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The Role of the Artist in the Time of Corona

16 min read.

The creative economy can turn artists into significant cogs that build a nation’s resilience. Research shows that the culture and creative industry is the next frontier for growth, but there is a need for sound investment in the right legal and policy frameworks, financial and human resources, technology, and institutions.

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The Role of the Artist in the Time of Corona
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Criticism of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s announcement of Sh200 million monthly payouts to artists has centred on mistakenly equating the immediate needs of healthcare workers at the front line of the battle to beat the coronavirus with paying royalties for creative work. This announcement came on the back of his order to lock in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale counties.

Completely missed in the ensuing furore was the fact that Kenyatta was only reporting progress on an earlier pledge, when he said: “My administration has projected that a total of Sh200 million every month will be paid to musicians through the system and other platforms. This translates to over Sh2 billion going into the pockets of Kenyan artists. These payments will begin this week in line with the pledge that I made in January.”

Should the president have used the same platform announcing measures to address the crisis, such as setting up of a National COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, getting the seed capital for the Fund from the Exchequer, taxation, and pay cuts to assure the country of continuing entertainment from artistes?

The arts during the HIV/AIDS epidemic

Entertainment is the visible contribution the arts make, but recent local history is replete with examples of how music, performance theatre, literature and visual arts have enabled conversations that built a shared understanding of complex problems to enable the people to find solutions. Song, dance and theatre modelled on the Latin America experience around theatre for development have helped Kenya to confront poorly understood phenomena like the HIV/AIDS pandemic, chipping away at stigma and bringing hundreds of thousands of infected people into care and treatment to blunt its effects on the affected and reduce its impacts on society.

“When one speaks of health communication using art and the role of artists, several creative pieces in different genres come to mind,” Oby Obyerodhyambo, a public health professional and leading author, playwright, actor, noted in an interview. “I think of songs such as Todi by the late Oliver Mutukudzi, Dunia Mbaya by Prince Julie, Attention na SIDA by the late Franco Luambo Makiadi. I am reminded of the images of the late Philly Lutaaya descending the flights of stairs at Entebbe for the last time after he had broken the stigma about HIV in Uganda several years earlier using his music. Music and musicians played a major role in raising awareness about HIV when all that people knew about HIV was the death. Music was not best in terms of providing detailed information about the health continuum from the transmission to treatment but played a huge role in breaking the silence about HIV. The mention of the word UKIMWI was eased by songs like Dunia Mbaya increasing community discourse on HIV was greatly aided by art and artists.”

Awareness of how to deal with HIV/AIDS was not done through music alone. There was theatre that provided more latitude for a detailed description of the virus, its behaviour and its impact on life.

“However, theatre had a terrible history,” Obyerodhyambo pointed out. “The journey started with the horrific play, Tone kwa Tone, that was among the first HIV dramas staged in Kenya. It was grotesque; diabolic images of skulls, blood dripping, coffins and HIV depicted as a devil, coffins and promiscuity and immortality associated with HIV. The typical play showed the Simon Makonde story of infected today and dead in seven days marked by intense suffering. This enhanced stigma to a very high level.”

Awareness of how to deal with HIV/AIDS was not done through music alone. There was theatre that provided more latitude for a detailed description of the virus, its behaviour and its impact on life.

Nonetheless the power of using theatre was clearly noted and was thereafter followed subtler plays on HIV, such as Positive Identity written by Oby Obyerodhyambo using the pseudonym Rangóndi Othuon that also won the Okoth K’Obonyo Playwriting Competition that used to be organised by Theatre Workshop Production.

There were several other plays by JPR Ochieng’Odero taken around the country under AIDSCAP project. This USAID-funded programme morphed into the countrywide Theatre for Development or Magnet Theatre projects under the aegis of PATH and FHI. Thousands of shows were staged by the troupe of artists using a Forum Theatre approach inspired by Paulo Freire and Augusto Boan techniques. Around this time we also had Maisha ya Nuru where radio soaps and radio magazine platforms were used.

“At this point, the main role of art/artists was – raise awareness of the REAL cause of HIV and AIDS, promote preventive behaviour (Abstinence, Reduction of Sexual Partners and Condom use),” said Oby Obyerodhyambo, who was at the centre of it all while working with PATH. “It was used to reduce HIV stigma, promote acceptance of PLWHIV [people living with HIV] and promote community dialogue around HIV and AIDS to de-mythologise HIV and give hope to families of PLWHIV (mainly that avoiding opportunistic infections could prolong lives). At this point there were plays that taught that an infected person should prepare for death – there were the Memory Projects with scrapbooks. This was before the advent on ARV [antiretrovirals]. Theatre promoted testing and many people got to know their HIV status courtesy of Magnet Theatre – the MT that we did at PATH would have a very tight referral for HIV testing.”

Apart from theatre and music, graphic art also played a major part, especially the Talking Walls projects where murals were used to engage the community in dialogues. These murals travelled a long way from the grotesque images. In some places, these images can still be seen. Art provided a stark reminder of the ravages of HIV, but also promoted stigma by negative portraying PLWHIV. There were posters that played the same sort of role.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) trained puppeteers and promoted the use of life-size puppets. These travelling, life-size puppet shows were the firsts attempts to objectify the disease with non-real characters who could discuss HIV and being HIV-positive and who could explore real taboo subjects. Puppets actually were the first ones to bring caricature and humour into the portrayal of HIV and AIDS. Their role has been underplayed. Using puppets, the stigmatisation of PLWIV and the mystery around HIV was reduced.

Similarly, these arts— Theatre for Development/Participatory Education Theatre— unlocked emotive conversations in the long search for a new order, contributing to securing Kenya’s constitution-making as one of the most participatory processes in the world.

“The conscientisation of Kenyans towards a new public awareness and education came to the fore in the early 90s with the advent of political pluralism,” Kawive Wambua, an artists and governance expert noted in a seminal paper, “The Artists as the Managers of the Political Transition in Kenya”, presented at the Kenya Oral Literature Association (KOLA) Conference on East African Oral Literature in Kisumu in 2005. “CSOs [civil society organisations] such as Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change (4CS), Legal Resource Foundation (LRF), Centre for Governance and Democracy (CGD) and CLARION commissioned plays to be written and engaged artists to go around the country popularising such ‘taboo’ issues as human rights, good governance and rule of law.”

Wambua noted:

Plays that were significant in the 1990s, were such as Professor Kivutha Kibwana’s Kanzala, Wakanyote Njuguna’s Kabla ya Dhoruba, Kithaka wa Mberia’s Kifo Kisimani, Wahome Mutahi’s Mugaathe Mubogothi, Makaririra Kioro, and Mugathe Ndotono among others. Though these plays lack specific merit as Participatory Education Theatre (PET) or even as Interactive Participatory Community Education Theatre (IPCET) texts, they were unconventional (some even compromising style for messagism) and they interrogated difference and diffidence in community leadership. These writers as well were prominent figures in the intellectual and human rights movements and hence had a lot of influence in the course of action on the educational theatre scene. Their plays, among others, were the precursors of the underground NGO movement that came up with the IPCET play. The individual and really forceful activities of civil society organisations like 4Cs, CGD, LRF and a plethora of other organisations suffered the same fate of being but information points for the community. Information, we should note at this point, empowers, but it is only communication that liberates. And this key issue was never sufficiently addressed. Art was severally massacred at the behest of militant advocacy.

“I would like to isolate the 4Cs and say that they started off as a loosely structured lobby group for constitutional reform,” Kawive Wambua added during an interview. “For three years, its single programme was theatre. The theatre group used the rich history of oppression in the country to create a play “Five Centuries”, later to become the name of the group. The play was an interrogation of the suffering and pain the people of Kenya have gone through in the hands of selfish leaders, the fact of an independence that never was, and the need for this century to be a century of nation reconstruction and a new constitutional order. This trend has survived across the years, at times faltering at the intersection of artistic expressionism and political advocacy.”

He noted: “It is clear that theatre mobilised citizens and led to the groundswell that bore the Change-the-Constitution movement of the late 90s. I have argued elsewhere that the change of government in 2002 was midwifed by artists – literally. Aforementioned groups and others such as 5Cs Theatre were instrumental in cultivating the language of rights and self-liberation by citizens from the government and by women from the clutches of patriarchy. In the mid and late 90s also Theatre for Development (TfD), Participatory Education Theatre (PET) was being used for reproductive health education and HIV and AIDs awareness. CARE-Kenya and other non-profit outfits were big on theatre as a primary methodology of Behaviour Change Communication (BCC). This was to continue in 2003 onwards with Magnet Theatre projects all over Kenya.

