SSARU: BUILDING A LEGACY OFF CONSISTENCY

In 2020 we got the pandemic and the way we consume music experienced a significant shift. The pandemic coincided with the demise of the first wave of gengetone stars.  In 2018 nobody could touch these acts but on 2 years later they are basically on the periphery of popular music. Ethic could only be sustained by Rekles’ hooks and the constant phoning in by the others for only so long. Sailors’ call and response style was not long for this world anyway, unfortunately Ochungolo Family had to separate due to internal creative issues and nobody really knows what happened to Boondocks Gang.

But from the ashes something new grows, Ssaru, who has been in the music industry for quite a while now has quietly established herself as the most consistent artist in Kenyan popular music. From her slow burning releases that have taken time to infiltrate the public consciousness to her scene stealing verses Ssaru has been consistently delivering at a high level. It helps that she can actually rap, she actually possesses the technical skills required of a rapper while her contemporaries were average at best and hid their failings behind their production. A trick that can only work a few times before the audience sees through it. Her solo singles have been bangers and has been featured on so many tracks you’d think its a competition between her and Mejja to see who can make more of them, they even have a song together. Also her verse on the recent Sailors track is one of the best of the year, 2 years it would have been hard to imagine them working together much less her having the best verse on the song

It is expected that Gengetone would have its growing pains. A lot of the early successes were there because they happened to be the ones doing it at the time. With all things in life the more people do it the better they get at it and it is not unusual to see the first wave of creators get left behind because they couldn’t adapt. It doesn’t help that these early Gengetone acts were not really prepared fot the limelight and dealt with a lot of issues especially being exploited by their management (especially one violent teacher). Ssaru herself has had issues with management which ultimately led her to losing her YouTube channel and having to start over. She hasn’t stopped though, 2020 was a banner year for her and 2021 is shaping to be better. Some artists are trying to survive the pandemic while Ssaru is thriving. She is a study in consistency and an important lesson to anyone building a career in music. In the next three year gengetone will experience its next major shift and there will be stars of today who will not be able to transition. Ssaru will though, she most definitely will.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF KAHU$H : WHY SKILL DOESN’T MATTER.

If you’re bad at your job you’ll get fired, this holds true for most occupations in life. If you’re good at it you’ll probably get promoted so you’re gonna spend your time getting better at your job and improving your skills so you can get that wonderful promotion. So think about how your job would be if skill became the least important aspect of it.

Kahu$h has been trending recently, first because he released Mastingo, which should be up there in consideration for Kenya’s song of the year and also because his father heads up the health ministry which allegedly has been siphoning money meant for covid-19 interventions for personal use. The former has everything to do with him while the latter not so much. Kahu$h caught a lot of flack from the internet who deemed his music bad (I’m using the kindest of words here)

Here’s something I want to say, Kahu$h isn’t a particularly good rapper, more Driicky Graham than Aubrey Graham. He doesn’t possess the technical skill and talent required for somebody to be a rapper. His flow and cadence are average at best, his delivery is weak and the less said about his writing the better. I’ve found myself cringing multiple times through listening to his two projects, Niko and Trial And Error that are on streaming platforms so you should probably listen to them when you can.

Here’s another thing I want to say, Kahu$h will have a long and successful career in the music industry. See despite his clear and apparent lack of skill it doesn’t matter, being able to actually rap is the least important aspect of building a career as a rapper. Skill and talent matter very little in the rap game to the point where multiple beloved artists have built careers off everything else except being able to rap. Kahu$h is playing the field exactly as he should, why bother getting better at something that requires a lot of time and effort when the returns are very small. The game is the game and you play to win, if you can write whatever you want, say whatever you want and deliver it in whatever manner you feel like and still have a successful song that will get airplay then why bother with being better. If your job didn’t require you to be good at it to get a promotion then would you ever bother trying to improve??  

At the moment Kahu$h’s music isn’t good with very minimal bright spots but what matters is that it is getting played, which at the end of the day is the goal of every musician. After all it is fine to listen to bad rappers (I still have Flockaveli on rotation) what isn’t okay though is pretending that they aren’t bad just because you listen to them. Bad musical acts have been wildly successful all throughout history and it’s no different from this. Clearly a lack of talent has never stopped anyone from pursuing a career in entertainment.

