Thursday 20 December 2007
Wednesday 19 December 2007
Tuesday 18 December 2007
Saturday 15 December 2007
Friday 14 December 2007
Shock at South Africa reggae star Lucky Dube shooting ( source : BBC )
Shock at SA reggae star shooting
Lucky Dube pictured on his most recent album, Respect
Lucky Dube on music
Fans across the world are mourning the South African reggae star, Lucky Dube, who has been shot dead.
He was dropping his teenage son and daughter off in a Johannesburg suburb when he was attacked by car thieves.
Local radio stations have been flooded with tearful callers expressing outrage at the murder and renewing demands that the authorities act to curtail crime.
South Africa's leader paid tribute to him and called on people to "confront this terrible scourge of crime".
Alongside Bob Marley, Lucky Dube was thought of as one of the great reggae artists - singing about social problems.
He was also one of the apartheid regime's most outspoken critics.
'Freedom fighter'
Correspondents say the killing of the 43-year-old singer has shocked South Africans who are already accustomed to one of the highest murder rates in the world.
HAVE YOUR SAY
He will be missed as a great musician and for his love for the children and the suffering people in Africa
Abitekaniza Denis, Kampala, Uganda
Send us your comments
Your tributes
Crime fears after shooting
Music producer TK of TS records and a friend of Dube's told the BBC the killing was tragically ironic.
"The whole continent has lost a performer, musician, a guy that fought for freedom in his own way, in his own right, was just shot by some guy who wanted to take his car, you know, which is Mickey Mouse really," he said.
Opposition parties and the youth wing of the ruling African National Congress party have called on the government to take drastic measures against crime.
Callers to radio stations have urged the country's rugby team to show some form of respect when they take to the field in Saturday's World Cup final against England in Paris.
President Thabo Mbeki is attending the final and took time to pay tribute to the dreadlocked reggae star before he jetted off to France.
"It's indeed very very sad that this happens to an outstanding South African, an outstanding musician - world renowned," he said.
"We shall continue to act together as a people to confront this terrible scourge of crime, which has taken the lives of too many of our people - and does so every day."
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Johannesburg says police are still hunting for three men thought to be behind the attack.
Police say Dube's son and daughter were already out of the car when three shots were fired through the car window killing their father on Thursday evening in Rosettenville.
Witnesses say the wounded singer tried to drive away, but lost control of his car and hit a tree.
"He was declared dead on the scene," Police inspector Lorrain Van Immareck told the BBC.
'Big blow'
The BBC has been inundated with thousands of text and email messages paying tribute to the singer.
Lucky Dube's Rastas Never Die album was banned under apartheid
"I am a 27-year-old black South African girl. I have dreadlocks and I love reggae music so much and I am proud to be who I am, being black and African. I will miss Lucky Dube, you are an inspiration to many of us," Sbongile Diko in Durban wrote.
But the tributes have been worldwide - especially from Africa.
"Lucky filled up stadiums all over the continent. I would say he was far bigger outside South Africa then he was in South Africa," South African music journalist Peter Makurube told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Dube began his career by singing mbaqanga (traditional Zulu) music and recorded his first album with the Super Soul band in 1982.
He later moved into reggae, producing Rastas Never Die which was banned by the apartheid government.
His albums Slave, Prisoner and Together As One saw him gain first national, and then global, recognition.
Three years ago his 1989 anti-apartheid hit Together as One, which calls for world peace and harmony, was voted one of Africa's top 10 songs by BBC readers and listeners.
Lucky Dube released his most recent album, Respect, in April.
Lucky Dube pictured on his most recent album, Respect
Lucky Dube on music
Fans across the world are mourning the South African reggae star, Lucky Dube, who has been shot dead.
He was dropping his teenage son and daughter off in a Johannesburg suburb when he was attacked by car thieves.
Local radio stations have been flooded with tearful callers expressing outrage at the murder and renewing demands that the authorities act to curtail crime.
South Africa's leader paid tribute to him and called on people to "confront this terrible scourge of crime".
Alongside Bob Marley, Lucky Dube was thought of as one of the great reggae artists - singing about social problems.
He was also one of the apartheid regime's most outspoken critics.
'Freedom fighter'
Correspondents say the killing of the 43-year-old singer has shocked South Africans who are already accustomed to one of the highest murder rates in the world.
HAVE YOUR SAY
He will be missed as a great musician and for his love for the children and the suffering people in Africa
Abitekaniza Denis, Kampala, Uganda
Send us your comments
Your tributes
Crime fears after shooting
Music producer TK of TS records and a friend of Dube's told the BBC the killing was tragically ironic.
"The whole continent has lost a performer, musician, a guy that fought for freedom in his own way, in his own right, was just shot by some guy who wanted to take his car, you know, which is Mickey Mouse really," he said.