“It is clear that theatre mobilised citizens and led to the groundswell that bore the Change-the-Constitution movement of the late 90s. I have argued elsewhere that the change of government in 2002 was midwifed by artists – literally…”

In the run-up to the 2002 election, Gidi Gidi, Maji Maji’s popular song We Are Unbwogable became the rallying call for the nation’s new heroes Those people who had been frustrated by the regime and its machinations came together and sought artists to ignite the fire that would stamp them with confidence and endear them to the electorate. Another song, Yote ya Wezekana, a popular gospel tune, was used to appropriate the political mood and to whip up the mood and empathy of the people from the apparent defeatism and lethargic complacency that had enveloped them after three subsequent defeat upon defeat of those that seemed to be conscientious leaders faced by the misuse of state machinery and resources.

From disease comes great art

“Art has a way of objectifying reality and therefore making difficult topics discussable. This was clearly the case with HIV because of the preponderance of sexual transmission,” Oby Obyerodhyambo pointed out. “Art very effectively made it possible to discuss the issues around HIV and suggest the steps that could be taken to cope. Objectivity through depiction in art and film such as the iconic movie Philadelphia where Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington dealt with the issues of human rights and stigma associated with HIV. Art and artists worked through their creative expression to raise awareness of HIV; build knowledge about the disease – its transmission, diagnosis, management and prevention strategies and removing myths that fuelled stigma and discrimination; created a more receptive environment by famous musicians coming out as Lutaaya did; then there were those who drew crowds by their fame and did edutainment shows – Prince Jully, Ochieng’ Kabaselle, (many in local languages) and big names like Franco Luambo Makiadi with Attention na SIDA.”

“The spectre of disease, pandemic, and death have been with us since life emerged on this rock. And once we got around to discovering music, homo sapiens (and perhaps Neanderthals, whose numbers were probably drastically culled by disease), began reacting to these periods of widespread sickness with stories, art, and song,” writes Allan Cross, a broadcaster and a commentator for Global News.

Utilitarian art that responds to the crisis of the moment certainly has its uses, but when the crisis of the coronavirus is behind us, it is to the songs, the theatre and the stories from this epoch that Kenyans will look for a reflective history of their experience.

“The first recorded pandemic hit the people of Athens between 429 and 426 BC,” Cross writes. “No one knew why, other than the gods must have been displeased with mankind. We still don’t know what caused the death of up to 100,000 — Typhus? Typhoid Fever? Some sort of viral hemorrhagic disease? — but it left an unusual mark on the city. Those were the peak years of Greek tragedy, a form of theatre that had tremendous influence on both ancient Rome in a few centuries and the Renaissance more than a thousand years in the future. From disease came great art.”

Science is moving at great speed to educate us about the coronavirus, how it spreads and ways to contain it, which require changes that cannot be enforced by official diktat alone. “The Black Death killed majority of the population in Florence in 1348 (and maybe as much as 60 per cent of all of Europe between 1331 and 1353) yet Florence rallied, becoming a flashpoint of intellectual and artistic evolution that was felt for centuries,” Cross adds. “London was plagued through much of the 16th century and King Henry VIII was forced to self-isolate during the Sweating Sickness of 1529, much in the way we are today and saw a spike in fatalities in the early 1600s. But as England slowly recovered, Shakespeare was somehow inspired to write King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra, all in 1606.”

Utilitarian art that responds to the crisis of the moment certainly has its uses, but when the crisis of the coronavirus is behind us, it is to the songs, the theatre and the stories from this epoch that Kenyans will look for a reflective history of their experience.

Exploring these tragedies, the deprivations they visit upon society and the adaptations that are required to survive is a matter of emotional persuasion as it is of logic. “The artist provides society with emotions, colour, and texture. Scientists think up of ways to make life easier, builders and technicians turn those scientific ideas into tangible objects. These things help us – they blend our foods, put roofs over our heads, make mowing the lawn easier – but they never add real emotion. Artists come in to play on our emotions and subconscious thoughts,” notes Andre Deherrera, a creator/artist for AndreDDesign.

Aziza Atta, founder of Ozoza Lifestyle in Abuja, notes: “Art is the natural way in which we create relationships in the world and also where we build life experiences. Being an artist is to express one’s soul. The responsibility of the artist is to consciously bring about an internal change within us. We cannot bring to the world what we have not ourselves internally absorbed, digested and assimilated. It all starts in the heart and in the mind. Through its emotional outreach, art can affect these transformations. It is a powerful force.”

Besides artists being direct taxpayers, they are also consumers. In a streamlined and transparent system, paying artists the over Sh2 billion (about $20 million) owed to them each year can take away a great deal of pressure on the state to provide relief.

The culture and creative industry

Tapping into the potential of the creative economy can turn artists into significant cogs that build a nation’s resilience, beyond just contributing to the national gross domestic product. There is no doubt that this president the others before him have not given the culture and creative industry (CCI) the attention it deserves. However, Uhuru Kenyatta and his team have suddenly woken up to what the CCI stakeholders have been taking about. Gains about the CCI are well documented in reports such as the “Ubunifu Report on the Status of the Creative Economy in East Africa”, the Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC)ianalysis report on the trends shaping the entertainment and media industry in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania, dubbed “Getting Personal: Putting the Me in Entertainment & Media: Insights from the Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2019–2023 An African Perspective, and many other related industry reports.

Champions for CCI have included none other than Hon. Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the Secretary- General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), through numerous reports and recommendations and conferences, such as the one that led to UNCTAD’s Nairobi Maafikiano 2016.

In its report, UNCTAD observes: “Trends show the ‘creative economy’ can cultivate meaningful work, make money and help deliver prosperity for all. The creative economy, in some ways, defies definition almost by definition. But its significant 3% contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) makes it a powerful emerging economic sector that is being strengthened by a surge in digitisation and services.”

Since 2004, UNCTAD has analysed creative industries, providing important insights into its global dimensions. UNCTAD’s Creative Economy Programme, whose focus is on trade in the creative industries, has placed the arts on the world economic and development agenda by imagining a role for them in the growth of developing economies. Its data on trade in creative goods and services provide important insights for understanding the creative economy at a time when many emerging and developing economies are seeking to diversify.

“The creative economy and its industries are strategic sectors that if nurtured can boost competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth, employment and exports potential,” notes Pamela Coke-Hamilton, UNCTAD’s international trade and commodities director.

The creative economy leverages creativity, technology, culture and innovation in fostering inclusive and sustained economic growth and development. Creative economy sectors include arts and craft, books, films, paintings, festivals, songs, designs, digital animation and video games. They generate income through trade (exports) and intellectual property rights, and create new jobs in higher occupational skills, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

UNCTAD’s second report, Creative Economy Outlook and Country Profile Report 2018, notes that the “size of the global market for creative goods expanded substantially more than doubling in size from $208 billion in 2002 to $509 billion in 2015.”

In this report, it was noted that the “creative goods exports from Kenya stood at $40.9 million (Sh4.3 billion) and imports at $195 million (Sh20.6 billion) in 2013, the last year for which data was available. Besides the performing arts, visual arts and cultural heritage, Kenyans produce films, videos, television and radio shows, video games, music and books. There is important work being undertaken in the graphic design, fashion and advertising subsectors. These creative activities need to be anchored in political and governmental commitment and concrete support.”

Government commitment and concrete support through the streamlining of the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) and Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) by streamlining the sector can deliver benefits for artists but can also open a new revenue stream for government. In January this year, President Kenyatta directed that KECOBO license digital platforms run by telecommunication firms and media companies to channel payments of royalties to the three CMOs “in order to ensure compensation for all generators of the works”.

In this report, it was noted that the “creative goods exports from Kenya stood at $40.9 million (Sh4.3 billion) and imports at $195 million (Sh20.6 billion) in 2013, the last year for which data was available.

“Content Service Providers who work with digital platforms such as Skiza and Viusasa, will be eliminated because they sit outside the CMOs,” President Uhuru said. “My practical direction on this is to have all rights holders register on the National Rights Registry.”

Additional funds totalling Sh100m from the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage are also to be made available from the Sports Fund during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These new measures will see the rise of tariffs collected and will create immense savings on the processes of collecting royalties,” he added. “It is estimated that the new system will see an increase in collections from a previous Sh200 million per year to an estimated Sh2 billion per year, a tenfold increase.”

The ministry’s perennial underfunding over the years and its general poor performance mean that they need to be watched closely to turn the order into reality. The coronavirus crisis also presents an opportunity. President Kenyatta has ordered KECOBO to gazette new tariffs within 30 days and ensure that public service vehicles, the hospitality industry, and broadcasters apply them.

The arts and COVID-19

The State House Choir has already showed that artists are going to be significant cogs in the fight against COVID-19. Like in the past, artists in various genres will need to come on board to help deal with numerous issues around COVID 19.

