The 90s are the new cool: Youths embracing culture from the old times

Something special is happening in Nairobi as urban-underground artistes from half a world away sell out shows in the city and the young people attending these events are also displaying out of the norm fashion that is influencing a whole culture on the Internet:

Someone born in 1999 will turn 19 by the end of the year; while a 1990-born is 28 years old. That age gap is the lucrative target market that beverage and telecom firms spend billions of shillings on.

The 1990s brought its own share of fashion, music and pop culture to the mainstream urban lifestyle. Nairobi was no exception.

Usually it is only once in every 30 or so years that style and fashion gets to repeat itself. Generally one gets to see it twice in a lifetime. And with the re-emergence of 1990s fashion back in urban Nairobi, Pulsers in their early 30s and late twenties are getting to see history repeat itself, right in front of their eyes.

Pulsers as young as 16 years old are now the pioneers of the 90s style in Nairobi. While they might have been toddlers, or not even born yet when baggy jeans and colour-blocking clothes were the in-thing, they are the major proponents of 1990s inspired fashion in Nairobi.

They are also some of the biggest consumers of underground music on platforms such as Soundcloud, listening to music produced by personalities with variable to non-existent digital and mainstream profiles.

“To me the ‘Nu Nairobi’ represents a lot of lot cultural, attitude and even infrastructural change in Nairobi or the larger African urban landscape at large. It’s a new energy, a new vibe. Everybody wants to look good and get to choose their outfit for an event like Thrift Social one week in advance,” say Barak Jacuzzi, host of Thrift Social.

Thrift Social Nairobi is just one of the many events in Nairobi with a twist, away from the mainstream music launches or corporate-sponsored events dominated by telecom and beverage firms.

“Your every day concert normally involves a brand sponsorship and a public event based around an established artiste with a brand promotion message tied somewhere in there. These upcoming events are based more around individualistic tastes,” says Barry MO, radio host and singer based in Kenya.

Already in the works is another event promising to be a first in Nairobi, specifically dedicated to the sneaker community; Sneakerness.

Hosted in cities across the world, including Moscow, Paris and Jo-Burg, according to the event’s site Sneakerness captures the essence of the culture of kicks. Promising attendees ‘much more than a shoe’.

“Nairobi has grown in infrastructure as well. Now you have a kid in Buru Buru getting to Westlands under 15 minutes. A big hit in Florida or Jamaica is also a hit the same day in Kenya as well. And they step up to the DJs in club and request these songs,” says Budhaa Blaze, artiste manager with artistes booked for the upcoming Terminal Weekend, which will feature six international artistes and eight local artistes in August.

He adds: “When XXXTentacion died, you could see he had several fans in Kenya. Some Kenyan fans even knew Chronixx existed way before the general Jamaica population. The average Kenyan music lover wouldn’t know half the artistes that perform in events like Thrift Social but the Pulsers love them and sing word for word to Brother Kamau, EA Wave and Oshun’s songs when they perform at these events. And it should have been like this 10 years ago. We are finally catching up to Jo-Burg and the likes.”

The artistes are also surprised to see fans reaction to their music and singing word for word to their lyrics. South Africa’s Nasty C’s reaction to the audience singing to his songs during the Jameson Live concert last December was something to be documented. The event didn’t have much hype on social media when Ty Dolla was announced as performer until Nasty C who is considered less known, was announced as the other performer. Other performers included Khaligraph Jones and the Kansoul. Incidentally, the event was sold out within weeks.

“We were surprised that our single was playing in Nairobi and topping the charts on Kubamba Radio. We didn’t know we had a fan base in Africa. It’s nice to know even a small-time act in the United States can top the charts in Nairobi. You don’t have to be A-List to go global,” says Rob Love, Dee-1’s manager.

Dee-1 is an America gospel rapper whose single has topped a chart in Nairobi. Dee-1’s current single is I don’t wanna let you down. His last album is titled Slingshot David.

As Blaze, real name Moses Mbasu, explains further, the Internet has made all these possible. But what has made the global connection grounded is the urbanising of Nairobi with more middle-class Kenyan choosing to settle in Kenya rather than fly out to the United States of America or other European countries where their families reside or where they got their high school and college education from.

Winning a Green Card was all the fad in the 1990s and one used to know the in-thing in fashion and music from cousins living abroad whenever they visited. Now they get to keep up with the latest trends on the go and check out items on shopping websites for shipping from half the globe away.

Music has evolved from physical CDs to streaming. A Kenyan music lover in the country is a music lover anywhere. The same hype and playlists are consumed internationally.

One might be tempted to think that events such as Thrift Social are primarily for the rich in Nairobi but that was dispelled through the last event where we had more than one demography and social classes.

SoundCloud - The Return of Underground Music

“As a music lover, the thing that attracted me more to Thrift Social was their unusual way of doing things. They made nothing out of something and effortlessly fused fashion and music via the Internet to create an event,” says Barry MO, Kenyan artiste and host of a youth entertainment show on KBC.

He adds: “It is not easy finding alternative music or alternative fashion people. Finding these people and bringing them together to influence a culture is something to sit back and admire.

Barry MO puts it in perspective: “I’m like the only guy in my apartment block that listens to what I listen to, which is alternative music. I still prefer the Weeknd’s jams on Soundcloud before they released a pop album.”

Currently, 26-year-old Barry is Soundcloud-streaming free music from Che Ecru – USA, Odunsi the Engine (Nigeria), Frank Casino (South Africa), Jason Kalinga (Kenya) and Joseph Kiwango (Tanzania). Joseph Kiwango happens to be (Camp Mulla’s) Miss Karun’s baby daddy.

Cutting Across

“The general perception has been that these events are for the upper class but nothing can be further from the truth than this. I was talking to ‘shawty’ and she said they were from Donholm. She was her sister. It is amazing how Instagram has attracted people to such events through photos that express the alternative form of music and fashion,” says Barak Jacuzzi.

He adds: “The guy from uptown might probably order new outfit weeks before the event but the guy from Donholm will get it for cheap too. There’s really no class in looking good and expressing yourself.”