Kenyan Hip Hop - Production

Production

Most artists affiliate themselves with a production house which serves the same function as a record company. Some popular production houses include Ogopa DJ's, Homeboyz, Mandugu Digital, Calif Records, Samawati Studios, Blu Zebra among others. The music industry continues to grow with different production houses developing distinguishing sounds. There is Ogopa DJ's who term their style of music as "boomba" or "Kapuka" while Calif Records initiated a new style known as Genge. Most of these sub-genres differ very slightly, sonically; however coinage gives the music a localized identity which adds a little spice. Genge, which roughly translates to 'large crowd of people,' reinforces a foundational ethos of hip hop as a music for and by the people. In this context, production and consumption are closely connected and symbiotic (much more than other mainstream international music) in the sense that producers emphasize the importance of local politics and culture rather than simply striving for profit maximization. Although, the motive of production seems to highlight local culture and community, Kenyan hip hop similarly to hip hop more generally battles the more individualistic forces of technology and musicianship.

Technology, more specifically the internet, is a vehicle for growth and enrichment of the principles of hip hop and local, indigenous culture and community. Even though the internet clearly advocates for the globalization of hip hop culture, the internet itself can serve as a sort of cultural homogenization or Americanization especially within cultures that lack technological advancement. Keeping this in mind, many local Kenyan artists are essentially forced to jump on the technological bandwagon in order to compete and even participate at all. While traditional forms of hip hop culture stem from a resistance to socio-political hegemony and therefore an acculturation of the collective unit (i.e. family, community, society), more recent images of gangster rap and the social realities that follow along with it elucidate a more individualistic, violent form.

Furthermore the production of hip hop in Nairobi is all about taking the original form of hip hop songs and lyrics and mixing it to a more local version that can relate to the audience. They are actively and tangibly taking commodified music, putting it on a turntable and reinserting their changes on its form. Another article titled hip hop scene argues that Kenyan hip hop scene popularity is increasing and it constantly working towards producing Kenyan rap that draws its inspiration from American and hip hop reggae. Kenyan hip hop is also produced outside of Kenya by members of the dispora. One example is Social Misfit Entertainment, a management, production and recording label formed in January 1998 in the UK. Social Misfit Entertainment is managed by Patrick Waweru (aka Sir Prestige). Waweru was born in Nakuru and immigrated to London from Nairobi mid-1986.