“I suggest that art could be used to respond to the misinformation or disinformation about COVID-19 and coronavirus,” Oby Obyerodhyambo pointed out. “To present the facts in a very easy and understandable way that our grandmothers and children under 5 can understand – unlike HIV that was so stigmatising because it involved sex among others this one is less inhibiting. However, it goes to the very core of our cultural practices so we need to explain why we need to social distance, stay at home and be careful about what we touch – to demystify the preventive procedures including donning of masks.”

He added: “We are social animals and greet and hug a lot. We are a ‘touchy’ culture so the idea that we cannot touch – shake hands – is harder than avoiding sex. Basically we are telling people to dehumanise themselves. We can use the art of humour to do this and create a way that we can laugh at this again because it is not as difficult as abandoning sexual partners. Over that we need art to explain the logic of doing what we are doing.”

Through art, we will explain the lockdown so that the punitiveness of it is explained. The idea of curtailing freedom to move and interact is difficult to explain unless some counter-narrative is spun. We must explain to the man or woman who cannot go to the farm or market or visit his relatives how this is for his or her own good.

“Again, there is a need to reduce the fiat that the administration is adopting,” Obyerodhyambo added during the interview. “The ‘or else’ approach is counter-intuitive. How do you explain to me that going out to fetch food for my hungry children is for their own good? Artists need to rally the public around ownership of the response to corona. The way that the globe was galvanised around the movements like ‘Africa for Africans’ where funds were donated to support the victims of famine must be the approach. The arts must tug at the heartstrings of the population, we must show empathy and concern for one another.”

The role of the artist in the world after corona

No one best captures the hopes and aspirations of artists and the art world better than Dalen O’Connell, a theatre artist from Minnesota, USA, when the coronavirus chaos is finally contained. In a Facebook post, Dalen noted that in theatre “we have a tradition – whenever the theatre is empty, we are always sure to leave one light on. Typically on a stand in the center of the stage, this light is known as the ghost light. There are many stories about its origin- but it’s meaning is unmistakable. It means though the theatre is empty, WE WILL RETURN. So here’s to us. The actors, the technicians, the directors, the carpenters, the designers, the dancers, the teachers, the students, the freelancers, those on tour, those at sea, the electricians, the stitchers, the makers, the stage managers — THE ARTISTS. Many of us have taken big hits during this virus. Financial and emotional weights have come crashing down as our entire industry is reduced to nothing but a bunch of ghost lights. But those ghost lights are temporary place holders. They are a sign. We might be down now- but our passion, our creativity, our drive is still center stage. We will be unplugging those ghost lights in no time. Until then- here’s a ghost light – to let the world know we will be back.” (There was an accompanying picture of the ghost light).

Obyerodhyambo notes that there are hideous songs that have been produced by so-called artists telling people to wash their hands, sanitise, and keep social distance. Most of them are very hurriedly done and lack any artistic flair. After COVID they will remain uninspiring and irrelevant.

He notes: “There is no artistic rendition carrying the questions that society is grappling with such as: Where is the money donated by all manner of people going? Why are our facilities so decrepit and our health care professionals unprotected? Why is COVID weaponised so that the police are killing Kenyans in enforcing the Public Health Act and the curfew? Why is the donated testing costing 10,000 shillings and why are people being charged for being quarantined in places they did not choose? Why are police officers corruptly landing people in quarantine? And why are come counties giving masks and why are politicians branding donated hand sanitisers and getting away scot-free?”

“The role of artists DURING the crisis should be of interest because if they are the moral compass and mirror they should be asking these difficult questions,” Oby added during the interview. “Artists should be questioning why Kenyans still do not wear masks and are not physically distancing? Why are people sneaking in and out of the locked-down cities? There should be messages of self-reflection and introspection. Do the artists actually understand the public health issues at play? Can they be allowed to pass on the message they do not understand?”

Like the proverbial Phoenix, artists believe the industry will rise once again and take its place in society – as entertainers, educators and tax payers.

Obyerodhyambo notes that there are hideous songs that have been produced by so-called artists telling people to wash their hands, sanitise, and keep social distance. Most of them are very hurriedly done and lack any artistic flair. After COVID they will remain uninspiring and irrelevant.

“I believe, like Okot p’Bitek, the artist is the ruler,” Kawive Wambua pointed out in a conversation when this article was being written. “Artists have already unravelled the coronavirus and are crooning from YouTube on what the pandemic means for us. They interpret it and entertain at the same time. In the post-corona period, they will puck the husks of our lives and relive our lives on stage, talking about love gone and death visiting but unwanted. They will create for us a log of memory as they help us reflect and recreate a new world – where wealth and power are demystified and life glorified. They will help us imagine a new world.”

In Kenya, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) envisages artists and cultural workers playing a key role in re-engineering our society. It envisages the resourcing and revitalisation of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Sports to take lead in the rebuilding process. Advocacy and education work using art that will even entail coming to terms with the post-COVID realities will be critical.

The government will need to move beyond talking and tokenism in its effort to strengthen the culture and creative industry. Research shows that this is the next frontier for growth, but there is need for sound investment in the right legal and policy frameworks, financial and human resources, technology, strengthening institutions and associations, among others.

“Double-digit growth is anticipated for Kenya,” the PwC-backed Insights from the Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2019–2023 An African Perspective notes. “Kenya’s E&M market is set to see growth at a 10.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the next five years, reaching nearly US$3.0 billion in 2023. In 2018 the market rose by 13.0% year-on-year to make US$1.8 billion.”

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Msanii Kimani wa Wanjiru is an Arts Journalist with Kymsnet Media Network.

Culture

Hip hop’s Enduring Echo: From New York’s Streets to Global Beats

In the second of a two-part series, Richard Wanjohi traces the rise and rise of the hip hop genre from humble beginnings in the Bronx to the exalted halls of academe.

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Hip hop's Enduring Echo: From New York's Streets to Global Beats
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In the heat of a summer afternoon on the 11th of August 2023, echoes of the origins of hip hop swept through the bustling avenues of New York City, traversing five decades to awaken the present. The Hip Hop museum relived the original block party, an event aptly christened “Hip Hop’s 50th Birthday Jam” that transcended mere celebration and instead served as a living testament to the very essence of this genre-defining movement. The city that had birthed a cultural revolution watched as its legacy reverberated across continents. The month of August unfolded as a tapestry of events and tributes, a worldwide celebration of hip hop’s indomitable spirit. Taking root in humble neighbourhoods, hip hop has ascended to paramount prominence both in the commercial realms of music and in societal discourse.

Donald Glover’s This is America was released in May 2018, on the same night that Childish Gambino (Glover’s stage name) was hosting Saturday Night Live, an American late-night live television sketch comedy, political satire, and variety show. The song’s lyrics and powerful music video capture the essence of the Black Lives Matter movement, delving into the heart of systemic racism.

Tackling the themes of prejudice, racial violence, the ghetto, and law enforcement in the US, the song resonates with the movement’s spirit. It also touches on the broader concerns of mass shootings and gun violence, painting a vivid picture of the challenges facing the United States.

This Is America was the first rap song – and Gambino the first hip hop artist – to win Record of the Year and Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance Award and Best Music Video at the Annual Grammy Awards.

Another contemporary artist on the hip hop landscape is Kendrick Lamar, a maestro of words whose lyrical prowess has earned the critical acclaim of a generation. In 2017, his anthem to social consciousness, Humble, resonated with a world craving authenticity. With an infectious chorus that implores, “Sit down, be humble”, the track is an call to humility, a repudiation of the ostentation that has occasionally veiled the essence of rap culture, and indeed, global popular culture.

Yet, beneath the surface, Humble delves deeper, summoning African American men to introspection, challenging them to grapple with their roles and power within their communities. This call to self-examination arrives in an era marked by a rising “cancel culture” where movements like “Me Too” have spotlighted a demand for accountability. Lamar’s artistry embodies this moment, peering through society’s lens etched with pain, yearning for collective humility, and a society unified by values.

As he asserts his individuality, Lamar fearlessly points fingers at the counterfeit, the insincere, those failing to meet his measure of authenticity. A truth seeker himself, Lamar’s artistry becomes a mirror, reflecting the world’s complexities, capturing the zeitgeist with unwavering intensity.

A milestone was reached on the 13th of February 2022, at the Super Bowl LVI Final, a night electrified by the presence of Kendrick Lamar alongside luminaries like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent. In the midst of the halftime show’s dazzling spectacle, the heart of hip hop pulsed, paying tribute to its West Coast origins, a homage to the crucible of hip hop that transcended time zones, a reminder of its roots.

Lamar’s narrative speaks of more than just stardom; it encapsulates a struggle for hip hop’s essence amidst the onslaught of commercialisation and global expansion. The genre navigates its identity, steering between the twin tides of mass appeal and authenticity, struggling to remain true as it extends its reach to the world stage.