P.S.

 Kagwe Mungai’s “staring at your areola” is the worst lyric I’ve heard in a long time. I’m disgusted.

THE SOUND OF BEIGE : SHRAP IS NAIROBI’S NEW BORING

Its better to be a bad artist than to be a boring artist, people remember bad but no one remembers boring. IceJJFish was absolutely garbage but people still go to stream his videos on YouTube, if only pushed by a case of morbid curiosity and schadenfreude. Bad artists need to exist to draw a contrast to all the good artists out there. Boring artists exist somewhere in the middle of this, blurring the lines between the two and muddying the waters to a point where the audience has to ask themselves whether they like the music or they think that they like the music.

I first heard of Kahu$h from a 21 year old neighbor of mine. Life had gotten in the way and I hadn’t really kept up with a lot of the scene at the time. So I listened to Mi Siwezi and I immediately liked it. It has a fun and laidback vibe that lends itself well to any smoking session ( I would assume, I don’t smoke). I then went to look for more of his music and I was disappointed. Mi Siwezi is a flash in the pan, an exception to the rule, his music can best be described as generic. An assortment of 808s and keys that have been heard before and some of the most basic and cringworthy lyrics that I’ve heard i quite a while. The best way to describe his music is bland, yes it can be consumed but at the end of the day you won’t remember any of it.

As bland as Kahu$h is he is probably one of the better artists out here. As the technical barrier to entry in to hiphop became lower and lower there was an influx of “rappers” into the industry who built careers off everything except actually rapping. The short of it is that you don’t actually have to know how to rap to be a rapper. Rappers who don’t actually know how to rap actually succeed because of all the non-technical factors, they tend to be larger than life personas who have charisma by the bucket load and are able to draw in the audience by their sheer magnetism.

Kahu$h can’t do that, Jovie Jovv can’t do that, Tokyo Sauce can’t do that, TnT can’t do that and the myriad of other shrap and hiphop artists can’t do that. They have no redeeming qualities, they are a pale imitation of artists who have much stronger intangibles. Its easy to sound like Lil Uzi Vert, easy to dress like him and easy to get the same beats as him but that doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t as creative or genre-defying as he is. With the proliferation of the music industry to include so many new parts there has seen a rise in the number of artists who can meet the low technical bar but lack everything else that goes into being a good artist. Zero performance, zero emotion, zero charisma and most importantly zero fun. What’s even more worrying is the established artists who are slowly turning to this style of music all the while claiming it as reinvention. It can’t be reinvention if there was never an identity to begin with.

Shrap is the sound of boredom, the 808s are repetitive, the keys are generic and the lyrics are imaginary tales of crime, women and drugs ( also I don’t believe that Runda boys have ever committed a crime except for that one time they beat up Barak Jacuzzi in his house LMAO). The problem isn’t shrap itself just the people involved in the music, they’re all okay with making uninspired music and that’s all they’re gonna keep making. Nairobi’s new boring has kicked out its predecessor and is here to stay, until something even more boring and uninspired takes it place. For now shrap wears that crown firmly on its head.

 

Anyway, listen to this

 

 

IN THE SHADOW OF A LEGEND : REMEMBERING E-SIR

One morning in December 2002 my father woke up and declared that everyone in the family was going to shagz, a dry and desolate place, for the christmas holidays. I’ve always suspected that he was afraid that clashes would start around the election period and he wanted his family as far away as possible. Well we went to shagz and came back, one the most vivid memories I have of that time was finally meeting my friends after weeks apart and finding them singing Moss Moss in the street, all the time. I had been cutoff from civilization for weeks and had missed an entire E-sir song that had dropped, I was not happy about that.

Issa Mmari aka E-Sir is arguably the biggest artist in the history of our music industry, he may not have been here for the longest time but his impact is still being felt today, seventeen years after his untimely passing.  The public still speak of E-Sir with the utmost respect and honor, he’s our Tupac, our Biggie Smallz. An artist who transcended the music industry and became a national icon. Back in 2010 I was at a WAPI show at Sarakasi dome and a pre-fame Khaligraph Jones was performing, I think he was opening up for Camp Mulla or something. In his performance he said ” Wanauliza nani atafill viatu za E-Sir, nimezipima na hata hazinitoshi”. Its been ten years since he said that and he’s not even halfway to being half the artist that E-sir was.

