Reggae music by most Kenyan artists is mainly a fusion of Jamaican reggae and local styles that incorporate benga music and other genres popular in Kenya like hip hop. There's however, artists who have embraced the genre staying true to its Jamaican roots like Lavosti, Shamir & Cathy Matete.
In Kenya, reggae music is accessed through radio stations, night clubs, privately owned minibuses commonly known as matatus, private CD collections, unlicensed CD compilations, shared MP3 collections, YouTube, and other websites.
Reggae music has had a significant influence on the entertainment, culture, craft occupations and development of Sheng slang in Kenya. Reggae music in Kenya is viewed as a powerful agent of both positive and negative social changes such as calls for freedom, tolerance, unity and the drugs subculture.
History
While reggae music had already made its way in Kenya by the late 1970s, it was not until the early 1990s that local radio stations and television began making shows and programmes solely for reggae music despite it being formally banned on the Voice of Kenya, then the sole national broadcaster owned and controlled by the State. Reggae groups and artists like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Don Carlos, Burning Spear, Wailing Souls and Peter Tosh were the most loved and had a profound impact that went on to shape most of the local artists, reggae shows and even the development of culture and entertainment in Kenya. A number of nightclubs, themed with reggae music burgeoned up and down Nairobi city, most notably; Monte Carlo night club on Accra Road, Shashamane International and Hollywood club.
Kenyan reggae DJs Reggae Sounds, derived from Jamaican sound system is a term use to describe a group of reggae Disk jockeys in Kenya who provide entertainment mainly by hosting reggae related events and shows, first gained popularity in the 1990s with notable groups such as Omega Sounds, King Lions Sounds, Livity Sounds, Jahmbo Sounds, King Jahmbo Sounds and Shashamane Intl being among the first to be formed. These groups assisted most reggae djs in their careers, a notable example is a more recent group called Dohty Family Sounds, founded by Chris Odhiambo popularly known as DJ Kriss Darling.
Other reggae sounds that emerged in recent years include; Rastyle Sounds (Formerly Firehouse Sounds) Mau Mau Sounds, Supremacy Sounds (formerly Black Supremacy Sounds), Rebel Liberation Sounds, Trench Town Entertainment Jahfulnoize Intl, Shanachie Sounds, One Vibe Entertainment, Dynamic Spellbound Sounds, Big Ship Sounds and FieldMarshall Entertainment.
Kenyan Djs have also helped in pioneering reggae music in the country with Legendary Jah'key Malle, the late Papa Lefty, Papa Charlie, Papa nasty (Radio Citizen FM), Selector King Monday (deceased), King Tubbs, Prince Otach (UK), Papa Bingi (based in USA), DJ Ras JahKim, Selector FieldMarshall, Dj lastborn ((deceased) One and Junior Dread being one of the earliest pioneers.
Other Djs who have recently been championing reggae music include; Zj Heno, Selector Denoh, DJ Stevo Junior, Dj Mohwak, Dj Tsunami, Deejay Stitchy, Selector King Rebel (Peter Kamau Waithera) DJ Stichie, Talia Oyando, G. Money, Kriss Darling (Christone Odhiambo, Muzikal Sheriff, DJ Rytrap, Dj robah, Dj mahgoz, Dj natty bwoy, Dj mantell, selekta willie and Dj Chara.
Reggae on Kenyan radio
Reggae and the associated Jamaican culture became so popular in Kenya that in the early 1990s, the government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation KBC radio station launched the program Reggae Times for reggae fans who tuned to the English service on Tuesday mornings. The show was presented by veteran reggae disk jockey, Jeff Mwangemi.
In August 2005, Metro FM, a subsidiary of the government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), became an exclusive 24-hour reggae station whose slogan was House of Reggae. Four years later after its launch on 30 January 2009, Metro FM hosted the first Ever Radio Sound Clash in Kenya Between Rebel Liberation Sounds from Githurai 45 Vs Existenz Sounds from Jericho and also in Africa. It was hosted By Dj Stano and Njambi Koikai. Later on in 2011, Metro FM switched from reggae and became Venus FM, a station that mainly focused on women, this left many Kenyan reggae fans disappointed, however, this did not help with the struggling status of metro FM even after rebranding itself, and in the same year the radio station went completely off-air.
The gap left by Metro FM was soon filled by Ghetto Radio, a sheng speaking radio station claiming to be the voice of the youth in the Kenyan Ghettos. James Kang'ethe, popularly known as 'Bonoko' alongside 'Ambuside' who is currently a radio presenter at Radio Jambo worked together on the show in its early years.
Drop Zone Assembly, a reggae show hosted on Hot 96 is among many of the recent radio shows at the forefront of championing reggae music in Kenya. Drop Zone is hosted by Rapcha the Sayantist.
Rise of dancehall reggae in Kenya
Up until the late 1990s, reggae in Kenya was known as the poor man's music, its popularity, however, caught the attention of the emerging FM radio stations and in order to deal with the perception that reggae music was odious and only belonged to the underprivileged members of the community and also to attract listeners who could generate advertising revenue, the new FM radio stations concentrated on the emerging Dancehall brand of reggae.