In Childish Gambino’s This is America, the song represents an unfiltered mirror reflecting the complex realities of modern America. With pulsating beats and enigmatic lyrics, the track takes listeners on a visceral journey through the nation’s darkest corners. Gambino delves into the psyche of a nation teetering between euphoria and despair, beckoning us to question our complicity and the façades we build.

As we dissect every lyric and decode every visual cue, we realise that this song isn’t just entertainment – it’s an urgent call to action, a demand for introspection, and a stark reminder that America’s story is still being written, one fraught note at a time. And isn’t a similar tale told in so many other countries across the world?

The genre navigates its identity, steering between the twin tides of mass appeal and authenticity, struggling to remain true as it extends its reach to the world stage.

Beyond the beats, hip hop retains its vocation as a megaphone for society’s voice. From the corners of Europe to the Americas, it weaves together lyrical tapestries that tackle inequality, racism, and the brutality of the badge. The legacy of protest that stirred its early days courses through its veins.

Globally, hip hop’s resonance remains potent, a conduit for artists to unleash their messages onto the world’s stage. In Kenya, the return of Kalamashaka heralds a renaissance, echoing the struggles of the late 1990s and early 2000s, a stark reminder that society’s battles persist across time and borders. When the group embarked on their journey, guided by their producer Tedd Josiah, they began by mirroring their American counterparts, belting out verses in English and slang. Yet, as artistic instinct led them to the crossroads of self-discovery, their sound underwent a transformation that would leave an indelible mark on the country’s musical fabric.

From the corners of Europe to the Americas, it weaves together lyrical tapestries that tackle inequality, racism, and the brutality of the badge.

Shifting gears, they embraced the lyrical tapestry of Swahili and the street-smart slang of Sheng. This linguistic pivot birthed Tafsiri Hii, etching the track into the annals of Kenyan music history as the first commercially minted hip hop anthem. With each beat and syllable, they pioneered a new sonic frontier, infusing local vernacular into a genre that was once an import.

The resonance of Tafsiri Hii went beyond the lyrics; it captured a cultural shift, a declaration that Kenyan hip hop would forge its path, distinct from its American roots. It wasn’t just a song; it was a manifesto, a clarion call for artists across the nation to celebrate their own linguistic heritage.

Yet, amidst these triumphs, shadows persist. Misogyny and the debasement of women stain hip hop’s narrative. Critics’ voices rise, dissecting the art form’s dichotomy, questioning its role in perpetuating inequality and disrespect.

As we stand amidst the beats and rhythms, we recognise that hip hop’s journey is complex, a symphony of triumphs and challenges, a vessel for the voices of the marginalised, an amplifier of truth. The legacy of August’s jubilant celebrations propels hip hop forward, igniting a global conversation that echoes in the streets of New York, Nairobi and New Delhi, etching its imprint on the world’s soul.

Global grooves: Unveiling the current currents of hip hop music

As the global pulse continues to syncopate to the rhythm of urban beats, hip hop music stands firm as the heartbeat of our modern age. From the gritty streets of its Bronx birthplace, the genre has morphed into a kaleidoscope of influences, mirroring the diverse tapestry of our planet. Hip hop has become the most popular genre in the United States since 2017, surpassing rock and pop. The genre has grown from a small underground movement to a multibillion-dollar industry.

In the digital age, the hip hop landscape expands without borders. A digital symphony of trap snares, Afrobeat rhythms, and lyrical poetry reverberates across continents. International collaborations have been breaking sound barriers, proving that language is no obstacle to the universal resonance of a catchy hook – testament to our interconnected era, a striking chapter recently unfolded on the world stage.

Enter the phenomenon that is Calm Down, an undeniable chart-topper that encapsulates this moment in time. A merger of Afrobeats and pop music, this musical marvel stands as an emblematic blend of two distinct talents – the prodigious Rema from Nigeria and the charismatic Selena Gomez, a true American gem with Latin roots intricately woven into the rich fabric of her sound.

Gone are the days when hip hop was confined to block parties and underground clubs. Today, it headlines festivals that span the globe, igniting crowds with the energy of a thousand firecrackers. The evolution of hip hop visuals transforms music videos into cinematic epics, pushing creative boundaries to new heights.

Yet, as the genre evolves, it confronts paradoxes. At a time when hip hop’s global influence is undeniable, its connection to authenticity is a burning question. Commercialisation threatens to dilute its essence, but many artists stand as sentinels of truth, using their verses to amplify the voices of the marginalised.

International collaborations have been breaking sound barriers, proving that language is no obstacle to the universal resonance of a catchy hook.

The lyricism has matured, becoming a megaphone for societal critique. From South African townships to the bustling streets of Tokyo, hip hop lyrics dissect systemic injustices, demand change, and refuse to be silenced. In this era of global protests, the genre surges as an anthem for those yearning for justice.

As we traverse cultural boundaries, we uncover a mosaic of regional sounds. In South America, Andean instruments blend seamlessly with boom-bap beats. The Middle East fuses traditional melodies with trap basslines. In India, hip hop becomes a canvas for lyrical storytelling, painting vivid portraits of everyday life.

It’s a world where pioneers like Public Enemy and newer voices like Burna Boy share a stage, reminding us that hip hop is a symposium of generations, a living testament to resilience, and a bridge connecting diverse narratives.

In this era of global connectivity, hip hop resonates as the universal language, a harmonic thread weaving tales of struggle, triumph, and dreams. It’s not just music; it’s the pulse of a generation in sync, turning the globe into one sprawling, rhythm-driven metropolis.

But what problems does hip hop music still face, and what does it need to fix?

Writing for the Billboard magazine in an article titled, Hip hop’s No.1s Shortage: Is it Actually a Crisis or ’Is It all Cyclical?, Elias Leight noted that there has been a shortage of hip hop number 1s or chart-topping hits for both the Billboard 200-topping album and the Billboard Hot 100-topping single in 2023. Music executives were, however, quick to observe that while there may be no chart-topping songs, the “use of genre-related statistics is increasingly ill-suited to describe a world packed with blurry genre-hybrids”.

According to Chartmetric – a data firm that focuses on artists and the music industry –hip hop currently makes up around 16 per cent of the most streamed songs on Spotify’s top 50 list. In contrast, in 2020, it accounted for over 40 per cent of songs streamed in the United States. Critics are quick to note that, just like other music genres, hip hop is currently undergoing an evolution of sorts.

Hip –hop in academia: From the streets to the classroom

The influence of hip hop has not been confined to the world of music; it reverberates in classrooms, is discussed in research papers, and in intellectual conversations, finding its place in higher education. The first academic course on hip hop was offered in 1991 at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C.

Scholars dissect its rhythms, analyse its lyrics, and contextualise its impact on society. From socio-political commentary to examinations of its influence on language and identity, the study of hip hop cuts across disciplines; it can be analysed as music, as literature, as history, as sociology, as anthropology, and more.

Here are some of the key milestones in the history of the study of hip hop in universities and institutions of higher learning:

In 1994, the very first academic journal devoted entirely to the study of hip hop, The Journal of Hip Hop Studies, made its debut. This marked a significant milestone, creating a platform for in-depth analysis and research within the realm of hip—hop culture. Two years later, in 1996, Droppin’ Science: Critical Studies in Rap Music and Hip hop Culture by William Perkins, became the first book dedicated to hip—hop studies. This publication provided an academic lens through which to scrutinize the art form, its origins, and its societal impacts.

In this era of global connectivity, hip hop resonates as the universal language, a harmonic thread weaving tales of struggle, triumph, and dreams.

Fast forward to 2002 and the birth of a pioneering establishment, The Center for Hip Hop Studies at Temple University, the first research center wholly devoted to the exploration of hip—hop and its cultural significance. The Hip Hop Studies Association Conference was held two years later, in 2004, the very first academic conference focusing solely on hip—hop studies. This event brought together scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts, fostering a community of hip—hop scholars.

Finally, in 2010, the New York University launched the very first PhD program in hip hop studies, opening doors for advanced academic pursuit in the field and further solidifying the place of hip hop in scholarly circles. From Ivy League institutions to community colleges, the reach of hip hop in academia is diverse and widespread. The journey of hip hop from the streets to academe testifies to its enduring power – it’s not just music; it’s a mirror reflecting the complexities of the world.

What is the future of hip hop?

In a seismic cultural shift, the world will look to embrace the pulse and groove of hip hop like never before. With the 2024 Paris Olympics looming on the horizon, the limelight will cast its glow on a new addition that is set to redefine the notion of sportsmanship: breakdancing. Yes, you heard it right – breakdancing, that urban dance movement born in the streets and thriving on hip hop beats, is poised to captivate audiences on the global stage.