E-Sir was one of the multitude of artists that exploded on the Kenyan music scene at the turn of the millennium, all of them allied to different recording labels and trying to influence the nascent Kenyan sound. E-Sir was the pick of the bunch though, with a mastery of Swahili that none of his contemporaries could match, a relatability that no other rapper has yet to achieve and the ability to dance on the edge of hip-hop and pop that made him a hit factory. At that point the name E-Sir being attached to a single was assured radio airplay and if there was a video it was going to be played on rotation on The Beat which at the time was the only way to ensure that your music video actually got any airplay that mattered. E-Sir gave everyone the rub, Big Pin became a star after being featured on Bamba, Nameless elevated his career after featuring on Kenya’s unofficial anthem, Boomba Train and Brenda and Talia Oyando established careers just by featuring on one song.

 

They say the light that burns brightest burns quickest, on March 16th 2003 Issa Wangui Mmari passed away in a tragic road accident at the age of 21. The aftermath of his passing was something that hadn’t been seen before and hasn’t been since. Tributes poured in, memorial shows were organized where his friends and family performed all his hits and his funeral was even featured on TV. For 10 year old me it was like a superhero had died, Boomba Train was, still is btw, my jam and I had even started rapping with a friend while copying E-Sir’s cadence and flow, we really wanted to be him. I couldn’t properly process his passing then and it’s still difficult even now. E-Sir may be gone but he hasn’t been forgotten. There are regular memorial shows and even recently on the 17th anniversary of his passing the outpouring of love, memorials and tributes on social media has been immense. E-Sir will forever live on through his music.

Since his passing the Kenyan music industry has seen a lot of artists rise to the top but none of them has been able to match everything that E-sir was able to achieve. None of them have been able to live in the public consciousness like he did, none of them have been able to influence the industry like he did and none of them have had the lasting impact that he had. E-Sir will forever be the yardstick of Kenyan music and no matter how big the industry gets he will still stand towering above it, everyone else existing in the shadow of a legend.

REST IN POWER ISSA WANGUI MMARI

GENGETONE, 1983 AND VIDEOGAMES

Ethic, one of the first gengetone groups

In 1983 the video game industry crashed, leaving in its wake the financial ruin of countless firms and individuals. The industry went from making 3.2 billion dollars in 1983 to 100 million dollars in 1985. What does that have to do with Gengetone?? A lot actually, especially if you draw the parallels that led to the crash.

Much like gengetone today the video game industry in the late 70’s and early 80’s was an unregulated mess with zero barrier to entry and a large number of completely unqualified individuals who flooded the market with hastily made, piss-poor garbage that the market could no longer sustain itself and eventually crashed. Just like video games back then no one expected gengetone to be this big when it first started out, when we first listened to lamba lolo no one could imagine that 18 months later the sound dominating the Kenyan airwaves would be the one pioneered by the group that would come to be known as Ethic.

Gengetone is interesting because it represents the first time in Kenyan music history that the barriers to entry into the music industry have been removed. If you have a beat and a camera you can record anything, anywhere at anytime and have it ready for release immediately. The beat doesn’t even have to be original, with most artists resorting to stealing dancehall riddims, case in point here, here and here. Removing the barriers to entry into any industry is essentially a double edged sword.even though it affords opportunity to qualified individuals who might not have had it before it also means that wholly unqualified individuals are also able to enter the industry.

Therein lies gengetone’s most pressing issue, while there are acts like Boondocks Gang and Ethic who are consistently putting out great music there are way more acts that are piggybacking on their style and trying to get the same come up. The logic here is that if Ethic could make then if these groups do the same thing it will work for them. That’s why every week there’s a new gengetone track by a group calling themselves Team something or the other and its always about the same thing. At this point you don’t have to listen to a gengetone song to know what it is about, the content has been recycled way too many times and very few acts are putting an original spin to it.