Opposition parties and the youth wing of the ruling African National Congress party have called on the government to take drastic measures against crime.
Callers to radio stations have urged the country's rugby team to show some form of respect when they take to the field in Saturday's World Cup final against England in Paris.
President Thabo Mbeki is attending the final and took time to pay tribute to the dreadlocked reggae star before he jetted off to France.
"It's indeed very very sad that this happens to an outstanding South African, an outstanding musician - world renowned," he said.
"We shall continue to act together as a people to confront this terrible scourge of crime, which has taken the lives of too many of our people - and does so every day."
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Johannesburg says police are still hunting for three men thought to be behind the attack.
Police say Dube's son and daughter were already out of the car when three shots were fired through the car window killing their father on Thursday evening in Rosettenville.
Witnesses say the wounded singer tried to drive away, but lost control of his car and hit a tree.
"He was declared dead on the scene," Police inspector Lorrain Van Immareck told the BBC.
'Big blow'
The BBC has been inundated with thousands of text and email messages paying tribute to the singer.
Lucky Dube's Rastas Never Die album was banned under apartheid
"I am a 27-year-old black South African girl. I have dreadlocks and I love reggae music so much and I am proud to be who I am, being black and African. I will miss Lucky Dube, you are an inspiration to many of us," Sbongile Diko in Durban wrote.
But the tributes have been worldwide - especially from Africa.
"Lucky filled up stadiums all over the continent. I would say he was far bigger outside South Africa then he was in South Africa," South African music journalist Peter Makurube told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
Dube began his career by singing mbaqanga (traditional Zulu) music and recorded his first album with the Super Soul band in 1982.
He later moved into reggae, producing Rastas Never Die which was banned by the apartheid government.
His albums Slave, Prisoner and Together As One saw him gain first national, and then global, recognition.
Three years ago his 1989 anti-apartheid hit Together as One, which calls for world peace and harmony, was voted one of Africa's top 10 songs by BBC readers and listeners.
Lucky Dube released his most recent album, Respect, in April.
Thursday 13 December 2007
Nameless - David Mathenge - source : Capital FM Nairobi
Nameless
David Mathenge (born August 1976), better known by his stage name Nameless, is a Kenyan hip hop artist signed to the Ogopa DJ's record label. He rose to fame in 1999 through a star-search contest on Kenya's urban music station 98.4 Capital FM, which he won with his original song "Megarider." The song was about a penniless young man who is trying to seduce a woman but only has enough money for Kenya Bus tickets, and not the rich lifestyle she desires. He later recorded the track with producer Tedd Josiah and it went on to be hot on the charts for weeks.
This was the turning point in his musical career. He went on to sign with the Ogopa DJ's label in 2001 and collaborated with artists such as the late E-Sir on "Boomba Train," and Amani on the regional hit "Ninanoki" in 2002 which broke Kenyan chart records by remaining 110 days at number one.
He has gone on to tour across the East African region and in the U.S.A and U.K. In 2004, he released his debut album On Fire, and has since won 3 categories in the 2006 Kisima Music Awards. He won the Best East African Single category at the 2007 Tanzania Music Awards (Kilimanjaro Music Awards) with his single Sinzia. Sinzia was also one of the most popular African songs in 2006 which also earned him a nomination for best MTV African artiste. And also been nominated for a MOBO award.
Nameless is also a young Kenyan entrepreneur who makes most of any chance that he gets. Awards, record sales, tours and endorsements don’t come by luck to Nameless, they are all part of his master plan and he’s ready to take on the world with it. Nothing will stop him.
In 2004, Mathenge married Ogopa DJ's label mate Wahu Kagwe. They have one child, a daughter who was born in 2006. He is also an architect and graduated from the University of Nairobi.
South African pop group Jamali’s wildly popular song "Maisha" was the subject to much scandal. It was alleged that Jamali stole the song from Nameless. However it was settled when Jamali released their CD/DVD of Yours Fatally and credited Nameless as one of the writers of "Maisha".
He was among the controversial list of the 100 most influential Kenyans as selected by The Standard newspaper in August 2007.
"There are two kinds of people in the world, those who have got names and those who are nameless."
at’s up in Kenya!!
David Mathenge (born August 1976), better known by his stage name Nameless, is a Kenyan hip hop artist signed to the Ogopa DJ's record label. He rose to fame in 1999 through a star-search contest on Kenya's urban music station 98.4 Capital FM, which he won with his original song "Megarider." The song was about a penniless young man who is trying to seduce a woman but only has enough money for Kenya Bus tickets, and not the rich lifestyle she desires. He later recorded the track with producer Tedd Josiah and it went on to be hot on the charts for weeks.