The Olympic movement has long been known to be a mirror of our times, and with the ascension of breakdancing, it is embracing a phenomenon that transcends boundaries and unites generations.

And this isn’t just another nod to trends; it’s an epochal recognition of hip hop’s indomitable spirit and its unassailable influence on culture. Breakdancing, an electrifying expression of rhythm, flow, and physical prowess, finds its way into the Olympic marquee as part of the dazzling, daring tapestry of urban sports. But breakdancing isn’t just a sport; it’s an ode to creativity, a celebration of individuality, and a showcasing of unity through movement.

Hip hop is a genre that has always been about pushing boundaries. Artists from all over the world are always experimenting with new sounds and styles. These artists keep blurring the lines between genres, incorporating elements of everything from electronic music to traditional African sounds.

One such artist is Little Simz, a British rapper of Nigerian origin who has been praised for her unique blend of hip hop, soul, and jazz. Her latest album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, was a critical and commercial success, and she was recently nominated for a Brit Award for British Album of the Year.

It’s not just music; it’s the pulse of a generation in sync, turning the globe into one sprawling, rhythm-driven metropolis.

In the world of underground hip hop, one of the most interesting new subgenres is Drill, music that originated in Chicago in the early 2010s and is characterized by its dark, aggressive sound. Some of the most popular drill artists include Chief Keef, Lil Durk, and G Herbo. Central Cee, a popular British rapper took drill, repackaged it in London and exported it to the US, saying on TikTok, “In London I’m verified; in New York I’m valid.”

Another up-and-coming subgenre is Afrobeats, a music genre that originated in Nigeria in the early 2000s. It is a fusion of West African sounds and hip hop, dancehall, and pop. Some of the most popular Afrobeats artists include Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy and the music prodigy Rema. A subgenre of Afrobeats that came on the scene in the 2010s, Afroswing is characterized by its upbeat, danceable sound. Popular Afroswing artists include Kojo Funds, Juls, and Not3s.

These are just a few of the many emerging artists and subgenres that are pushing the boundaries of hip hop. It is an exciting time to be a fan of the genre, and it will be interesting to see what new sounds and styles emerge in the years to come.

Southern Africa’s rich cultural tapestry has gifted the world a medley of hip hop sub-genres, each a vibrant note in the symphony of regional identity. Kwaito, a fusion of house, hip hop, and traditional mbaqanga, emerged as a joyful celebration in the 1990s. Its catchy melodies, repetitive rhythms, and uplifting lyrics infuse dance floors with energy. Other sub-genres include Motswako which appeared in the early 2000s and delivers rapid-fire rhymes and incisive social commentary. AKA, Cassper Nyovest, and Khuli Chana shine as its luminaries, their verses echoing with insight. Amapiano, a fusion of house, jazz, and mbaqanga, sets a mellower mood. Slow, melodic beats blend with soulful vocals, creating an atmosphere of musical indulgence. Coming out of Durban, Gqom captivates with its dark, electronic sound and weighty basslines. DJ Lag, Mpura, and Distruction Boyz dominate this realm, bringing dance floors to life.

In Southern Africa, the tentacles of hip hop extend far beyond the mainstream, each sub-genre a testament to the region’s depth and diversity.

American Travis Scott’s song K-Pop features Canadian sensation Weeknd and Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican who raps in Spanish and is one of the most streamed artists on Spotify. While fans may think the title pays homage to the Korean pop sound, the name actually refers to ketamine, a prescription drug used to treat depression that is abused as a recreational drug. The song also samples funk carioca or bailes funk – a sound from Latin America’s favelas that is closely related to hip hop.

In the heart of Kenya’s musical legacy, Kalamashaka, a group fondly referred to as K-Shaka, ignited a spark that would set ablaze the nation’s hip hop scene. With time, the group underwent a metamorphosis, giving rise to a new entity – Ukoo Flani Mau Mau, a name that pays homage to the valiant freedom fighters who fought for Kenya’s independence from British colonial rule. The transformation was more than just a change of name; it was a declaration of allegiance to the nation’s history and struggle.

In the ranks of this collective were luminaries like MC Kah, Wenyeji, and Warogi Wawili, their coming together a testament to the power of unity and creative evolution. Recently, the fires of K-Shaka have been rekindled, with the group regrouping and reworking some of their former hits and producing new work. Their resurgence is a reminder that the legacy of hip hop is one that continually reinvents itself, breathing life into narratives old and new.

But breakdancing isn’t just a sport; it’s an ode to creativity, a celebration of individuality, and a showcasing of unity through movement.

Yet, Kenya’s hip hop story doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of veterans. Enter Wakadinali, an outfit that champions an alternative sound – a fusion of hip hop, drill, and gengetone. Their genre-blurring approach resonates with an audience that connects deeply with their style. Their journey, however, hasn’t been without its share of controversies. Their lyrics, at times lewd, and their open embrace of the drug culture have drawn criticism. Still, their tracks find airplay on mainstream media and streaming platforms, a testament to the genre’s audacious spirit.

From K-Shaka’s evolution to Wakadinali’s genre fusion, Kenya’s hip hop scene is a testament to the genre’s global ingenuity and adaptability. It showcases how hip hop serves as a canvas for cultural evolution, a space where artists reinterpret the past while carving paths towards the future. In a nation where history and innovation dance side by side, the beat goes on, resonating through the streets and stories of Kenya.

Reimagining rhythms

In the crucible of creativity, where beats collide and verses weave tapestries of truth, hip hop thrives as a genre that continually reshapes itself. As artists and producers tinker with sonic alchemy, the hip hop genre reinvents itself with every beat.

The innovation isn’t just in the beats; it’s in the very essence of hip hop’s DNA. Genres fuse like chemical reactions, birthing sub-genres that dance on the edge of convention. From trap’s hypnotic cadence to lo-fi’s introspective embrace, each sub-genre is a testament to hip hop’s restless spirit.

Technology fuels this evolution, giving artists tools to craft beats that echo across digital realms. Producers sculpt soundscapes that blend nostalgia with futurism, creating tracks that traverse time and cultures. Autotune, once a divisive tool, now bends and shapes voices into new dimensions, pushing the boundaries of sound and identity.

Lyricism, the backbone of hip hop, also continues to evolve. Rappers craft verses that delve into social justice, mental health, and human experience. The mic becomes a platform for storytellers, poets, and provocateurs, painting narratives that resonate beyond the studio. Verses become manifestos, igniting conversations that spark change.

In the era of streaming and social media, hip hop’s influence amplifies. Songs spark viral dances on TikTok, creating global phenomena overnight. Social platforms become the stage for artists to engage with fans, breaking down the barrier between star and spectator. In this digital age, every beat drop is a cultural event, every album releases a collective experience.

The charts themselves mirror the genre’s evolution. Numbers from Chartmetrics showcase how hip hop’s kaleidoscope of sounds – from drill to alt-rap – dominates the scene. Streams surge, artists rise, and conversations flare across the digital landscape, a testament to hip hop’s evergreen relevance.

So, as the genre embarks on each new sonic voyage, let’s revel in the symphony of evolution. Hip hop isn’t just a genre; it’s a living, breathing entity that thrives on change, resilience, and the magic that happens when a beat hits just right. It’s a revolution of rhythm, an evolution of expression, and a journey that keeps us on our feet, grooving to the unstoppable beat of hip hop’s future.

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From Harry Kĩmani to Kwame Rĩgĩi, the Rise and Rise of Kikuyu Soul Music

Kenyan folk fusion artists are crossing the bridge that Harry Kĩmani built, reviving the spirituality and soulfulness of Kikuyu music that had been all but crushed by the dominance of Mũgithi.

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From Harry Kĩmani to Kwame Rĩgĩi, the Rise and Rise of Kikuyu Soul Music
Photo: Facebook/Harry Kimani
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To many, Kenyan-born musician and composer Harry Kĩmani’s 2006 hit song Haiya pioneered a sub-genre of Gĩkũyũ popular music that blended African soul with Gĩkũyũ lyrics.

Yet, what Kĩmani did was merely bring back what had for years been taken away from the original Kikuyu soul creators by an era of Mũgithi madness. Haiya built a bridge across a rift in the terrain of Kikuyu music that had appeared in the early 90s as Mũgithi began dominating the Gĩkũyũ music soundscape. Seventeen years later, many have been crisscrossing that bridge.

Haiya has given rise to a growing list of contemporary folk fusion artists who, inspired by Kĩmani’s unique sound, are returning to the soulful side of Kikuyu music by way of samples, renditions and fusions to restore authenticity to Kikuyu popular music.

But, it’s not where Kĩmani’s Haiya left off that has made all the difference – musically, spiritually and culturally; it’s where Kwame Rĩgĩi’s Mwene Nyaga began.

