Tag: Kenya
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“Identify Yourself” – Stella Mwagni Speaks to Awareness for Social Change
The final two lines of this rap capture the essence of her message to the audience: be aware so that we may unite and make a difference. Stella Mwangi, a Kenyan rapper now living in Norway includes a theme of social change and awareness in her uplifting song “Identify Yourself”. The music urges the audience
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Monski: Kenya’s Need to Know Rapper
It’s no secret that the “femcees” of Kenyan hip hop have been dominating the industry and redefining gender roles with performances over the past decade that deliver both hard bars and poetic lyricism. But, there’s one artist on the scene that has been steadily climbing the charts and mastering her craft at unprecedented rates: Monski.
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Stella Mwangi’s Global Roots
In the video for her 2014 track “Biashara,” rapper Stella Mwangi, also known as STL, boldly addresses the viewer as she embodies a distinct fusion of her transnational roots. Mwangi, who was born in Murang’a, Kenya but migrated to Norway with her family in 1991, at the age of five, is an expert at blending
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Shad the Storyteller
Representation and roots are the foundation for hip hop. Without representation, hip hop would arguably not exist. Further, with culture, comes language. So when Shadrach Kabango, also known as “Shad,” was born in the early 1980s in Kenya, representation too played an integral part not only in his upbringing as a Canadian citizen, but also as a award
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Wangechi’s World
“It is easy for a guy to be a recognized as a rapper but not so for female rappers,” says Wangechi Waweru; this sentiment is a driving force in Waweru’s career to pave a path for other female, Kenyan rappers. Known by her stage name, “Wangechi,” she has been well recepted in the Kenyan hip hop
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Juliani Wants to Lead Kenyans to “Victory through Misery”
Hip hop in Kenya, as around the globe, provides an ideal platform for artists to share their perspectives surrounding issues of social and political importance to both themselves and the larger communities they represent. Through their verses, rappers and MCs have the ability to traverse across barriers to challenge those in power and unify their
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King Kaka’s Key
No matter location – whether in America, the United Kingdom, or Kenya –artists use hip hop to not only make songs, which satisfy the listeners, but also to make social commentary and hopefully some sort of social change. Hip hop is a tool of various forms of social justice. In Kenya’s uprising in 2008, hip hop
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Octopizzo’s Quest for Hip Hop Greatness
In the video for his 2016 track “Prezidential,” Kenyan hip hop artist Henry Ohanga—more commonly known in musical communities as Octopizzo—communicates his desire for artistic and cultural eminence. Rapping in Swahili, Ohanga skillfully blends themes of Kenyan culture with the broader world, showcasing his unique talents and aspirations. Intercut between scenes of Ohanga dancing through
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Rapping In A Native Language
Raj (Okemwa Rajiv) is a Kenyan Rapper that raps in his native language Kisii. The Gusii language (also known as Kisii or Ekegusii) is a Bantu language spoken in the Kisii district in western Kenya, whose headquarters is Kisii town, (between the Kavirondo Gulf of Lake Victoria and the border with Tanzania). His unique style of rap is a