This was the turning point in his musical career. He went on to sign with the Ogopa DJ's label in 2001 and collaborated with artists such as the late E-Sir on "Boomba Train," and Amani on the regional hit "Ninanoki" in 2002 which broke Kenyan chart records by remaining 110 days at number one.
He has gone on to tour across the East African region and in the U.S.A and U.K. In 2004, he released his debut album On Fire, and has since won 3 categories in the 2006 Kisima Music Awards. He won the Best East African Single category at the 2007 Tanzania Music Awards (Kilimanjaro Music Awards) with his single Sinzia. Sinzia was also one of the most popular African songs in 2006 which also earned him a nomination for best MTV African artiste. And also been nominated for a MOBO award.
Nameless is also a young Kenyan entrepreneur who makes most of any chance that he gets. Awards, record sales, tours and endorsements don’t come by luck to Nameless, they are all part of his master plan and he’s ready to take on the world with it. Nothing will stop him.
In 2004, Mathenge married Ogopa DJ's label mate Wahu Kagwe. They have one child, a daughter who was born in 2006. He is also an architect and graduated from the University of Nairobi.
South African pop group Jamali’s wildly popular song "Maisha" was the subject to much scandal. It was alleged that Jamali stole the song from Nameless. However it was settled when Jamali released their CD/DVD of Yours Fatally and credited Nameless as one of the writers of "Maisha".
He was among the controversial list of the 100 most influential Kenyans as selected by The Standard newspaper in August 2007.
"There are two kinds of people in the world, those who have got names and those who are nameless."
at’s up in Kenya!!
Wednesday 12 December 2007
Tuesday 11 December 2007
Trends in Kenyan Popular Music(source:Afromix)
Trends in Kenyan Popular Music
by Douglas B. Paterson, Ph.D.(1)
Kenya's pop music is undoubtedly one of most diverse in Africa. Unfortunately, by the time her music has passed through the long filtering process of the international "market," only a handful of titles make it on to the this amazing diversity who must rely on "the market" to bring Kenyan pop music to their local record shop, this amazing diversity of pop sounds the best kept secrets of Africa. Certainly, for those taking the time to search out record shops in Europe and North America, one will likely come up with a few CDs of Kenyan music. However, these hardly do justice to the amazing diversity of pop sounds heard on the streets or in the clubs of Nairobi. The purpose of this review is to introduce the reader to the major forms of popular music found in Kenya today and to provide some of its historical background. For those who may wish to hear examples of this music, several compact discs featuring Kenyan styles (and available internationally) have been cited.
An Introduction to Kenyan Pop(2)
Popular music in Kenya encompasses a wide range of styles of both local and international origin. Among Kenyans, language is one of the crucial factors in defining their music. There are over 40 regional languages in Kenya and musicians from at least a quarter of these (usually, those with the largest populations) are making recordings in their mother tongues. Along the streets of Nairobi, songs in Luo, Luhya, Kamba, and Kikuyu can be heard blaring from the cassette sellers' sidewalk stands as they compete for the attention of passers by. Bands with this regional orientation are, no doubt, the majority in Kenya. However, not all Kenyan musicians play to a regional/ethnic audience. Furthermore, many of Kenya's best known musicians are immigrants from other African countries, most often, from Tanzania or Zaire. Without a regional focus, the lyrics of these musicians are usually in Swahili, the African language of wider communication across Kenya. A few of the Zaireans occasionally sing in their own language, Lingala, but in recent years, most have found it advantageous to use Swahili in their new compositions.
A sampling of these various styles is available in three compilations: Guitar Paradise of East Africa and Kenya Dance Mania, both on the Earthworks label, and Rounder Records' The Nairobi Beat: Kenyan Pop Music Today3. Although the melodies, languages, and rhythms may vary from song to song, one of the common traits through all three CDs is the preeminence of the guitars. They weave their way through the vocal portion, meshing with the melodic line or answering it and, nearly always, they finish out the last minute or two with some ear-catching solo jam.The Benga Wagon: The Regional Bands Jump Aboard.
When Kenyans discuss their music, they aren't likely to be talking about "regional/ethnic" styles. They simply call it (almost interchangeably) either benga or cavacha (to be explained later). Benga refers specifically to the dominant style of Luo pop music that has reigned champion in the lands around Lake Victoria since the late 1960s. The term is also used in a general sense to cover the other regional styles, all of which have been greatly influenced by the Luo version.
In Luo benga, the bass, guitar, and vocal interweave is all-important. The bass, in particular, is especially active, pulsating, starting and stopping in bursts of rapid fire. Sometimes it mimics a flowing melodic line with syncopated hesitations. Other times, it's just hanging around the bottom keeping a fast-paced rhythm. Meanwhile, guitars are coming in at the end of each vocal phrase with some catchy riff or a repeat of the melodic line.