Dancehall reggae had softer and simpler beats than roots or ragga and it rarely projected the Rastafarian culture, anti-colonialism or African emancipation, but rather it mostly focused on love songs in an urban setting with extensive use of Jamaican Patois. Some Kenyan fans of roots reggae expressed disappointment with the emergence of Dancehall reggae. The criticism was mostly based on lack of a communal African agenda within dancehall reggae and the watering down of reggae into mere expressions of bodily desire and materialism. This brought together reggae artists and groups like Badman collage, Stephantom Wargamble and Daddy poa who recorded single tracks on dancehall reggae songs that were unprejudiced, tracks like "Wacha Icheze"(let the music play) which became an instant hit in the clubs and radio stations, this wave introduced another form of music distribution where most local reggae artists felt they didn't get enough air play on the station and street mixtapes were born.
Reggae on Kenyan TV
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation hosted the first reggae show on Kenyan TV, the show, Music Time was hosted by Fred Obachi Machoka, a veteran journalist and radio presenter, however, the cost of purchasing a television set was too high at the time for most fans and this was only perhaps a leisure only afforded to the privileged members of the society. Reggae artist's featured at that time included Shabba Ranks, Yellowman, Ras Kimono and the popular English reggae and pop band UB40.
Around 1992, Kenya Television Network launched the program Rastrut, a thirty-minute show dedicated to reggae music and hosted by Jimmy Gathu, a top media personality in Kenya. The free to air Kenyan Television Network KTN continues to be the only Kenyan television station that has ever had a show dedicated to reggae and specifically associated it with the religious and cultural ideas of the Rastafarian movement. This is seen in the choice of the name Rastrut and the use of the characteristic Green-Yellow-Red as the background colours of the show.
After the digital television transition in 2013, the number of TV stations hosting reggae shows rose steadily, most notably Island vibes on Y254TV (a channel owned by KBC and launched on 6 February 2017) hosted by Stephantom Wargamble and Mc scertchie, the show revolves around discussions on the most pressing topics of society and things that affects the life of the Kenyan youth. The station also links local artists to producers and supports underground reggae artist. Kenyatta University's Television (KUTV) also hosts a roots reggae music show called Reggae Iration. The show has various segments namely: Inner Mi yard, Wisdom knowledge and overstanding, Artiste of the day, Live interviews and updates on the latest news in the reggae world.
Citizen TV has had one of the longest running shows on Kenyan TV, the One Love show that is hosted by Dominic Kariuki Ngori popularly known as Coco Soboo and Tallia Oyando.
Past reggae events in Kenya
Over the years, many top reggae artists have visited Kenya and hosted their shows in the country's big cities like Nairobi and Mombasa. Among them were Lucky Dube, Gregory Isaacs, Joseph Hill, Buju Banton and Tarrus Riley. The most notable event, however, was the Lucky Dube show that took place at Ngong Racecourse on 4 December 1998, dubbed the most spectacular music event ever staged in Kenya, it included other notable reggae artists like Levi Roots, Johnny Clark, and Jah Shakah. According to a journalist at nation media, 'Lucky Dube gave-it-all stage gymnastics, and belting out melodies in three octaves to send the crowd into a stampede that had bouncers called in'. The show was sponsored by the East African Breweries. On 20 October 2018 Tarrus Riley and Everton Blender hosted an anticipated reggae show at KICC, other reggae artists have also performed at KICC most notably, Chronixx in 2013 and 21 July 2018 and Buju Banton on 15 February 2020. Other reggae events hosted in Kenya include International Reggae Day hosted on 1 July 2018.
Reggae MCs
Kenyan reggae MCs, like Jamaican deejays, chant, make statements (however unorthodox) and act as conventional hosts to jam sessions, raves, local and international reggae events in Kenya. Along with reggae DJs (also known as selectors), reggae MCs in Kenya host events where they play a compilation of songs (mostly reggae and dancehall music) which is later compiled, distributed and sold to clubs, matatus, resellers and individuals. Kenyan reggae MCs mostly sing along or chant over a rhythm or song while engaging a crowd. Most notable Kenyan MCs include; Mc Fullstop (deceased), Ras Burner, Mc Supa marcus, Mc Daddy Konia (deceased), Njambi Koikai, MC Jahwatchy, Mc Teargas, Mc Stephantom Wargamble, Mc Ghettochild, Mc CureZediambo and Mc Kadamawe, Mc Smarter Upscale Clan (Dj Mullaz & Mc Dido) .
Themes of Kenyan reggae songs
criticism to political systems and social injustice
love, humanity, intimacy and relationships advocacy for social reformation and behavioral change anti colonialism and anti racism.
Reggae influence on Kenyan gospel music
Kenyan gospel music producers often overlay conventional Swahili singing on reggae styled tracks and this partly obscures the reggae nature of the drum beats, guitar chops and bass-guitars in the songs. Consequently, only a few listeners would identify such songs as reggae especially when the singers are not Rastafarians or lack Jamaican patois. Such Kenyan gospel songs include; Damu Ya Yesu and Yesu Wangu na Mpenda by Mary Atieno Ominde, Mbingu Zahubiri by Paul Kigame and Waraka wa Hamani by Bahati Bukuku. The nature of the rhythms among these songs strongly suggest the hidden correlation with reggae music.
Between 1997 and 2002, the US-based Christian Reggae group Christafari enjoyed notable popularity in Kenya through KTN, Family FM (now Radio 316) and Tune in Music Stores. During one of their visits to Kenya, they witnessed the tragic state of the Kibera slums in the capital city of Nairobi and composed the song Nairobi.Jean Ngoya Kidula: "THERE IS POWER: CONTEMPORIZING OLD MUSIC TRADITIONS FOR NEW GOSPEL AUDIENCES IN KENYA". 8th Edition, Yearbook for Traditional Music 2010
Reggae influence on Kenyan culture