Mwene Nyaga and Retracing Kikuyu Soul Music

When Kenyan contemporary folk musician Kwame Rĩgĩi’s 2017 rendition of Mwene Nyaga (God) – a Mau Mau folk song in the form of a deeply spiritual prayer – went viral following its release on Youtube, it rekindled the embers of a spirituality and soulfulness to Kikuyu music that had for over two decades been reduced to a dying whimper by the onslaught of the Mũgithi genre with its bawdiness and sexual innuendo.

Mwene Nyaga is a song whose words the pre-independence generation knew by heart. The song traces its origins to the heart of the Nyandarua mountain range, sung by the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, also known as the Mau Mau, during the 1952-1960 rebellion. As Rĩgĩi tells me in a telephone interview,

“The song notes were with Gen. Mwariama, they then went through Gakaara wa Wanjau. The songwriters picked up from there, then Maranga wa Gatonye did the first recording.  The tune that you hear from his and Kamaru’s version is from the original Mau Mau folk songs.”

Rĩgĩi is knee-deep in preparations for a cultural event to mark the 6th anniversary of Tũrĩ A Mũmbi, a cultural centre he founded in 2017 in Tigoni, Limuru.  The celebration will feature only two artists: Rĩgĩi and his musical progenitor Harry Kĩmani.

To many who were hearing his voice for the first time in Mwene Nyaga, and to others like me who had heard him in Aki Wewe, Kwame eerily reminded us of Kĩmani who, by then, had gone on an indefinite hiatus.

“When the song came out, people were shocked, because in their hearts they knew it but not in that way,” says Kwame. He tells me that Mau Mau veterans started reaching out to him. All they wanted was to see him, touch him and give thanks to Mwene Nyaga for his timing and for bringing the voice back to remind them of all that they had not heard in so long. For many of the veterans, that song had brought closure, and with it, peace.

Then there were the Athuri a Kĩama (elders) and other cultural affiliates who, feeling affronted by this 28-year-old, questioned whether he had even been accepted in the of Kikuyu Council of Elders.  “Who are you and are you certified to even talk [sing] of our spirituality in such depth? Nĩ ũrutĩĩte mbũri? [Have you undergone the required rites?],” he sighs.

Mwene Nyaga sprung from the depths of despair. For over a decade, Kwame’s soul was a desert wanderer in search of an oasis and he was battling deep disillusionment with his musical gift following some considerable musical success with his hit song Aki Wewe from the 2015 album of the same title; success as a soulful RnB artist had come at great cost to Kwame’s spirit. As he tells it, Kwame kept begging God to reveal Himself to him.

Mwene Nyaga sprung from the depths of despair.

Released in 2009, Mĩhũmũ was Kwame’s first attempt at seeking to find his true self but it turned out to be only a mirage. With the thirst in his soul still unquenched came Haraya in 2011, but this too proved to be yet another mirage. He released Gĩkũyũ in 2014, which he tells me brought him closer to Mwene Nyaga. These songs paved the way for the Tũrĩ A Mũmbi Dream, later to become the Tũrĩ A Mũmbi Experience.

Mwene Nyaga, Kwame tells me, was his search for something greater than his 2014 release Gĩkũyũ. “I had completely decided to seek for a voice to articulate how I felt about my spirituality… Still, I felt it was more of an individual prayer and affirmation. What more can I offer, I kept asking myself.”

It is then that a song that his late father – the fine artist and sculptor Karanja wa Rĩgĩi – used to sing to punctuate his stories about the Mau Mau came back to him. “The essence of the song is a prayer; the song is about their prayers to our God, Mwene Nyaga.”

This is how God finally revealed himself to him. He had found his oasis.

“While I knew that Maranga wa Gatonye was the first to record, when I did my rendition using my own arrangements, it is the late Kamaarũ that I first went and played my version of the song to.”

After a fruitless year of knocking on doors for airplay – “They did not know what this was. No one responded or played it for a whole year.” – Kwame decided to release Mwene Nyaga on YouTube; it was an instant hit.

“The essence of the song is a prayer; the song is about their prayers to our God, Mwene Nyaga.”

Despite the countless turndowns, Kwame tells me, he felt that his work was done. Singing and recording that prayer in the way that he did gave his life meaning and his career a higher purpose. He has felt his conviction in God, his reverence for Him, his self-love and a sense of fulfilment grow.

Mwene Nyaga has since become an intergenerational spiritual anthem and a clarion call for the Gĩkũyũ community. To the older generation, the arrangements give the song a soulful somberness that is not present in the versions of their youth. To those of Kwame’s generation and younger, the song restored pride in their culture and gave them a sense of belonging.

But Kwame has not always sung in Gĩkũyũ.

Harry was passing the baton

Kwame’s musical beginnings are to be found in the PCEA church at Gaitumbĩ, Kanyarĩrĩ, some 15 kilometres from the capital. He was the lead singer in the youth choir where he sang in English and remembers doing cover versions of artists such as Nicole C Mullen and Don Moen. This was back in 2003, he was 16 years old and still in high school.

Kwame mostly sang at events and would experiment with the cover lyrics by translating them into Gĩkũyũ. His singing always received varying reactions and some even discouraged him from singing in Gĩkũyũ, telling him to just stick to English as that is what the youth were known to prefer.

Towards the end of 2004, Kwame recorded Jesus, his first song. The first part was in English, the second in Gĩkũyũ. The song elicited different reactions and unsolicited advice, some of which he tells me was not genuine.

Excited to now be writing his own music and with one song recorded, Rĩgĩi was electrified when he heard Haiya. “All of a sudden, I heard a song I’d never heard before. I hadn’t been there but I instantly recognised what he was doing and I knew how to do it.” He tells me that when heard the first verse, his immediate reaction was shock. “I said ‘Haiya!!’ even before I’d heard the chorus.”

Until he heard Harry’s Haiya, Kwame tells me, he thought that he was the only one to write in that way.

“From that point on, it felt like I was in a relay. It felt like, here was Harry passing the baton; he had raced all the others and had won. So I felt I needed to perform better, run faster and further beyond Harry who had passed his baton to me. From then on, I never sang in English.”

This put him at odds with the church.

“I was very vocal during my youth church days and a champion of Traditional and Folk music as a writer, tutor and Kĩgaamba [musical rattle worn below the knee] player, helping my fellow church mates to win dozens of trophies which to this very day are still on display at the Presbyterian offices in Kanyarĩrĩ.”

“All of a sudden, I heard a song I’d never heard before. I hadn’t been there but I instantly recognised what he was doing and I knew how to do it.”

Despite the certificates and trophies, Kwame was expelled from the church at 21-years-old for being too deep into his language and for what he describes as “bringing back words that were not for ‘church’ music”. But Kwame was unfazed; he had found his path.

“Without him knowing it, Harry gave me the light that I needed. He shone the light in the dark for me to walk. I no longer doubted what it was that I was doing because it had been done.”

Nineteen years later, Kwame has produced three EPs and countless singles, including hits such as Mũnoti, Macegera, Cama Wendo, Malkia and Aki Wewe.

He was the Harry then

When did he first meet Harry Kimani and what was it like, I ask him? “For me, the need to see him wasn’t very big. We were worlds apart as Harry then was in another league of his own.”

But, as fate would have it, while at Lodwar Records in Kileleshwa sometime in 2007, Kwame heard that Harry Kĩmani was coming to the studio. He laughs uproariously as he recalls that moment. “I was excited but kept my cool. Then Kĩmani shows up with these huge shades. He wasn’t seeing anyone else. I never spoke to him. I didn’t even linger. Whatever I had thought, I was not wrong, he was the Harry then.”

A second encounter six years later would mark the genesis of a brotherhood that has lasted to this day. Kwame was rehearsing with his band at a studio in downtown Nairobi when he saw someone walk in.

“He came and sat. Looking closely, I saw this was Harry Kĩmani. I was excited because he was watching us rehearse. Meeting him then was on a level of brotherhood. He told me, he’d heard someone rehearsing and came to see who this was. He stuck around.”

Harry spent the next two hours with Kwame, at one point even giving him advice about how to handle the microphone. “To me, he was a big brother now showing me the ropes. We interacted, spoke about all the things that we knew. From that day, we became friends and have been friends since then.”

In what ways did Harry’s musical style influence Kwame’s, I ask him.

What Harry did was to use the same guitar that Mũgithi popularised as “one-man guitar” to reclaim what had been taken away from the original soulful creators of Kikuyu music. In so doing, he paved the way for Rĩgĩi and many others who have come after him. Harry bridged that gap between his time and the time of Kikuyu benga music, Kwame explains.

