many African women rappers are coming into fame and are making music to empower women and make them feel more confident with themselves. Since the hip-hop
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Maandy’s Public Service Announcement
Relax, that’s it. The song “Relax” by Maandy is a song meant for, well, relaxation. The song has a chill vibe by maintaining a moderate tempo and soft instrumentals accompanying the steady beat. Maandy mentions things throughout the song about not worrying and just living life to the fullest. She says a couple of important
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Fena Gitu – Power (P. Power) ft. Maandy & Vallerie Muthoni
Braggadocio is a huge part of hip hop. Credibility, authenticity, and respect, are factors crucial for you to be taken seriously as a rapper and sustain a long-term career. Due to hip hop being male-dominated, credibility is an especially important factor for women rappers. One good way of both proving that women belong in hip
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Education: A Foundation for Success or Just a Scam?
King Kaka released the video for “Ganji,” the first episode of a seven-episode series on March 3, 2021. Just from the thumbnail of the video, I knew the song was going to be about a serious issue. For many of King Kaka’s videos, the thumbnails show people smiling, they incorporate several different colors, and/or they
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BoiBlacc – the wire
BoiBlacc is a rapper based in Nairobi, Kenya. He’s constantly working on new music and has unique music videos. ‘The wire’ was released in 2021. BoiBlacc explained that ‘The Wire’ ”is a song with thematic influences drawn from the city of Nairobi, more specifically the profiling of young men by both the police and society
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An Underrated Queen
A review of “African Fever” by Muthoni Drummer Queen Muthoni Drummer Queen is a Kenyan hip hop artist. Muthoni Drummer Queen has a multitude of talents: she’s a rapper, drummer, and known as a cultural entrepreneur. She infuses music styles from several different cultures into her music to paint a picture with her own unique
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Chris Kaiga – I WANT (ft. Mutoriah)
Chris Kaiga is a Kenyan-based artist (rapper) born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. His love and passion for music started in 2009 with the ambition of being a music producer but soon changed after recording his first single in 2011. He’s had hits with songs like ‘Zimenice’, ‘Niko on’ and ‘Bundaz’. He takes a distinct
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Conversations with African Women Artists
This is a clip of a few of the conversations that we have had with African women MCs around the world. In addition to these interviews, the podcast has produced two mixtape episodes that feature new hip-hop releases from African women around the world. Conversations with artists revolve around many topics, including gender, sexuality, race,
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HHAP EP. 69: Industry Vet Buddha Blaze on the nature of the music industry in Kenya and Beyond
Buddha Blaze is a Kenyan blogger, podcaster, and music industry insider with over 20 years of experience. He has worked throughout the continent and the diaspora with artists and producers from around the world. He was a major part of the British Council’s WaPi (Words & Pictures) initiative, which showcased hip hop, poetry, fashion breakdance, and graffiti culture in Nairobi. He has also consulted numerous artists in the business and worked on several projects with international artists and producers. A major figure in the Kenyan hip hop scene, he was recently seen on the Nairobi-based What’s Good Africa?, the only show on P. Diddy’s RevoltTV to focus on hip hop culture in Africa and one of the only shows airing on a US network to focus on hip hop culture in Africa. In this conversation, Buddha Blaze talks a lot about the changes he’s seen in the industry over the years and some of the skills artists need to navigate the industry today. He also talks about his involvement in the growth of the cultural scene in Nairobi, which has grown to become the largest music, film, and contemporary art scene in East Africa. Buddha Blaze is Twitter @ItsBuddhaBlaze and Instagram @buddhablazeworld Intro and outro beat by Nigerian producer @teckzilla108 This episode is part of the special series that we did in partnership with Words Beats & Life. The series was recorded and live streamed with students in the Hip Hop in Africa class at Howard University and George Washington University.
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5 LGBTQ+ African Artists who challenge heteronormativity
This mixtape shines a well deserved light on five African hip hop artists who are challenging the heteronormative culture prevalent in much of Africa through their music. In many African countries, such as the ones these artists hail from, it can be dangerous to be openly LGBTQ+. These artists are taking great steps to normalizing