Audience fatigue has already started to set in, with more and more people complaining that the genre is now more tedious that entertaining, with gengetone artists constantly putting out music at a rate that would give Diamond Platnumz a wet dream. The novelty is wearing off and the audience is slowly desensitizing to the complex sheng and constant gyrating asses. While the audience is starting to tire the music industry is in overdrive churning out track after track. Financiers, producers, established artists and record labels are all trying to get a piece of the pie before it all ends up gone. This version of gengetone is on its way out, you can hear the death knell in the distance. With a waning audience and an over-saturated market a crash is imminent.

So back to the video game industry crash, in 1985 the industry only made 100 million dollars compared to 2019 where the industry made 120.1 billion dollars. From an industry that was nearly dead 34 years ago to the biggest entertainment medium in the world. Between then and now the industry changed how it operated, with emphasis on quality and longevity over a quick buck. The companies that survived the crash came out the other side more successful in the long run because they learned from the mistakes that they made. Gengetone is quickly approaching its crash, at which point no amount of smoke and mirrors will be able to hide the poor quality of music that is being produced. Gengetone will not die though, the acts that are able to weather the storm will move on to a new generation of gengetone which will not suffer the same problems that it is being experienced right now.

After all, even though the video game industry crashed in 1983 I am writing this with a PlayStation 4 next to me.

7 KENYAN ARTISTS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2020

2019 is in the books and we saw a lot of new artists who defined the zeitgeist and ruled the airwaves. Well a new year is upon us and with it an opportunity for a new crop of artists to make a name for themselves. The artists listed below aren’t unfamiliar if you are into Kenyan music and like to scratch below the surface. They are all active in the industry, some more than others and are well placed to move to the next step of their careers. The late Mac Miller once said that he was tired of being internet famous and wants to be actually famous, where people can immediately recognize you in the street. These seven are the most likely to become actually famous in 2019.

Also this list isn’t a ranking so don’t take it as such.

7. B. Razor

The boys out of Donholm, 34 Gvng had a good year in 2019 with very solid releases that were in constant rotation. While the previous year saw the rise of Vuva and Hitman Kaht as the faces of the group and the increased visibility of Shagwah in their projects 2020 seemed poised to be year of the Razor. Already featured on the monster hit that is Wabebe along with Teleza and Ka Ni Mtam, B Razor has solidified himself as the most technically gifted rapper within the group and also the most remarkable. His consistent collaboration with Hitman Kaht will turn them into a tag team tour de force within the industry. 2020 is the year that Razor goes off the edge and carves out his own niche

6. Vallerie Muthoni

While Vallerie’s 2019 didn’t really pick up steam until August it definitely was a good year for the fledgling artist. She released her second EP, Pisces SZN ( Which I reviewed) and performed on a few big stages. Her year was defined by Spicy SZN, the video release pushed the song into the collective consciousness  of the internet and helped to elevate Vallerie as an artist. With talent clearly in abundance and a knack for clever marketing (The ubunifu space thing was something out of the box) it is clear that 2020 is still going to be Spicy SZN and Vallerie is gonna bring the heat.

Mutoriah

5. Mutoriah

Mutoriah is ready to step in the limelight. The producer and singer has been working behind the scenes and was behind the boards for one of the biggest songs of 2019, Lucy by Bensoul. He released his debut album, Dive In, in 2019 and it was one of the better projects of the year. It featured a distinct sound and direction that can only get better with time. Mutoriah’s ability to bend genres and mix them together is impeccable and with the lines between genres getting blurrier with the passing of time it is an opportunity for him to go from an industry darling to a household name. Go listen to Maasai Power Trap right now, I mean it.

4. Kappy

Hapana Tambua Lawama is one of my favorite gengetone songs. From the stolen dancehall beat to the nonsensical lyrics and finally the extremely budget video shoot, it is what gengetone started as. Team Ganji have had a decent 2019 but Kappy , one of the members, had an even better year. He built on the success of Team Ganji online and transitioned into one of the better solo acts in gengetone. In a genre that is dominated by groups he has elevated himself above that and featured on street anthems like Nyonya and Pu Pu Pu. With a sheng lexicon that  is broader than almost anyone else in Nairobi and the ability to seamlessly fit into any gengetone track 2020 might be the year that Kappy becomes one of the first solo gengetone superstars.

