A Tribute to Kenyan Music Vol 1

It’s the early 2000s and I’m in my room scrolling the radio stations on a new tenje my dad got me. It was a wonderful gift driven by my clear love for music, especially Kenyan music, but also as a way to keep me from constantly “borrowing” the radio in my parents’ room. I had started a small business writing and selling lyrics to popular songs to my classmates. Yes, there was the printout in the Sunday paper, but they only published the lyrics to one song per week and not always the most current hits. I had noted this gap and capitalized on it. 

Running a business even if you have a sure winner is still no walk in the park, especially one as dynamic as a lyrics business. First, you must keep up with the latest music regardless of genre so this means listening to lots of music every day. I had limited time to do this given the majority of my time was spent in school and then on homework and other after-school responsibilities. To maximize my time, I zeroed in on countdown radio shows and watched the music shows on TV. Special shoutout to Jimmi Gathu and Esther Mbondo for their contributions to this. I also made sure to listen in on conversations at school so I could know what songs and artists were the most popular.

Second, you must have a good ear and quick writing skills. I couldn’t listen to the songs anytime I wanted to like you can nowadays, so I had to make the few times I heard a song count. I’d always have a pen and paper and focus on getting as much written down as possible. I became so good at it, that I could write out a full song after only four listens. It was really three, with the fourth being a check-through listen.

Third, you must understand that distribution is everything. I charged 5 Kenyan shillings per copy, and delivered strictly on pre-order. This assured me of guaranteed business making sure that even though some buyers would inevitably share the product with their friends cutting into my sales, I had a minimum sales target I hit every week. Delivery was done twice a week on Tuesday and Friday with the two songs already communicated the week before for pre-orders. Distribution was at breaktime around 10am which guaranteed a full day buzz that boosted sales. 

Fourth, you need to maintain excellence to edge out the competition. I was not the only one selling lyrics though I was the pioneer, and with everything successful, the copycats materialized. They tried to undercut me with lower prices and being open to requests all day every day. At first it worked, but they soon realized it was untenable and my customers didn’t like their shoddy work. My work was impeccable. I had a beautiful handwriting, used good quality stationary and different coloured pens for the various sections, signed the lyrics and even offered the complimentary service of gluing in the lyrics for you into your lyrics book. You could also buy the lyrics as a gift for a friend or your crush and I’d hand deliver them in an envelope after guiding you on a touching note, for an extra fee of course.

Fifth, you got to razzle dazzle. I had a beautiful magenta binder that I’d carry around to deliver the lyrics, so when I took it out, everyone knew what time it was. I would make a show of searching for my customers wherever they were in the school to demonstrate my willingness to deliver anywhere. I’d make them sign against their names on my delivery list that they’d received the product and it was satisfactory. Business was excellent.

I went to a private school that had a lot of middle-class and rich kids so the music was pretty western facing. Though to be honest at that time, there wasn’t exactly a booming Kenyan music industry. My biggest song requests were pop, r&b and hip-hop from artists like Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Celine Dion, Craig David, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, Nas, Jennifer Lopez, DMX, Mase, Destiny’s Child, Aerosmith, Will Smith, Sisqo/Dru Hill, Brandy, Monica, Cher, TLC, Ricky Martin, Busta Rhymes, Mya, Eminem, Nelly, Samantha Mumbai and Mariah Carey. You get the picture.

The first time I got a Kenyan request was a pleasant surprise. There were few popular Kenyan songs in school in the 90s. Most music was by artists whose audience was older and rhumba was the popular sound. Hard stone, Kalamashaka and Swahili Nation were some of the first to do something different and stood out. It also helped that the school compound housed Samawati Studios run by the Kibkosyas, so we were aware of artists like Mercy Myra and Five Alive. 

I was a little young and wasn’t in the lyrics game then but I remember the older kids doing rap battles and talking about hip-hop. I even have a very clear memory of the day 2Pac died and all the boys consoling one another like a friend had passed away. However, until the late 90s and especially the early 2000s, contemporary Kenyan music wasn’t a hit in my part of the world.

So back to my room. I’m listening to my new tenje and I am blown away by this artist called E-Sir. I am already a fan of Nameless and Necessary Noize. Listening to the music the outfit Ogopa Deejayz is putting out has me floored. I didn’t know Kenyan music could be like this. I have been getting requests for lyrics from these artists and I set out to do what I do best. It proves challenging at first, especially with E-Sir, because he raps so fast and mostly in Kiswahili, something my ear just isn’t used to. I listen as many times as I can and dedicate weeks to getting Kenyan music right. It ends up being my biggest boom yet. There is nowhere to find these lyrics because even the papers aren’t focused on Kenyan music lyrics. 

By the time 2002 rolls in, Kenyan music is mostly what my customers want. Amani is the it girl. Big Pin and Krupt are the bad boys all the girls want. Nameless and E-Sir are superstars. I can’t get the lyrics out enough. We all want to be this version of Kenyan. Young, vibrant, rebellious, setting the pace.

By the time the elections are rolling around later that year, Kenya bristling with hope, is in a full-blown love affair with contemporary Kenyan music. Hip-hop duo, Gidi Gidi Maji Maji are reverberating through the country with their mega hit Unbwogable, a catchy anthem that the opposition party use in their catapult to the presidency and a new political dispensation. 

The year ends with me and my family in shagz listening over and over again to a mixtape of Kenyan music my brother put together. I write down the lyrics to all the music on the tape including hits like Unbwogable, Boomba Train, Tukawake, Leo ni Leo and Ninanoki. I share the neatly written pages with my siblings and we huddle and sing at the top of our lungs. The hope of the country is in us too. My dad excitedly comes home with the paper and proudly hands it to my mother who breaks out into ululation. My name is printed there in the top 100 for the KCPE exam. We turn up the radio and sing Unbwogable. The future is bright. For me, for Kenya and for Kenyan music.