The golden era of Kikuyu benga music

Often regarded as the father of central Kenya benga and the king of Kikuyu love songs, it was Daniel Kamau Mwai, alias DK wa Maria, who first used percussions and drums in his music and in the process introduced this new beat to Kikuyu music. This was the mid-60s and Nairobi had become the region’s musical hub. As the home of the region’s first vinyl pressing plant and with mushrooming independent labels and recording studios, pubs and clubs were blasting Congolese Soukous, Jazz, Soul, and benga quite literary hot off the press.

It was in this hub that DK released his first record in 1968. But it was his 1970 smash-hit Mũrata/I Love You with its rumba beat and benga-style climaxing that catapulted him to instant regional fame; DK’s Mũrata became the first Kikuyu pop recording to break into the rigid Luo-Nyanza market. But despite DK’s early success, it is the late Joseph Kamaarũ  who would, in time, take the King of Kikuyu benga crown.

What Harry did was to use the same guitar that Mũgithi popularised as “one-man guitar” to reclaim what had been taken away from the original soulful creators of Kikuyu music.

As Megan Iacobini de Fazio writes, “Amid Kenya’s optimistic yet complex post-colonial years, it was [Kamaarũ’s] sobering themes that set him apart. Expressing himself through ambiguous metaphors and Kikuyu proverbs, the young musician sang about sexual harassment, morality, love, and – most strikingly – about politics.”

In explaining why Kamaarũ took the crown, Fazio notes, “[His] unique sound, which merged traditional Kikuyu melodies with the distinctive bass guitar riffs and high-pitched vocals of benga, quickly became popular among the city’s revellers.”

The benga beat dominated the Gĩkũyũ music from the ’60s until the early ’90s when Mũgithi began to dominate the Gĩkũyũ music soundscape.

Post-Mũgithi, a fusion of folk, culture and love sessions

When contemporary Kikuyu folk musician Ayrosh founded Folk Fusion in 2016 – a bimonthly live music concert and cultural event that takes place in Nairobi – he brought full circle a movement that had up to then been thriving online.

Seven years on, what started out as just a niche fun event at a nondescript venue along James Gichuru Road has spawned a cultural movement whose ethos is to bring a generation in search of their heritage to artists like Ayrosh whose music draws from their traditional folk roots (initially, the event only featured Kikuyu artists but it has since grown to incorporate other folk fusion artists from across Kenya) blended with benga, rhumba, neo-soul or R&B.

From Wanjine, Muringi, Mutoriah, Kinandi, Gachago, Mr Mistariful, Ythera, Kuiyu, and Nyawira, this wide range of contemporary Kikuyu Soul musicians is drawing from both their ancestry and their musical forefathers. As for Ayrosh, doing cover versions of popular Kikuyu Benga music has endeared him to an older generation of music fans who then discover his other music at his Folk Fusion events. For Wanjine, videos of his renditions of popular Kikuyu songs on his Tiktok channel were his breakthrough into the Kikuyu music genre.

Despite DK’s early success, it is the late Joseph Kamaarũ  who would, in time, take the King of Kikuyu benga crown.

Sampling Kamaarũ’s Ndũmĩrĩri Cia Mihũni (the first song recorded where he is playing the accordion), Mwanake Millenial is a collaborative track by Ayrosh and Mutoriah featuring on Mutoriah’s Dive in album that fuses the authenticity of Kikuyu music – from the lyrics to the instruments – with modern sounds. This is the template that Waithaka Entertainment – the force behind the new crop of Kikuyu soul musicians – has been using to revolutionise Kenya’s music scene. Founded by Kenyan producer Mugo Ng’ang’a, the US-based record label is largely responsible for fashioning this distinct sound and for producing most of the artists in the genre, including Wanjine, Ayrosh and Kwame Rĩgĩi.

Although Waithaka Entertainment helped with his sound quality production, Moses Njoroge is responsible for almost 60 per cent of Kwame’s recorded work. For over 10 years, Moses has been the man producing Kwame’s music, with Waithaka handling the mixing and mastering of the final product.

Considered as uptown

A growing demand for music by this new crop of musicians is upsetting the status quo and does not augur well for many gatekeepers in the Kikuyu media and entertainment industry. Still beholden to the one-man guitar’s winning formula, the stalwarts see Kwame and his ilk as young, rich, starry-eyed uptown types whose music is nothing more than a fad. “Many of us who are going back to our ancestors are not being supported. We are considered uptown, being given gigs in Tigoni.”

Despite a growing market demand for their music, these musicians have struggled to get airplay – not just on the Kikuyu TV and radio stations but across Kenyan media. Kwame tells me that mainstream media wants to appeal to a wider market and “this weird sound”, as they refer to it, needed to be cut off. The Internet and concerts have, therefore, become a lifeline for this crop of musicians and now, thanks to social media, music audio and video streaming platforms and events such as Folk Fusion, they can directly connect with their audience demographic.

Of finding their place in this culture 

For a music legend who took the music industry by storm in the aughts, it’s difficult to find Harry Kĩmani’s discography online or on the shelves of the few remaining music stores in Kenya. But Kĩmani is a phoenix.

In a conversation with Thomas Rajula last year, Kĩmani spoke about finding himself again, about his new focus and his first love – music. Even in the midst of his life’s tribulations, Kĩmani’s friendship with Kwame has endured; his vocals can be heard in Kwame’s song Gĩkũyũ for which Kĩmani recorded the harmonies.

A growing demand for music by this new crop of musicians is upsetting the status quo and does not augur well for many gatekeepers in the Kikuyu media and entertainment industry.

And just like Kwame who went in search of meaning for his life after he plunged into the abyss following the success of Aki Wewe, his long road to recovery from addiction and depression led Kĩmani to seek God and, in 2022, he released Hariwe (Return Me To You Lord), a Kikuyu gospel song co-written with Harry Writho.

As we come to the end of our telephone conversation, I ask Rĩgĩi what informed the decision to feature Kĩmani in the upcoming Tũrĩ A Mũmbi anniversary celebrations. “It has taken us 19 years to be on one poster; we will finally see the two share a stage,” he says, adding, “He has been very instrumental to me knowing and finding my place in this culture and the decisions I have made. I feel like he has not received the well-deserved treatment for what he did for us.”

I ask Rĩgĩi if there are any plans for a collaboration, “All things are possible. Not just a collaboration. You never know, we might be doing an album together.”

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Botched Boyz II Men Concert: Event Organisers Can Do Better

For holders of regular tickets to one of the year’s most anticipated live music concerts, the event was an unmitigated disaster. However, that Kenyans are willing to fork out over US$60 for quality performances is a welcome surprise for event organisers.

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Botched Boyz II Men Concert: Event Organisers Can Do Better
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It was a Friday afternoon and Abi was desperate for a ticket. The Boyz II Men concert was happening the following day and tickets had sold out two weeks prior. Someone was selling a regular ticket for US$100 on the Kenyan Twitter timeline. Just weeks before, the same ticket was selling at US$57.

With just hours to one of the year’s most anticipated and most hyped live music concerts, Abi frantically worked her contacts until she found someone who had bought a regular ticket but could not attend. It was going for US$61. She didn’t think twice. These were desperate times.

All she needed to do now was show up at Uhuru Gardens for the time of her life singing along as one of the boy bands of her youth serenaded her with On Bended Knees, Four Seasons and One Sweet Day.

The excitement that had been building for months was palpable, especially for Twitter A & B, the hoi oligoi of Kenyan Twitter. Even as Twitter C & D, the hoi polloi aka watuz made fun of the A & B set – often referred to as “NSSF Twitter” folk (those who joined Twitter circa 2000) and how they would need to carry leg warmers, tea flasks and duvets for a nap between performances – little else was capturing the collective imagination of Kenyans online.

Organised by Stanbic Kenya in partnership with Radio Africa Group and dubbed Stanbic Yetu Festival, the concert was advertised by Sauti Sol, one of Africa’s top boy bands, and by famous media personalities and social media influencers.

Tickets cost up to US$215 for VVIPs and US$108 for VIPs. Within 72 hours of tickets going on sale, all 600 VVIP tickets had sold out. In six days, the 1,200 VIP tickets were gone. Two weeks to the event, the remaining 4,200 regular tickets selling for US$57 also sold out.

Guests who bought tickets were promised luxury and opulence. The event was being curated for affluent high-net-worth individuals and the organisers wanted to give them a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

In spite of many feeling that the tickets were overpriced, Kenyans were willing to spend that much for the experience of a lifetime.

The makings of a Fyre Festival 

Instead, those who had bought regular tickets showed up to an event that had all the makings of a Fyre Festival. There were no seats for them, not enough tents – umbrellas went up against the downpour that fell halfway into the concert – and the few mobile toilets provided were not lit, leaving revellers at the mercy of pickpockets in classic Nairobbery style, and later would not flash. Worse, they could only watch the concert on a single screen that kept malfunctioning, prompting intermittent shouts of “Fix the Screen” from the crowd.