As benga caught on among the Luo people, musicians from other regions of Kenya borrowed elements of it to suit their own music. Some of these early benga adaptations such as those from Daniel Kamau (DK) are featured on the Guitar Paradise and Kenya Dance Mania CDs. DK, one of the 70's biggest stars, is cited as the first Kikuyu musician to jump onto the benga band wagon back in the late 1960s.
Although these regional groups share a number of common components in their instrumentation, rhythms, the beat of a throbbing kick drum, and aspects of the guitar work, these are all features which overlay unique traditional elements in melodic structure, harmony, and song composition. Thus, each of the different regional bengas, has its own distinctive flavor. For a taste of several regional styles, The Nairobi Beat samples two songs each from Luo, Luhya, Kikuyu, and Kamba artists.
D.O. Misiani and his Shirati Jazz, the premier Luo benga practitioners and the only benga group to ever tour Europe, has two CDs available; Benga Blast, again, on Earthworks and Piny Ose Mer, an original recording for Globestyle. One of Misiani's long-time rival bands also has a recent compilation of late 70s and early 80s benga on Globestyle, The Mighty Kings of Benga by the Victoria Kings. Aside from these two CDs and the selections on the Earthworks and Rounder compilations, Kenya's regional benga groups have no representation in the international market.4 Swahili and Lingala: The National/Urban Sounds From World War II onwards, Kenyan musical history is filled with examples of individual musicians and whole ensembles settling in Kenya from neighboring countries and beyond. In the 1950s, for example, Congolese finger-style guitarists Edouard Masengo and Jean Bosco Mwenda became household names throughout Kenya. Peter Tsotsi and Nashil Pichen from Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) played a critical role in the development of the Equator Sound Band's "twist" style, modeled after the South African kwela rhythm (see Before Benga Vol. Two: The Nairobi Sound, Original Music).
Congolese groups were performing in Nairobi night clubs as early as 1964. As conditions in the Congo (later, Zaire) deteriorated in the 1970s, more groups made their way to Nairobi. By the mid-seventies, several Zairean groups were playing rumba music at night clubs on a regular basis. Examples of their music are not readily available for this period but one characteristic of their style caught on in Kenya and remains a key feature in most Kenyan music today. That element is the cavacha rhythm, popularized through recordings of Zairean bands such as Zaiko Langa Langa and Orchestra Shama Shama. The Kenyan definition of cavacha covers a family of rhythms, something akin to the "shave-and-a-haircut, six-bits" clavé beat. This fast paced rhythm played on the snare drum or high hat quickly became a hallmark of the Zairean sound in Nairobi and is frequently used by many of the regional bands.
The late seventies and early eighties was an extremely creative time for the Zairean groups in Nairobi. This period also corresponded with the beginning of Europe's new-found interest in African music. Virgin records got involved in a couple of projects in Nairobi that produced two highly acclaimed LPs from the Tanzanian-Zairean group, Orchestra Makassy and the Kenya-based Zairean band, Super Mazembe. About this same time, the French label Afro Rythmes had just released Orchestra Virunga's Malako LP recorded in Nairobi. Of these, a wonderful example of the Mazembe style is captured on the Earthworks Dance Mania CD in the now classic "Shauri Yako" (It's Your Affair). In what may be the finest song craftsmanship to come out of Nairobi, the Virunga Malako recording has been reissued as an Earthworks CD titled Virunga Volcano. At nine or ten minutes each, the four original songs are superbly arranged in a flowing, leisurely fashion allowing plenty of time for them to progress through beautiful vocals, innovative sax solos and duets, and precision guitar and bass work (not to mention a good dose of the cavacha on high hat). The Orchestra Makassy release hasn't reached the divine status bestowed upon Malako, although there are fans in Europe who might argue to the contrary. Unfortunately, Makassy's Agwaya LP is out of print and has not yet been reissued as a CD.
Before the breakup of the East African Community in 1977, there was a continuing flow of Tanzanian musicians visiting Kenya to record and perform. The Tanzanian variety of rumba music was extremely popular and widely accessible through radio and records in Kenya. But with many bands under state or corporate sponsorship and providing their musicians a regular salary, there was little incentive for Tanzanians to settle in Kenya's uncertain, laissez-faire environment. A few did, however, including the founding members of Simba Wanyika who took up Kenyan residence in 1971.
Like most Tanzanian bands, Simba Wanyika played rumba with Swahili language lyrics. In contrast to the emerging benga style of the period, Simba Wanyika's music had a much gentler feel; smoother, flowing. Their first recordings didn't even have a drum set. The rhythm was carried along on congas together with clavés and a fast, cavacha-like rhythm on high-hat. The rhythm guitar was active and fluid, but very light in its presence. The lead guitar came in only intermittently for soloing. Likewise, the saxophone was used sparingly in solos and to elaborate instrumental portions.
