Kenyan Rappers:Industry Gone To The Dogs?

Kenyan Rappers

Kenya has a variety of Rappers;Old School and the newcomers in the Music industry .

E-Sir’s rapping style was more commercial than conscious.Most of his fans didn’t regard him as a great rapper but because Rap music was not that popular among Kenyan Musicians,He really tried.

However, no other Kenyan rapper has ever managed to exert more influence than him. In terms of how iconic he is, E-Sir is like the Kenyan version of Tupac and the Notorious BIG.

E-Sir

There are those who argue that he is only considered great because he died.

They say that because he passed away while still young, we only remember the best work from his brief catalogue.

King Kaka gets blasted and told that he doesn’t make tracks like “Dodoma” anymore. It somehow makes sense.

King Kaka

If E-Sir would be alive today there is a chance he would have made sup-bar music at some point. It’s impossible to make music for fifteen years and not put out work that is tasteless. But we can’t penalize E-Sir for dying right? He captured the minds and hearts of the masses. Sometimes that’s all that is needed to be the greatest of all time.3

Abbas might have gone MIA lately but the name Abbas aka Jerry Doobiez will never fail to be mentioned when the greats are being talked about. My favorite verse from him was from the song “2050” in which he teamed up with Chiwawa.  He blessed us with poetic, rewind-worthy bars .

Abass

There were two phases in his career. First, there was Abass, the K-South member then there was Abass the solo artists. Give me Pre-Abass or Post-Abass, I won’t complain. Both versions of this great lyricist were satisfying.


Khaligraph ,The O.G can be annoying but if his talent was to be measured in litres it would be more than all the H20 in all the ‘Clean Water’ tankers in Nairobi. He raps as fast as legendary American rapper Twista and he twengs like he grew up in Brooklyn. But he’s just Omollo from Kayole and Bondo.

Khaligraph

He only became a proper star like two or three years ago and it’s still a wonder why it took so long for people to appreciate him. But he’s here now and he has made it.


Chiwawa famous song..“Saa hii mnafeel aje? Poa tena sana!” Has there ever been a better chorus than that? Chiwawa was ruthless in his prime. He might have named himself after a humble and cute little dog but he was more ferocious than a bulldog. You don’t have to dig deep into his catalogue to find the gems. They are all over the surface.

Bamboo was the true ‘Lord of Showbiz.’ Every weekend, the papers were filled with stories about him. From his relationships with mzungus to his beefs with other artistes, Bamboo always made headlines. Perhaps the most entertaining part of his career was his beef with Prezzo.

His antics aside, Bamboo’s flow was as smooth as a bowling green. Add the powerful one-liners and the impeccable ability to rhyme almost every word and you get a rapper that should have named himself Baobab instead of Bamboo. Why? Simply because baobab is stronger and thicker than bamboo. And that’s what Bamboo’s lyrics have always been – very strong.

Musician,Bamboo

Most rappers on this list have great songs but none of them had songs that everyone could sing along to, word for word. It’s sad that he passed away at such an early age.

Nyashinski ,the Kenyan Drake! He can rap and sing better than most people who only do one of those. Nyash also has enough quotable lines to make Martin Luther King jealous. He is an expert in breaking down complex hypotheses into epigrammatic bits of savoury information.

Nyashinski

Nyash is mostly respected because of how long he has been in the game. They say his most memorable verse was from the song “Tuendelee.” But he has too many memorable verses. Counting them would take weeks.

Has the industry gonre to the Dogs?Not at all …The Rappers are still up on their game.

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