There’s a time, (Gen Z’ers have no concept of this), when Kenyan radio stations played nothing but American and European music.
Of course, with a smattering of “traditional” Kenyan songs at non-peak hours to keep the racist tag away. Where we, the listeners would have been hard pressed to name 5 Kenyan artists on radio. Then, the Ogopa DJs, Boomba Clan, and Calif records bust onto the scene and Nairobi, nay, the nation’s music scene was forever changed.
It is now a decade plus since that initial revolution happened. And Nairobi’s music scene has metamorphed. Changing shape, style, and taste so much that a 1999 zombie would hardly recognize it. Sauti Sol, a once derided band is filling stadiums in the city, and an Otile Brown/Khaligraph concert would send a few ladies to the emergency room in delirium. Kenyan music has entered the mainstream, and with it a new question arose. What else was Nairobi capable of?
NU Nairobi is the answer to this question. Representing the alternative sounds, and sonic interpretations coming off of Nairobi’s underground music scene. Emerging from the side lines, embodying the different representations of the peoples that make this city remarkable. The artists that create these sounds within NU Nairobi, span the breadth of humanity and listening to their music takes you on a journey.
Of course, any examination of Nairobi’s underground music scene would be incomplete. Regardless of the depth at which anyone comes at the problem. Simply because, every second someone is innovatively re-imagining what and how to fuse the modern mainstream art and music scene, with their own identity. Think Winyo and how he sings in dholuo. Someone else at this moment is coming up with their own spin.
This is the music I play for a lover when they come home to me. As they seat coyly in the sitting room trying to get a read on who this man is. I ask them, “nikuwekee ngoma kali?” (can I play good music for you). They say yes. I load my playlist of the 3 most banging NU Nairobi artists, then I hit play. The music begins….
Wakadinali
I listen to Wakadinali whenever life has me on the low, and I need to find a way to raise that proverbial middle finger and announce that I will not give up. Coming up from Kayole – 1960 (per Khaligraph), this group goes hard. Spitting rhymes in sheng that speak to what life in the hood means to them. What it means to come up under a de-facto police state.
What sex feels like when society is consistently screwing with you. The search for love, even when it needs one to cross invisible lines into upstate Nairobi as epitomized in their record “Njege/Sanse” – “Waroro wa Uptown na sinanga Prado – wabebe wabebe.”
Photos
Models: Wakadinali c/o Vibe Lab
Stylist: Amandine (LadyMandy)
Make up: Nirbas Beauty
Hair: Corrine Muthoni
Photography: HolyZiner
Creative Direction: Muthoni Gichira assisted by Darleen Kinyanjui
Location: Panari Hotel
Video
Models: Wakadinali c/o Vibe Lab
Stylist: Amandine (LadyMandy)
Make up: Nirbas Beauty
Hair: Corrine Muthoni
Videography: Allan Yegon
Creative Direction: Muthoni Gichira assisted by Darleen Kinyanjui
Location: Panari Hotel
Mutoriah
I came across Mutoriah when he hooked up with Bensoul for the “Tosheka” record. Soulful, sweet, gentle. The song makes you want to call an ex and apologize for not loving her better. But I fell in love with him when I found his record “Superwoman.” A collaboration with another NU Nairobi artist – Ayrosh.
In the record, Mutoriah sings about his mother’s love. How it filled him, how unrelenting it is even when he is being mischievous. Never mind that the song is sung in Mutoriah’s native language – Kikuyu. Even if all the words and their meaning aren’t readily appatent. We discern the vibes, and attest to this artist’s genius.
Billy Black
Luther Vandross, Phil Collins, Lionel Richie combined, have nothing on the talents of this brother. His album, “From my heart to yours,” demands playing at a sold-out concert. Think midnight at a stadium, with thousands of lit up cell phones creating the background of what looks like a starry night, as Billy – on stage croons out his seminal record “Songa Mbele.”
He answers the question of whether Kenyans too can create soft music. His music is what you play when you are on your knee, with a lover’s hand in yours. Asking, nay, begging for them to spend their life with you.
Long live NU Nairobi and the artist creating this art. May we continue to glory in your music.
