Category: Kenya
-
Gidi Gidi Maji Maji
Gidi Gidi Maji Maji is a hip hop group from Kenya consisting of two members–Julius Owino and Joseph Oyoo. Their lyrics are mostly written in their native Luo, with some English and Swahili. They incorporate African rhythms and beats in their songs. Their most popular song is “Unbwogable” (“Unbeatable” in Luo) which was used duringRead…
-
Kalamashaka
Kalamashaka is a hip hop group from Nairobi, Kenya. They become extremely popular with their song, “Tafsiri Hii“, and have made Swahili hip-hop become mainstream in Kenya. Their lyrics are written in Kiswahili and the group have shown themselves to be very socially and politically conscious. They have influenced many artists such as Gidi GidiRead…
-
Ukoo Flani Mau Mau
Hailing primarily out of the streets of Nairobi, Kenya but also Mombasa, Keny and even Tanzania are Ukoo Flani Mau Mau. They are a well molded collective, with a power and uniqueness and flavor that could only come from so many unique backgrounds uniting with a message under the banner of hip hop. 24Read…
-
Kalamashaka
Kalamashaka a.k.a. K-Shaka consist of three members and are credited with starting the Ukoo Flani Mau Mau. They are Oteraw, Kama and Johny and they started in the 1990s and have generated a wide base in Kenya and even other countries around Africa and the world despite getting little to no radio play or popularRead…
-
Hip-hop for peace
In the midst of the chaos following the election of 2007 in Kenya in which over 1,000 people have been killed, a group of hip hop artists took action to denounce the violence engulfing their communities. They formed the Hip Hop Parliament. At the centre of this is what they call “conscious hip-hop”. “Our hip-hopRead…
-
Masculinity and Nationalism in East African Hip-hop Music
The paper titled Masculinity and Nationalism in East African Hip-hop Music by Evan Mwangi published in 2004 may not be current in terms of the date of publication but applies even today to hip-hop in general and East African hip-hop in particular. Hip-hop in East Africa has grown considerably since 2004 both in the numberRead…
-
Documentary ‘Ni Wakati’ Brings American, East African Artists Together
By Msia Kibona Clark | 15 MARCH 2011 Los Angeles — The new documentary by Kenyan filmmakers Michael Wanguhu and Russell Kenya premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles this year. It proved to be a good year for Kenyan film, with eight films set in the country. Ni Wakati is a documentary thatRead…