Kenyan Hip Hop - Development of The Style

Development of The Style

Early Kenyan hip-hop imitated the styles of the United States, wearing American clothes and rapping in English. According to the documentary “Hip-Hop Colony,” the beginnings of Kenyan hip-hop were like a “new breed of colonialism,” transplanting the original styles from the Westernized world to Africa. But unlike colonialism, Kenya has embraced hip-hop and made it their own. Since its explosion in the mid-1990s, Kenyan hip-hop is now generally written and performed not only in English but also in Swahili and in Sheng, a slang combination of the two.

Jimmy Gathu was one of the earliest known rappers on the Kenyan scene with his hit song "Look, Think, Stay Alive" released in 1991, a song dealing with road safety. However, the first major commercial hip hop hit came in 1996 with Uhiki by Hardstone (Harrison Ngunjiri) which sampled a Kikuyu folk song and Marvin Gaye's sexual Healing, produced by Tedd Josiah of the then Audio Vault Studios (now, Blue Zebra). Other popular pioneering acts were Kalamashaka with their national hit "Tafsiri Hii", K-South with "Nyabaga Kodo Gakwa," (which was also sampled from a Kikuyu folk song like Uhiki by Hardstone) and also the late Poxi Presha with his break out hit "Dhako Kelo". Gidi Gidi Maji Maji emerged in 1999 with their hit "Ting Badi Malo" and released the debut album, "Ismarwa" the following year. They went on to released their popular and politically charged hit Unbwogable in 2002. Other emerging styles are R&B style music, as sung by female singer Mercy Myra.

Into the new millennium, many new groups and solo artists have emerged and the scene musically diversified. Among the most famous artists are Necessary Noize, Redsan, Nameless, Nonini, Wawesh, and the late E-Sir.