The Simba Wanyika sound, as the prototype of Kenya's "Swahili music" proved to be quite popular and durable.5 Along the way, other Kenyan groups such as the Maroon Commandos and Nairobi Matata joined in with their own "Swahili" styles. While the Kenyan variety was already diverging from its Tanzanian roots, the border closure after 1977 may have speeded the process by further isolating musicians in the two countries.
In 1978, a new "Wanyika" group, Les Wanyika, split off from Simba Wanyika and a short time later, a third group was created called variously, Super Wanyika, Wanyika Stars, Waanyika, etc. All of these maintained elements of the rumba/cavacha style with delicate rhythm guitar, congas, horns, etc. (although the latter group moved considerably in the direction of benga).
Examples of these Swahili rumba styles are found on Guitar Paradise with Simba Wanyika's "Wana Wanyika". The Maroon Commandos have selections on both Nairobi Beat and Kenya Dance Mania. Also featured on Dance Mania are songs by Les Wanyika and Super Wanyika.
With some evolution and experimentation in their styles since the early 1980s, both Simba Wanyika and Les Wanyika remain very popular in Kenya today and closely tied to their rumba origins. While Les Wanyika continue to have major hit recordings in Kenya, they remain almost totally unknown and their music unavailable outside of East Africa. Simba Wanyika, on the other hand, caught the attention of promoters in Holland and have had the opportunity to tour and record in Europe and North America. Simba Wanyika's European release, called Pepea (on the Kameleon label), celebrates the band's twenty years up to 1991 with updated versions of some of their most famous songs. The future of Simba Wanyika is, however, somewhat uncertain at this point with the death in December, 1992 of one of their founding members, guitarist George Peter Kinyonga.
Recent Trends The benga, Zairean, and Swahili styles are not the only musical forms competing for the attention of the Kenyan audience.
International pop music is very popular in Kenyan discos and a number of clubs featuring live music are using bands that play "international" styles. Among many of Kenya's educated and working elite, Kenyan pop is seen as tired and out of fashion. Many of the top night clubs of the seventies and eighties have not survived into the 90s. Clubs that used to feature Zairean or Swahili music have closed for lack of customers.
Gospel music has been around a long time in Kenya in various musical styles. It is Christian music that could be choir music combining both European harmonic elements and African rhythms and melodies (as in Muungano National Choir) or it might be a choir featuring a lead vocalist, guitars, bass, and drum kit (as with IFC choir). Or, gospel music might come from small ensembles like guitar bands, but playing songs with religious or inspirational content. Several of Nairobi's most famous stars have gone from pop to gospel. Joseph Kamaru, a pillar of Kikuyu pop music since the 1960s, recently disbanded his band and reformed a gospel group. The style is so popular at the moment that the newspapers recently added top a ten weekly gospel chart to their African and International top ten lists.
Taarab, the popular music of the East African coast, has recently experienced a resurgence as a national pop form across Kenya (or at least some cross-over versions of taarab have been quite successful). Samba Mapangala adapted a version of the taarab standard "Vidonge" on his Feet On Fire CD. The same tune in two other versions has propelled vocalist Malika (in collaboration with the international pop group Them Mushrooms) and Zairean vocalist Moreno Batamba to number one status on the Kenyan pop charts. The song is popular because the various versions with different words argue the important topic of the status of women and their relationship to men. At the same time, Malika's tremendous success (including singer of the year honors) demonstrates the receptiveness of the larger Kenyan population outside the coastal zone to taarab.
For such a small country, the great diversity of musical styles and language interests in Kenya has created an extremely fragmented recording and performance market. On the subject of music policy, Kenya's government has been reluctant to get involved at an organizational level (although they have assisted in anti-piracy enforcement and copyright matters). For the industry participants; the producers, club owners, and broadcast programmers; the situation has always been chaotic, though lucrative for a few. For the average musician, however, making a living off music remains a difficult proposition at best. Although the Kenyan people may not always fully appreciate the musical choices available to them, Kenya is still a musical treasure house.
(c) 1995 Douglas B. Paterson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Douglas Paterson is a cultural anthropologist and instructor residing in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is the current president of Rakumi Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to African arts, music, and culture in the Pacific Northwest region of the US.
2. For more on the Kenyan pop music scene see the author's "Kenya: The Business of Pleasure (Parts 1 & 2)," African Beat (London), Issue 5 Summer 1986 and Issue 6 Winter/Spring 1986-87; notes accompanying the compact disc, The Nairobi Beat (Rounder 5030); and "Kenya" in The Rough Guide to World Music, Broughton, S.; M. Ellingham; D. Muddyman; and R. Trillo; eds. London: Rough Guides Ltd., 1994.
