Genge to Gengetone: The Long Search for Kenya's Music Identity

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By Brian Sikulu

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The music industry is one of the pillars of the economy of a country. As such, a lot of investment is made to not only brand the industry but also maximize its productivity. One of the main areas of focus when it comes to branding the industry is identity. The music identity of a country defines its genre, content, and uniqueness. For instance, Tanzania is identified for the bongo genre which is mostly associated with love songs. South Africa is identified for the amapiano genre which is mostly associated with party songs. Nigeria, on the other hand, is known for its Afro-beat songs.

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Kenya has not been left behind in acquiring its music identity. The search for Kenya's music identity has been long; in the process, the evolution of different genres from one generation to another has been witnessed.

Read Also: How 'Siskii' Hit maker Mejja Rose to Become King of Genge Music

The rise of genge

Genge is a genre of hip-hop music that is characterized by the use of the Sheng' language. It came into existence in the early 2000s when the Kenyan music industry was at its peak. At the time, Kenya had not identified herself with a specific genre. Several genres were in existence at the time, namely; kapuka, gemba, and boomba music. There was, however, the need to have one common genre for Kenyan music.

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Kenyan music producer Clemo who is the founder of Calif Records, which was one of the most popular record labels in the country, came up with the term 'genge'. Other record labels that were equally doing well in the Kenyan music scene were Ogapa Deejays and Homeboyz Production. Various artists under Calif Records including Nonini and Jua Cali popularized the term and within no time, it stuck as a genre that described Kenyan urban music.

Jua Cali released a song dubbed 'Ngeli Ni Ya Genge'. The song went viral and gave genge gravity as a genre. Jua Cali added other hits under the genre including; 'Nipe Asali', 'Ruka', 'Bidii Yangu', 'Kwaheri' Ft Sanaipei Tande, 'Kiasi', 'Bongo La Biashara' Ft Mejja among many others. Nonini also released Genge hits including; 'Manzi Wa Nairobi' which went extremely viral, 'Furahiday' Ft Nameless, 'Keroro', 'Kadhaa', 'Mtoto mzuri Remix' Ft Bobby Mapesa, 'We Kamu' among many others.

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In this respect, Nonini and Jua Cali are mostly described as the godfathers of genge. Other musicians adapted to the genge and made it even more popular. Some of the top artists who won’t miss a chapter in the book of genge include; E-Sir, Mejja, Nameless, P-Unit, PiliPili, and many others.

Existence of other genres

Although genge may have won the hearts of many and emerged as the ultimate identity of Kenyan music, other genres were equally welcomed by the fans. One such genre was Chipuka which was popularized by celebrated musician Kenrazy who was famed for his hit song 'Tichi'. Chipuka, however, did not, stand the test of time.

How genge faded away from Kenyan music scene

The disappearance of the genge artists from the music scene weakened genge genre. As the veteran musicians silently retired, there was almost no one left to keep the genre alive.  The few artists who were still active tried maintaining genge’s relevance, but they hit the wall. At some point, West African and Tanzanian music flooded the Kenyan music scene, creating a huge debate dubbed Play Kenyan music #PlayKE.

The rise of gengetone

With majority of genge artists having retired, Kenya momentarily lacked a music identity. The activity and vibrance of the Kenyan music industry went down for a while. In 2018, a musical group from Umoja called Ethic Entertainment attracted the attention of the country with their controversial yet exciting song dubbed 'Lamba Lolo'. The song went viral and revived the music scene. Ethic Entertainment consists of Swat, Rekles, Zilla, and Seska.

'Lamba Lolo' earned an impressive 4 million views within a short time on YouTube. Having turned the eyes of the whole country to themselves, Ethic had to work hard to maintain their relevance, they soon followed up their hit song with other hits such as; 'Position' ft The Kansoul, 'Tarimbo', 'Instagram', 'Pandana', 'Daktari' and many others. Around the same time, other boy bands rose to the limelight under the same genre.

Bands such as; Boondocks Gang, Ochungulo Family, Sailors Gang, Wakali Wao, Angry Panda, Wakadinali, Vintage Clan, and Rico Gang took over the industry. It was no doubt that it was a new dawn for the Kenyan music industry. The new genre related with the new generation although it borrowed a lot from the traditional genge music. Both genres, for instance, were characterized by rapping conversationally. It is at this point that genge was baptized in gengetone.

Although the baptism generated a lot of debate from various stakeholders in the music industry, one thing stood out, the force of gengetone was unstoppable. In 2019, gengetone attracted the attention of the whole world when 'Wamlambez' from Sailors went viral. The song got people beyond the borders dancing to it. Although the song attracted controversy and resistance from the then KFCB boss Dr. Ezekiel Mutua, its success was immense. Production of other Gengetone songs such as; 'Kidole' from Boondocks Gang, 'Krimino' from Ochunglo Family, 'Pekejeng' from Sailors, and many others cemented the reputation of gengetone.

Hundreds of new artists have since then joined gengetone. Youngsters such as Trio Mio, Mbuzi Gang who are known for their viral 'Shamra Shamra' song, and boy band Matata have strengthened gengetone with several hit songs. Veteran musicians such as Nameless, Mejja, Wyre and Jua Cali have also blessed gengetone and embraced it. They have teamed up with the new gengetone artists to produce songs such as 'Bandana Ya E-Sir'.

One trait about gengetone groups that has made them even more successful is the freedom of members to work independently. For instance, Exray who is a member of Boondocks Gang has worked on solo projects like 'Sipangwingwi' that have turned out to be successful. Exray also recently announced that he has upcoming projects with Nigerian superstars Simi and Mr. Eazi.