Hip-hop freshmen

By Kevin Oguko and Sheila Kimani

Nokia Don’t break the beat Champion, Xcalibur [Photo: Standard]

With the national anthem bumping through the enormous speakers on the podium, Nokia’s Angela Githuthu tightly embraced XCalibur Shahidi shortly after handing him a dummy cheque of Sh250,000.

The mammoth crowd of hip-hop lovers at the Ichonic Club on Ngong Racecourse went into deafening screams and applause.
Decked out in a white T-shirt bearing an artwork of his image in front, the 23-year-old was all smiles as he was crowned the Nokia Don’t Break the Beat winner — after a two-month long battle behind the microphone.

And for the first time, he was lost for words. Meanwhile the first runner-up, Njama from Tanzania, and second runner-up, Kevin Ojiji from Kenya, put on brave smiles while holding their Sh75,000 and Sh25,000 dummy cheques, respectively — a fair consolation, if ever there was one for losing a rap battle.

The crowning of the best freestyler in the first ever East Africa rap battle saw Pulsers treated to creative rhymes, rib cracking narrative and killer punch lines while hip-hop tracks from the golden era of rap kept flowing from the decks courtesy of DJ Joe and Crème — in between the battles.

For any hip-hop head out there, this was nirvana; the contrast between Uganda’s contestants’ witty English bars, Tanzania’s fluent Swahili and XCalibur holding it down for Kenya, whose punch lines landed the knockout.

Tanzania’s Best Friends street dancers had ushered in the night, perhaps emphasising the relationship between dance battles and rap battles. But the night belonged to those with the mic and Octopizzo, with Point Blank as the hype man, took the house down.

“My English might be broken but my pocket is not.” This phrase from Octopizzo was followed by similarly not so creative bars of an English song. Luckily Point Blank was there to save the day rhyming on the Niggas in Paris beat by Jay Z and Kanye West.
On the contrary, Keko thrilled the crowd with her fast English rap style while STL’s performance remained above par. The night came down with STL getting a birthday cake.

Back to the present: who would take the cake for Kenya’s hip-hop freshmen?

The genre has experienced tremendous change both locally and abroad, disseminating from its roots in the South Bronx streets of New York to virtually every corner of the world.

Whereas local rappers now seem to realise they are a brand, not just artistes — after all hip-hop is a culture, not just music — which is something Run DMC learnt more than two decades ago when they were decked by the global apparel, Adidas.

Notably the content of rap music has shifted from the conscious ghetto life story of Kalamashaka’s Tafsiri Hii to a flashy new showbiz lifestyle. Though competitive, with battles being its very lifeline and beef its mainstay, hip-hop long moved from the mean streets to corporate offices, minting several dollar-multimillionaires on the backs of its tracks.
In this mix of remaining loyal to the past while staying true to the present, Pulse looks at Kenya’s hip-hop freshmen. 

Octopizzo — The colourful
His skillful word play rapping style is as unique as his love of loud colours. But his undisguised distaste for Abbas and constant hitting at the local icon made him a favourite with the mainstream media.

After his On Top hit, he switched from selling his mixtape CDs — from his jeans back pocket during Wapi events at the Sarakasi Dome — to headlining major concerts across the country.

His conspicuousness and notable business acumen made him a favourite with many promoters.

Xtatic — The two-faced     beauty
Going down in hip-hop’s books as the rapper who made history with an unfinished two-minute video is 21-year-old Xtatic. The Pep Track music video release opened doors for the young rapper.

Proving she can make it with the big boys, she pulls off the hoody and baggy jeans tomboy look just as easily as she pulls off the classy chic look complete with a sweet staring baby face. Her rhyming game is at par, spitting bars articulately in a husky commanding voice.

Muthoni DQ — Queen of versatile
The Miss Boss lady has quite a few talents up her sleeves besides the obvious one — of distinct taste in choosing hairdressers.
In the video Feelin’ It, Muthoni fuses fast rhyming — first eminently evident in her collabo with Octopizzo — to make a statement, that she can rap too.

Keko — Outshining rhymer
She only had one chance. She outshined the biggest names in Uganda in a charity collabo single, making her a household name.

Her ‘mad’ rapping skills brings out Uganda’s finest with English slang and excellent track selection that one could want to dance to. Not even Madtraxx’s slow rap slowed down the tempo on her hit single Make You Dance that made him the rapper to watch in Kenya.

Khaligraph — Baba yao
Making his debut in showbiz through Pulse’s triple challenge Celeb vs Celeb, the talented rapper and freestyle rapper from Dandora squashed Abbas and Octopizzo beefing heads with no kind words to either of them.
The rapper’s skills stood out in the People’s Choice cypher highly accredited as an attack to Camp Mulla’s 254-low cyphers that were hugely popular.

Coola Gang — Diversity
Making a name for themselves in the cyphers, the five-boy-band are a pack of hungry wolves with different howls. Each member having a distinct rapping flow, they are tthis year’s definition of the 1990s Ukoo Flani.

Rabbit — The Poetic king
Complete with the symbolic white prayer hat, Rabbit redefines poetic hip-hop in his hit singles. From the Dodoma hit to the most recent Swahili Shakespeare, he carefully lays bars that make one sit back and reflect.
Careful not to be predictable, he combines it with seasonal hits such as Mtu Hivi Hivi and Staki Kukuona; all making him an all-round rapper.

Camp Mulla — Swag?
Stepping in the limelight when mainstream rappers were shy to spit all-English verses is this group composed of three guys and one adorable lady with sparkling eyes full of mystery.

With easy-on-the-eye high budget videos, effortless swag and lovable hooks, they took the industry by storm under their 254-low logo. The BET nomination forced everyone’s attention, with corporates lining up their moolah for a piece of the Mulla magic. And now, they are lined up for the Channel O Video Awards.