3. Selections for The Nairobi Beat were compiled by the author in 1988. 4. In 1987, Günter Gretz released a compilation singles by Les Kilimambogo Brothers Band, the leading Kamba group of the time. The LP was titled Simba Africa on the Popular African Music label.
5. The most popular Tanzanian artist of the 70s (perhaps, of all-time) for both countries was guitarist and vocalist Mbaraka Mwinshehe, leader of Morogoro Jazz and later Orch. Super Volcano. His music was revered in Kenya and certainly served as an inspiration and model for other Kenyan groups. In 1978, he died in a tragic auto accident. Compilations of his "greatest hits" are still sold in Kenya.
by Douglas B. Paterson, Ph.D.(1)
Kenya's pop music is undoubtedly one of most diverse in Africa. Unfortunately, by the time her music has passed through the long filtering process of the international "market," only a handful of titles make it on to the this amazing diversity who must rely on "the market" to bring Kenyan pop music to their local record shop, this amazing diversity of pop sounds the best kept secrets of Africa. Certainly, for those taking the time to search out record shops in Europe and North America, one will likely come up with a few CDs of Kenyan music. However, these hardly do justice to the amazing diversity of pop sounds heard on the streets or in the clubs of Nairobi. The purpose of this review is to introduce the reader to the major forms of popular music found in Kenya today and to provide some of its historical background. For those who may wish to hear examples of this music, several compact discs featuring Kenyan styles (and available internationally) have been cited.
An Introduction to Kenyan Pop(2)
Popular music in Kenya encompasses a wide range of styles of both local and international origin. Among Kenyans, language is one of the crucial factors in defining their music. There are over 40 regional languages in Kenya and musicians from at least a quarter of these (usually, those with the largest populations) are making recordings in their mother tongues. Along the streets of Nairobi, songs in Luo, Luhya, Kamba, and Kikuyu can be heard blaring from the cassette sellers' sidewalk stands as they compete for the attention of passers by. Bands with this regional orientation are, no doubt, the majority in Kenya. However, not all Kenyan musicians play to a regional/ethnic audience. Furthermore, many of Kenya's best known musicians are immigrants from other African countries, most often, from Tanzania or Zaire. Without a regional focus, the lyrics of these musicians are usually in Swahili, the African language of wider communication across Kenya. A few of the Zaireans occasionally sing in their own language, Lingala, but in recent years, most have found it advantageous to use Swahili in their new compositions.
A sampling of these various styles is available in three compilations: Guitar Paradise of East Africa and Kenya Dance Mania, both on the Earthworks label, and Rounder Records' The Nairobi Beat: Kenyan Pop Music Today3. Although the melodies, languages, and rhythms may vary from song to song, one of the common traits through all three CDs is the preeminence of the guitars. They weave their way through the vocal portion, meshing with the melodic line or answering it and, nearly always, they finish out the last minute or two with some ear-catching solo jam.The Benga Wagon: The Regional Bands Jump Aboard.
When Kenyans discuss their music, they aren't likely to be talking about "regional/ethnic" styles. They simply call it (almost interchangeably) either benga or cavacha (to be explained later). Benga refers specifically to the dominant style of Luo pop music that has reigned champion in the lands around Lake Victoria since the late 1960s. The term is also used in a general sense to cover the other regional styles, all of which have been greatly influenced by the Luo version.
In Luo benga, the bass, guitar, and vocal interweave is all-important. The bass, in particular, is especially active, pulsating, starting and stopping in bursts of rapid fire. Sometimes it mimics a flowing melodic line with syncopated hesitations. Other times, it's just hanging around the bottom keeping a fast-paced rhythm. Meanwhile, guitars are coming in at the end of each vocal phrase with some catchy riff or a repeat of the melodic line.
As benga caught on among the Luo people, musicians from other regions of Kenya borrowed elements of it to suit their own music. Some of these early benga adaptations such as those from Daniel Kamau (DK) are featured on the Guitar Paradise and Kenya Dance Mania CDs. DK, one of the 70's biggest stars, is cited as the first Kikuyu musician to jump onto the benga band wagon back in the late 1960s.
Although these regional groups share a number of common components in their instrumentation, rhythms, the beat of a throbbing kick drum, and aspects of the guitar work, these are all features which overlay unique traditional elements in melodic structure, harmony, and song composition. Thus, each of the different regional bengas, has its own distinctive flavor. For a taste of several regional styles, The Nairobi Beat samples two songs each from Luo, Luhya, Kikuyu, and Kamba artists.