Dyana Cods

3. Dyana Cods

If you’ve seen the video of Jinx being utterly dumbfounded when Dyana does her freestyle at HBR then you know why she is on this list. The Wakadinali cohort spent 2019 releasing singles, propping up other artists on their rise in the industry and going viral because of her freestyle. She didn’t just feature on other people’s tracks though, she released her EP, Late Night Kneeler near the end of 2019 and was part of King Kaka’s all female cypher. With a smooth flow and quotable lines, Dyana Cods is shaping up to be in control in 2020 and if tracks like Gagula Agugu are anything to go by we’ll all have a good time while she’s doing it..

2. Mbithi

Mbithi has been bubbling under for a while, just outside the reach of the mainstream. He has worked with some of the industry’s biggest names while building his own brand. By all logic Mbithi should already be a superstar, he has a look and sound that is ready for the crossover market and morning radio show rotation. He’s had his wins in 2019, most recently performing at the end of year Blankets and Wine but 2020 looks to be a bigger year for him. In an industry that is currently dominated by gengetone and with a looming oversaturation of the genre Mbithi is the breath of fresh air that Kenyan music fans will turn to when they need something different yet familiar to listen to. 2020 is the year Mbithi goes from supporting act to top billing.

Karun

1. Karun

10 years ago I was in a shitty cyber cafe using the worst internet connection in the world to download Camp Mulla songs onto my Nokia (It was at this cyber cafe where I saw a Camp Mulla Facebook post of some lyrics that were really dope. I googled them, turns out they weren’t their lyrics and that is how I came to know of Mac Miller). That’s how long ago Karun started in the music industry. Yet through all the ups and downs of a music career and life in general we are here. 10 years since her debut and after re-inventing herself we are again at a point where Karun is expected to be a dominant force in the industry. Time brings change, Karun long ago abandoned her pop-rap beginnings and her music has morphed into something more personal, slower and more in tune with her life experiences. 2019 she gave us Glow Up, a song that is both about sisterhood and a reference to her career and also dropped the wonderful Hit Me Up. While some people might be saying welcome back she never actually left. 2020 is the year that Karun will have us A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D again

P.S.

We need a Camp Mulla reunion show in 2020

THE 7 BEST KENYAN SONGS OF 2019

2019 was the year of gengetone, the young kids came into the game and completely changed how the music industry operates. They came in swinging and even had more established artists working with them to get the rub. It was not all gengetone though, 2019 had a lot more to offer from Kenyan artists in a variety of genres. Here are my picks for the 7 best kenyan songs that came out in 2019.

7. Radio Love by Nadia Mukami

If there ever was a textbook definition of Kenyan pop this would be it. Nadia Mukami draws comparison with a young Amani here, with her lyrics about lovers who love listening to their favorite songs on the radio together. With a beat that was made for the dancefloor and a heavy rotation in the nightlife scene, radio love has established Nadia Mukami as Kenya’s princess of pop

6.El Shaddai by H_art the Band

2019 has been a renaissance year for the trio that are famous for asking their shoes. After taking a hiatus they returned this year by releasing a multitude of singles and their debut album, Made In The Streets.Their biggest accomplishment this year has been releasing El Shaddai. A heartfelt gospel song that has captured the hearts of many, El Shaddai continues the trend of secular artists releasing better gospel songs than gospel artists. With pure conviction behind the lyrics and a message that anyone can get behind El Shaddai is undoubtedly the best gospel sing released in 2019

5. Wabebe by Gwaash & 34 Gvng

Wabebe is 2019’s Kenyan sleeper hit, released to litte fanfare and slowly gaining traction as the year progressed. It moved from strength to strength until become the monster that it is today. Wabebe is played everywhere and no party is complete without it. It success is fully deserved and it has created the perfect gengetone template, a catchy beat, competent rappers and a DIY attitude. Wabebe is at the same time what gengetone aims to be, what it is and what it should become.

4. Zimenice by Chris Kaiga

In the midst of the rise of gengetone the chosen apostle of debe, Chris Kaiga, was forging his own way. Zimenice is a breath of fresh air in the music industry, a light hearted take on Kenyan party culture that is bouncy and airy all at the same time. Chock full of quotable lines, Zimenice represents everything good about having fun and celebrates the feeling. Zimenice is the ultimate feel-good Kenyan song of 2019 and a track that is assured to lift the mood at any party.

