African Month: Celebrate Your Cultures with The Best of Mugithi, Ohangla,Kamba and Kalenjin Top Mixes

[Image Source: Instagram]

Writer:Branice Nafula

Download FREE DJ Mixes on Mdundo

As we celebrate African Month this May, we are using this opportunity to enjoy good music that embodies the various cultures across Africa. In each country, we have different cultures and music that is appreciated as a universal language we start off with some of the best hyperlocal hits from Kenya.

Mugithi

Mugithi music is a type of Kenyan music created by the Kikuyu people but liked by other ethnic groups in Kenya and non-Kenyans living in countries with a substantial Kenyan diaspora, such as the United Kingdom.
It is usually performed by a solo singer with guitar accompaniment -either acoustic or usually quite highly pitched electric guitars. The Gikuyu language is used to sing all of the songs.
The music covers a wide range of topics and includes many social and political commentary.

The singers are notable for adopting the manner of Country music artists who influenced the genre's development in prior decades. Salim junior, Samido, Jose Gatutura, and DeMathew for example, have become household names.

Kamba 

Stream and download amazing hits from the Kamba community from Kenya. This is music that also carries the days with lots of instrumentation and high speed. The beauty of this music is that it can be played at many events including clubs, weddings and shows. The artists just like the Kikuyu music stars also own their style of music and have since been embraced by a very big audience. In this mix get to enjoy hits from Kativui, Alex Kasau Katombi among others.

Luo- Ohangla

The Luo community has traditional music called Ohangla. As part of Tero Buru, it was used to celebrate marriages as well as funerals. More than 8 drums are hammered with a stick, and a cylindrical shoulder slung drum is played to the accompaniment of flute, Nyatiti, or kinanda. With time the music evolved to the new entrants in the music scene including Prince Indah, Freddy Jakadongo, and Elisha Toto among others having to keep the tradition with bits of new-age vibes.

The Ohangla music artists have since infiltrated the contemporary music scene in Kenya and are largely celebrated for their good music. In this mix get to download and enjoy hits from the mentioned artists at your convenience.

Kalenjin  

From the Rift Valley region, we get to enjoy celebratory music from the Kalenjin community. This music contains themes around marriages and other passage rights. Today artists like Emmy Kosgey are celebrated for having put the Kalenjin music on the world map with her gospel songs. In this mix get to appreciate various Kalenjin artists including, Sweetstar, Kapkoma, Olessoss Melodies among others.