For Abi and the other 4,199 revellers who bought regular tickets, the Boyz II Men Kenyan concert was a disaster, an appalling experience of poor sound quality, shoddy event organising and botched logistics.

For the 1,800 VVIP and VIP ticket holders, it’s like they were at a completely separate event. Looking at how demarcated their seating was from shared photos of the layout of the venue, it’s easy to understand their bewilderment at the online bashing that was going on on Twitter days after the event. The VIPs and VVIPs were placed right next to the stage, in front of the media, sound and DJ desk that were also stationed in front of the area reserved for regular ticket holders.

Those who had bought regular tickets showed up to an event that had all the makings of a Fyre Festival.

For the VIPs and the VVIPs, the sound was perfect. They had couches. They had a buffet complete with bottle service. They had all the amenities. They could stretch out and touch Wanya Morris’ feet as he handed them red roses. As far as they are concerned, it was the best damn concert ever!

As for Abi, she could hardly wait to get home. On the night of the event at 2:44 a.m. she tweeted, “I have too much to say about Boyz II Men.” It was the first of a series of tweets in a thread that would go on to capture many of the sentiments shared by those who attended the concert.

Abi’s detailed account of the concert bemoaning a myriad of logistical and technical failures is one of countless others.

Whitney Wanderi, a communications consultant in Nairobi was also in attendance. When she woke up at 12:31 p.m. the following day, she hoped that “that shitshow” by Stanbic and Radio Africa events had been “just a bad dream”. Just like Abi’s, Wanderi’s Twitter rant goes on to describe the hot mess that the concert turned out to be.

For weeks now, the bashing of the event organisers on social media by both those who attended and those who didn’t but are happy to join in the mob lynching has been unrelenting despite statements from both partners and an apology from Radio Africa Events.

Kenyan revellers have seen worse

From insecurity to stampedes to horrible sound to flooded grounds, Kenya has had its fair share of disastrous concerts. “There have been worse concerts in the past in Kenya,” says Dickson Ngunjiri, Director at Dent Group & FOMOTV, a media and event production company. One particularly stands out: In 2004, three young revellers were killed and scores injured in a stampede at the much-publicised Smirnoff Experience party at the Carnivore Gardens.

In 2018, American rapper Desiigner was robbed of his sneakers and undressed by a frantic female fan who pulled down his trousers as he tried to mingle with fans during a concert in Nairobi.

From insecurity to stampedes to horrible sound to flooded grounds, Kenya has had its fair share of disastrous concerts.

In 2019, Jamaican Chris Martin’s event in Nairobi was marred by violence and theft as several intoxicated fans tried to fight their way to the stage to “meet” the artist. The same year, organisers of the HYPE Fest concert that featured Jamaican dancehall star Konshens failed to control the over 10,000 revealers leading to a stampede and runaway theft.

In 2021, Nigerian Adekunle Gold’s concert was tainted by reports of rowdy attendees, theft, sexual violence and claims of harassment and rape.

But it wasn’t always this bad.

The ‘80s and ‘90s were the golden age of live concerts in Kenya. The country was the first stop of any international act’s African tour. Musicians such as Coolio, Lost Boyz, Barry White, and Shabba Ranks all held concerts in Nairobi while at the peak of their careers.

From the 2000s, however, the quality of concerts featuring international acts was on the decline. In an interview with the Nation in 2006, renowned Kenyan promoter DS Njoroge who brought nearly all the big names during the golden years revealed that unprofessional players in the business who “had not even promoted a birthday party” were soiling the reputation of the industry.

Although all these past botched concerts pale in comparison with the Smirnoff Experience which still takes the prize for the most disastrous Kenyan music concert ever, they continue to give the country a bad reputation as a concert destination, with many global music stars shunning Kenya for South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Ethiopia.

So why did the vicious bashing of the recent Yetu Festival continue unabated?

“The only reason for the backlash with this recent concert is the fact that the ticket price, which was unprecedented, superseded the value that was delivered. If you tell people to pay X shillings and make promises about the kind of experience they should expect, then you ought to give them the value and experience that matches that. I think the move by the organisers to charge that much coupled with their failure to deliver on their promise is what drew the ire of many,” Dickson explains. “If they had paid less, few would have complained.” He explained that two weeks before the Boyz II Men concert, Jamaican Reggae singer Richie Spice had also held a concert in Nairobi. The quality of the sound at the Richie Spice concert was just as bad yet it did not elicit the same complaints online, he notes.

Dickson has been in the industry for over 23 years now, having started out as the Director of True Blaq Entertainment Group, a company that was founded by the late Kevin Ombajo (Big Kev), and he too has had his fair share of concert disasters.

Kenyans are willing to pay for quality concerts

“It’s just unfortunate what happened,” says Kavutha Mwanzia, a Jazz vocalist and events, entertainment and production consultant. “Nobody sets out to do a bad gig. I genuinely believe that,” she said.

Kavutha was at the helm of MoSound – the force behind the production and organising of the Safaricom International Jazz Festival, an annual event featuring international acts that ran successfully for seven years and that included Jimmy Dludlu, Jonathan Butler, Dianne Reeves, Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown, among others. She, however, declined to give any further comment on the Boyz II Men concert or her own experience running the jazz festival.

Dickson shares Kavutha’s sentiments, “While it is standard practice to always have a production checklist – your bible so to speak – when it rains, it pours.” He was not just speaking figuratively. In 2019, his company was a CapitalFM partner for the 28th Koroga Festival edition held at the Bomas of Kenya grounds. A heavy downpour turned the event into a mudfest on the first day of the two-day event, forcing the organisers to move the Sunday programme to the auditorium.

I also reached out to June Gachui, an IP lawyer and Radio host, musician, MC, event organiser and show producer, seeking to understand the major factors that determine the success or failure of a live music concert.

June has produced events such as Motown in Nairobi, The Heng and The Tribute series among others. She was also one of the curtain raisers for the inaugural Stanbic Yetu Festival in 2022 featuring American Soul RnB artist Anthony Hamilton.

“While it is standard practice to always have a production checklist – your bible so to speak – when it rains, it pours.”

“Think of a concert as an experience. What kind of an experience do you want to give your target audience? That then helps you get the location right, the facilities, e.g. what kind of tents? Do they change the sound of the music?” says June.

As she explains, experience has taught her to always go for partners as opposed taking on service providers. “Have event organisers as partners, that way, they become as accountable and invested in delivering the same experience as you. Cash is king but it’s not everything. I have also learnt that contractual obligations are not enough. However, when your partners’ logos are on that ticket and the audience knows who is providing what, there is more at stake for them as well,” explains June.

Dearth of security and seasoned sound engineers

Security at live music concerts in Kenya has become a mirage; the brightly coloured, luminous yellow jackets are everywhere present. However, when the literal push comes to shove either at the entrance as crowds become impatient, or on the grounds as they surge forward to the main stage, those brightly coloured luminous yellow jackets are nowhere to be seen and the event degenerates into mayhem, runaway theft and stampedes.

The Boyz II Men concert did not rise above this low standard. Revellers, including well-known personalities Patricia Ithau and Bikozulu all lost their phones.

Can event organisers ensure safety and security at events? In a 2019 interview with Nation Media Group, George Chege, founder of Blem Entertainment – a Nairobi-based alternative music booking agency – spoke on the need for organisers to invest in adequate security both at entry points and within the crowd. He also emphasised the importance of booking venues that have multiple entry points, that enable organisers to coordinate and to put in place effective crowd control mechanisms, and that have emergency services.

But as June said, at the end of the day, it all boils down to: “Are you working with partners or just some guys you have hired? More often than not, this makes all the difference.” But it often feels like the concertgoer has to choose a struggle: insecurity, lack of standard amenities or bad sound.

A few DJs I spoke to on condition of anonymity said that it had become common practice for some sound production companies and event promoters to just buy gear and hire DJs for all manner of gigs instead of taking on properly qualified sound engineers.

“It’s not enough to just put speakers in front of people at an event,” explains June when I ask about what affects sound quality. “From experience, I have learnt that plastic A-frame tents keep people warm and they are ideal for weddings. However, they are not good for a music concert where you need sound. Understanding the science behind sound and how it moves is the work of a sound engineer.”

Despite the mishaps that have left a bad taste in the mouths of the regular ticket holders who attended the Boyz II Men concert, June and Dickson both agree that it has set a precedent. “Kenyans can and are willing to pay for quality performances,” says June. “When I first heard how much VVIP tickets were going for, I thought, well, maybe about 150 people will show up. Imagine my shock when I saw all 6,000 tickets going for not less than $60 selling out! This event has set a new precedent and we as event organisers are all the happier for it.”

Both Dickson and June believe that despite the uproar, Kenyans will attend the next live music concert featuring an international act. They do, however, agree that organisers can and should do better.

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