3. See Me by Xenia Manasseh

While Niambie was Xenia’s introductory party See Me is confirmation that she is here to stay and that the whole industry should take notice. A love song that draws similarities to artists like Summer Walker, See Me is slow and calculated in it’s approach. Understanding that less is more, the song finely meshes Xenia’s vocals with the production to give us on of the songs of the year. See Me is the first single off Xenia’s Fallin Apart EP and also her first step towards industry domination.

2. Morio Anzenza by Wakadinali

Scar and Mad Munga, the duo that makes up Wakadinali, had a banner year. They released multiple projects and Morio Anzenza was the pick of the bunch. The thumping hiphop track allows Scar and Munga to weave tales of the ghetto, their gangs and success all while maintaining the same menace and delivery that has made them the industry standard. They’re joined on the track by Dyana Cods who matches them bar for bar and holds her own. The best Kenyan hiphop song of 2019 and an indicator of what Wakadinali have instore going forward

1. Madam by Boondocks Gang & Wakali Wao

Gengetone dominated the year and it’s only fitting that a gengetone song would be number 1. There was no better song this year than the crown jewel of gengetone that is Madam. Boondocks Gang and Wakali Wao joined their powers to release this absolute monster of a track. Catchy, fun, raucous and authentic it represented everything that led to the explosion of gengetone, if the essence of gengetone could be distilled it would sound like this track. Madam is the yardstick by which all gengetone songs are measured and the best track to be released in Kenya in 2019

7 KENYAN SONGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

Steph Kapela

1. STOP – CLEF AND BANDANA It has been almost a year since this Atwal produced track was released and it has not seen the rotation it deserved. The duo of Clef and Bandana hit the listener with a pop-rock number that has shades of Maroon 5 all over it and in this Gengetone dominated market the song can only be described as a breath of fresh air.

2. MTOTO WA KIDELTA – WAKHALIF Gengetone is big business, what was once DIY has become the industry’s latest cash cow. While Gengetone is approaching it’s critical mass and waning stars use it to remain relevant its easy to forget how the subgenre came about. Sex, drugs and the enjoyment of youth are the building blocks of Gengetone and Wakhalif have it here in plenty.

3. COLD WEATHER – GUGA We all can relate to the cold weather and the need to have someone warm next to you. This track is taken off Guga’s Kabaridi EP and is a fitting introduction to him as an artist and his style. Also his EP features a very distinct Craig David sample that everyone should enjoy

Xenia Manasseh

4. NIAMBIE – XENIA MANASSEH In what can be described as her coming out single, Xenia delivers a masterpiece. Niambie is both a wonderful song and a statement of intent. Xenia is not here to play, she stuck her foot in the door and with the release of her new EP she is clearly here to stay.

5. BAD THING – LOSTINSAVANNA Bad Thing isn’t the typical Kenyan song, I’ve done blind tests where some people thought it was an artist from the US. Bow aka LOSTIN$AVANNA takes trapsoul and makes something that is undeniably his. It is ironic that the song is called Bad Thing when there is nothing bad about it.

Kaa La Moto

6. MSAFIRI – KAA LA MOTO The fluent kiswahili, the laid back beats and the effortless rhyming ability of Kaa La Moto make this one of the most pleasing rap songs to listen to. While the top of the Kenyan rap scene is dominated by generic one tricks and clowns who revel in their own antics, there is a new class of rappers who are more than ready to take their place, look out for Kaa La Moto.

7. EXPOSURE – STEPH KAPELA No one has ever paid rent using exposure, that’s pretty much what Steph is saying on here. Also he’s reminding everyone of that he still got the sauce and that he’s only getting better with time. Exposure is the crown jewel of the Free Steph EP and one of the most underrated songs to come out this year.

SINGLE REVIEW: MIMI BY VERA SIDIKA

Are you a rich and/or famous person? Is your wealth acquired through dubious/unclear means? Are you constantly in the search for clout and attention? Do you possess zero musical talent or skill and will make no effort to learn? If you answered yes to any of these questions then I have good news for you. You are the perfect candidate to intrude yourself into the music industry and take away from deserving artists.