D.O. Misiani and his Shirati Jazz, the premier Luo benga practitioners and the only benga group to ever tour Europe, has two CDs available; Benga Blast, again, on Earthworks and Piny Ose Mer, an original recording for Globestyle. One of Misiani's long-time rival bands also has a recent compilation of late 70s and early 80s benga on Globestyle, The Mighty Kings of Benga by the Victoria Kings. Aside from these two CDs and the selections on the Earthworks and Rounder compilations, Kenya's regional benga groups have no representation in the international market.4 Swahili and Lingala: The National/Urban Sounds From World War II onwards, Kenyan musical history is filled with examples of individual musicians and whole ensembles settling in Kenya from neighboring countries and beyond. In the 1950s, for example, Congolese finger-style guitarists Edouard Masengo and Jean Bosco Mwenda became household names throughout Kenya. Peter Tsotsi and Nashil Pichen from Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) played a critical role in the development of the Equator Sound Band's "twist" style, modeled after the South African kwela rhythm (see Before Benga Vol. Two: The Nairobi Sound, Original Music).
Congolese groups were performing in Nairobi night clubs as early as 1964. As conditions in the Congo (later, Zaire) deteriorated in the 1970s, more groups made their way to Nairobi. By the mid-seventies, several Zairean groups were playing rumba music at night clubs on a regular basis. Examples of their music are not readily available for this period but one characteristic of their style caught on in Kenya and remains a key feature in most Kenyan music today. That element is the cavacha rhythm, popularized through recordings of Zairean bands such as Zaiko Langa Langa and Orchestra Shama Shama. The Kenyan definition of cavacha covers a family of rhythms, something akin to the "shave-and-a-haircut, six-bits" clavé beat. This fast paced rhythm played on the snare drum or high hat quickly became a hallmark of the Zairean sound in Nairobi and is frequently used by many of the regional bands.
The late seventies and early eighties was an extremely creative time for the Zairean groups in Nairobi. This period also corresponded with the beginning of Europe's new-found interest in African music. Virgin records got involved in a couple of projects in Nairobi that produced two highly acclaimed LPs from the Tanzanian-Zairean group, Orchestra Makassy and the Kenya-based Zairean band, Super Mazembe. About this same time, the French label Afro Rythmes had just released Orchestra Virunga's Malako LP recorded in Nairobi. Of these, a wonderful example of the Mazembe style is captured on the Earthworks Dance Mania CD in the now classic "Shauri Yako" (It's Your Affair). In what may be the finest song craftsmanship to come out of Nairobi, the Virunga Malako recording has been reissued as an Earthworks CD titled Virunga Volcano. At nine or ten minutes each, the four original songs are superbly arranged in a flowing, leisurely fashion allowing plenty of time for them to progress through beautiful vocals, innovative sax solos and duets, and precision guitar and bass work (not to mention a good dose of the cavacha on high hat). The Orchestra Makassy release hasn't reached the divine status bestowed upon Malako, although there are fans in Europe who might argue to the contrary. Unfortunately, Makassy's Agwaya LP is out of print and has not yet been reissued as a CD.
Before the breakup of the East African Community in 1977, there was a continuing flow of Tanzanian musicians visiting Kenya to record and perform. The Tanzanian variety of rumba music was extremely popular and widely accessible through radio and records in Kenya. But with many bands under state or corporate sponsorship and providing their musicians a regular salary, there was little incentive for Tanzanians to settle in Kenya's uncertain, laissez-faire environment. A few did, however, including the founding members of Simba Wanyika who took up Kenyan residence in 1971.
Like most Tanzanian bands, Simba Wanyika played rumba with Swahili language lyrics. In contrast to the emerging benga style of the period, Simba Wanyika's music had a much gentler feel; smoother, flowing. Their first recordings didn't even have a drum set. The rhythm was carried along on congas together with clavés and a fast, cavacha-like rhythm on high-hat. The rhythm guitar was active and fluid, but very light in its presence. The lead guitar came in only intermittently for soloing. Likewise, the saxophone was used sparingly in solos and to elaborate instrumental portions.
The Simba Wanyika sound, as the prototype of Kenya's "Swahili music" proved to be quite popular and durable.5 Along the way, other Kenyan groups such as the Maroon Commandos and Nairobi Matata joined in with their own "Swahili" styles. While the Kenyan variety was already diverging from its Tanzanian roots, the border closure after 1977 may have speeded the process by further isolating musicians in the two countries.
In 1978, a new "Wanyika" group, Les Wanyika, split off from Simba Wanyika and a short time later, a third group was created called variously, Super Wanyika, Wanyika Stars, Waanyika, etc. All of these maintained elements of the rumba/cavacha style with delicate rhythm guitar, congas, horns, etc. (although the latter group moved considerably in the direction of benga).
