Kenyan Hip Hop - Marketing and Piracy

Marketing and Piracy

Due to the high rates of piracy in Kenya, poor music distribution mechanism, ineffective music copyright policies, and poor marketing, few hip hop artists have been able to make a living from their music. Many artists depend on doing performances to make a living due to the poor music sales, in the case of those who can afford to make a cd. Other artists who do not have the capital to record whole cds make music on a single by single basis. The primary market for Kenyan Hip Hop is composed of relatively privileged youth. This is due to the availability of internet access amongst more privileged youth.

Jeff Chang, in an essay about global hip-hop for Foreign Policy magazine, discusses the conflict between marketing of local artists and global (mainly American) ones. Local, socially conscious music is supported by communities themselves, by organizations such as Words and Pictures, which attempts to build connections between hip-hop artists, and by media such as MTV Base Africa, which endeavors to have half of its programming be African. On the other hand, local and foreign-owned radio stations tend to play and market American rap, like 50 Cent, a fact that many Kenyans resent. One such station, British Capital FM, features Kenyan media on its site, but lists many American artists, such as Lil Wayne, on its top ten list.