Vera Sidika’s new single is in essence an advertisement of sorts. A PSA first then a song second. She’s using it to flaunt the fact that she is now dark-skinned again after years of being light-skinned after bleaching her skin. That’s literally the purpose of the song, another pillar in the empire created by her fat ass. More power to her though, in these tough times anyone who can monetize a body part and create a brand around is clearly doing something right.

Under all the skin talk there is a song to be examined. Vera follows the socialite handbook perfectly here, as she has reached the point where she tries to break into the music industry. After all the mother of all socialites, Paris Hilton, has a whole album and her successor, Kim K, has this. Anyway I don’t want to pull any punches, this song is horrible. It’s an overproduced track with unnecessary instruments popping up while Vera’s voice is one that, even with the magic of auto-tune, struggles to keep up with even the most average of vocalists. The less said the better. It’s just not good or even average.

None of this matters though. Vera isn’t a musician, she’s a brand. Anything that will broaden the reach of her brand is good for her in the long run and with her previous single breaking one million views there is reason to believe that this is the best way to further her reach. She’s building on the platform created by Akothee, viewing music as a platform to reach an even wider audience and not as an artform that deserves to be respected.

SHOULD YOU LISTEN TO THIS: NO

ETHIC, SAUTI SOL AND GENERATION SHIFTS

I loved watching The Simpsons on KTN when I was a kid, I used to look forward to it actually. Now I’m older and I have every season of The Simpsons that actually matter (I don’t much like anything past season 13) on my hard drive. There’s a scene in one of the episodes in season 7 where Abe tells teenage Homer and Barney that one day they’ll stop being cool, it happened to him and it’ll happen to them too (This scene). It’s kind of funny how eerily accurate Abe Simpson was

I joined social media in 2009, I created a Facebook account using my aunt’s Nokia so I could catch up with my highschool friends during the holidays. I don’t have that account anymore, with my time being spent on Instagram, Twitter and mainly Reddit. In comparison my sister, who is around the same age I was in 2009, has no Facebook or Twitter account, and primarily spends her time lurking on Instagram or Snapchat and on Whatsapp. Our gap in age is mirrored in how we go through the experience of the internet in wildly different ways. The internet no longer belongs to us, it belongs to the billions of kids making those Tiktok videos that you find absolutely cringe inducing.

All this wraps around to the recent discussion on Twitter about Ethic being better than Sauti Sol. The basis of that discussion isn’t important but what matters more is who really decides the final verdict. If you’ve been on Kenyan Twitter long enough then you clearly know that Sauti Sol are placed on a pedestal on there. They are revered as standing on top of the mountain that is Kenyan music, head and shoulders above everyone else. Ever since Camp Mulla broke up they have been the face of Kenyan music and every release they drop is always well received despite the fact that they haven’t done anything interesting since 2016.

But times, as they usually do, change. Your little cousin who was in Class 3 in 2009 is now fresh out of high school, waiting to join campus, with an android phone that has a cracked screen and has dreams of becoming a superstar after watching Ethic blow up after being in the same exact scenario. You,on the other hand are now 29, ten years removed from your campus shenanigans, now settled with a family and your tweets have gone from #turnup to talking about investment opportunities. To you Sauti Sol is the soundtrack that played as you transitioned to adulthood, to your little cousin they’re just those guys who have good songs.

Generation shifts always happen. The world has seen a shift from rockabilly to rock to disco to pop to electronic to hip-hop as the dominant genre in music and with each generation comes along another group of superstars and idols that will baffle the previous ones because they can’t relate to the music. This is why radio stations like Classic FM exist. They cater to the people who couldn’t change with the times, the people who have fond memories of dancing to Kool and The Gang in F1, people who don’t understand Lamba Lolo and don’t know why their children are always playing their music.

So are Ethic better than Sauti Sol? The answer is it doesn’t matter if they’re better or not. Sauti Sol have been making music for 12 years now, they’ve had their time but now their run is coming to an end and somebody else is taking their spot. The same thing that they did to Juacali and Nonini is the late 2000’s is the same thing that is happening to them and to the industry at large. All the gatekeepers have been bypassed and the rules of the game have changed. The generational shift has happened and we’re no longer with it. It doesn’t belong to us anymore

P.S.

I highly recommend that you watch The Simpsons, maybe until Season 9. It is an amazing show with some of the best episodes you will ever see.