We have listened and sang along to classic ageless music from across the continent that have had a great influence on the kind of music that we listen to now the likes of Sura Yako by Sauti sol and the likes.
Fela Kuti, Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chakachaka, Awilo Longomba, San Fan Thomas among others were only a few of the artists that embraced their culture and spread it passionately through their music
Most times, we did not have the slightest idea what the lyrics meant and we still don’t but we love the songs either way.
Kenyan artists are now more than ever fusing sounds and coming up with interesting pieces of work that just might create the next generation of oldies classic.
It is a trend that has caught the attention of music lovers. Creativity is a gamble, which means that there is going to be music that will be a sad experiment that will be trashed and a few that makes it to the charts.
READ MORE
Mother seeks justice for son lynched by mob
Governor Barasa to commission Butere Level Four Hospital in November
SCHOOLS: Kenyans win some, lose some in Uganda games
SCHOOLS: Butere Girls off to flying start in East Africa regional ties
Bank Otuch – Vicmass Luodollar ft Octopizzo
This song brought Vicmass into the limelight after he featured Octopizzo on the remix. Being one of the chart-topping hits of 2016, ‘Bank Otuch’ has become a common phrase among peers, making the song even more famous.
The trick here being that the two rappers opted to use Luo in their song despite creating it for the larger public that probably do not understand a word.
Vicmass just released a single titled Asante Sana where he also fuses English and Luo, which seems to be the style working for him.
Ensobosobo – Cece Sagini
Cece might be a gentle person which shows in her music too. She is however not one to shy away from experimenting with her voice and melodies.
Ensobosobo is a fusion of Kisii, Swahili and English featuring a traditional Kisii artiste named Nyang’au.
The love song is of the alternative house music genre; it incorporates a traditional Kisii instrument known as Obokano and drums as support of the vernacular well-rhymed and delivered lyrics.
In the video, she also uses a theme that familiarly brings you close to message in the song.
Love you – Elani
The trio are known for their style of music that has always been a blend of more than one sound usually neo-soul and alternative Rn’B.
It does not come as a surprise when they made Love you their new hit. The song is a celebratory of love and the emotional state associated with the completion that comes with finding love.
The dancers, the environment and the instruments are a definite completion of the theme.
Wamiel - Suzanna Owiyo
Suzanna is not a mainstream artiste, though an iconic figure in music. She has survived and surpassed most by just embracing her roots from the get-go.
Festivities do not know tribe or age and that is what is depicted in Wamiel as a song and the video.
Butere – Octopizzo
You might know this as the song that brought controversy when Kevin Provoke was not acknowledged as producer but that is beside the point.
Octopizzo is known to hail from Kisumu but he chose to sing about Butere because he felt like it would be the most neutral standpoint to take when addressing the African culture in Kenyan music videos.
In the video, he also wears the same outfit his father wore two decades ago when taking a family photo when he was a child.
The audio and the video are a break from his usual lyrical prowess and lavish videos repetitively.