Examples of these Swahili rumba styles are found on Guitar Paradise with Simba Wanyika's "Wana Wanyika". The Maroon Commandos have selections on both Nairobi Beat and Kenya Dance Mania. Also featured on Dance Mania are songs by Les Wanyika and Super Wanyika.
With some evolution and experimentation in their styles since the early 1980s, both Simba Wanyika and Les Wanyika remain very popular in Kenya today and closely tied to their rumba origins. While Les Wanyika continue to have major hit recordings in Kenya, they remain almost totally unknown and their music unavailable outside of East Africa. Simba Wanyika, on the other hand, caught the attention of promoters in Holland and have had the opportunity to tour and record in Europe and North America. Simba Wanyika's European release, called Pepea (on the Kameleon label), celebrates the band's twenty years up to 1991 with updated versions of some of their most famous songs. The future of Simba Wanyika is, however, somewhat uncertain at this point with the death in December, 1992 of one of their founding members, guitarist George Peter Kinyonga.
Recent Trends The benga, Zairean, and Swahili styles are not the only musical forms competing for the attention of the Kenyan audience.
International pop music is very popular in Kenyan discos and a number of clubs featuring live music are using bands that play "international" styles. Among many of Kenya's educated and working elite, Kenyan pop is seen as tired and out of fashion. Many of the top night clubs of the seventies and eighties have not survived into the 90s. Clubs that used to feature Zairean or Swahili music have closed for lack of customers.
Gospel music has been around a long time in Kenya in various musical styles. It is Christian music that could be choir music combining both European harmonic elements and African rhythms and melodies (as in Muungano National Choir) or it might be a choir featuring a lead vocalist, guitars, bass, and drum kit (as with IFC choir). Or, gospel music might come from small ensembles like guitar bands, but playing songs with religious or inspirational content. Several of Nairobi's most famous stars have gone from pop to gospel. Joseph Kamaru, a pillar of Kikuyu pop music since the 1960s, recently disbanded his band and reformed a gospel group. The style is so popular at the moment that the newspapers recently added top a ten weekly gospel chart to their African and International top ten lists.
Taarab, the popular music of the East African coast, has recently experienced a resurgence as a national pop form across Kenya (or at least some cross-over versions of taarab have been quite successful). Samba Mapangala adapted a version of the taarab standard "Vidonge" on his Feet On Fire CD. The same tune in two other versions has propelled vocalist Malika (in collaboration with the international pop group Them Mushrooms) and Zairean vocalist Moreno Batamba to number one status on the Kenyan pop charts. The song is popular because the various versions with different words argue the important topic of the status of women and their relationship to men. At the same time, Malika's tremendous success (including singer of the year honors) demonstrates the receptiveness of the larger Kenyan population outside the coastal zone to taarab.
For such a small country, the great diversity of musical styles and language interests in Kenya has created an extremely fragmented recording and performance market. On the subject of music policy, Kenya's government has been reluctant to get involved at an organizational level (although they have assisted in anti-piracy enforcement and copyright matters). For the industry participants; the producers, club owners, and broadcast programmers; the situation has always been chaotic, though lucrative for a few. For the average musician, however, making a living off music remains a difficult proposition at best. Although the Kenyan people may not always fully appreciate the musical choices available to them, Kenya is still a musical treasure house.
(c) 1995 Douglas B. Paterson
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1. Douglas Paterson is a cultural anthropologist and instructor residing in Seattle, Washington, USA. He is the current president of Rakumi Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to African arts, music, and culture in the Pacific Northwest region of the US.
2. For more on the Kenyan pop music scene see the author's "Kenya: The Business of Pleasure (Parts 1 & 2)," African Beat (London), Issue 5 Summer 1986 and Issue 6 Winter/Spring 1986-87; notes accompanying the compact disc, The Nairobi Beat (Rounder 5030); and "Kenya" in The Rough Guide to World Music, Broughton, S.; M. Ellingham; D. Muddyman; and R. Trillo; eds. London: Rough Guides Ltd., 1994.
3. Selections for The Nairobi Beat were compiled by the author in 1988. 4. In 1987, Günter Gretz released a compilation singles by Les Kilimambogo Brothers Band, the leading Kamba group of the time. The LP was titled Simba Africa on the Popular African Music label.
5. The most popular Tanzanian artist of the 70s (perhaps, of all-time) for both countries was guitarist and vocalist Mbaraka Mwinshehe, leader of Morogoro Jazz and later Orch. Super Volcano. His music was revered in Kenya and certainly served as an inspiration and model for other Kenyan groups. In 1978, he died in a tragic auto accident. Compilations of his "greatest hits" are still sold in Kenya.
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