Around 2002/2003, a new wave began to hit Kenya's hiphop scene as more and more artistes emerged. The industry became flooded by artistes who made music that was more commercial and club-oriented just to get airplay and fame. The number of production houses also increased and each developed their own signature style.
Among the popular ones was the Ogopa Deejays stable which had artistes such as E-Sir, Bigpin, Krupt, Kleptomaniacs, Deux Vultures among others. Their style was commonly refered to as 'boomba' or 'kapuka'.
From Carlifornia (Calif) estate, another group emerged with a style that they dubbed as Genge (which meant 'music for the masses'). This was championed by Juacali and Nonini through the Calif Records studio which was run by Clemo.
The two sounds became very popular and were accorded more airplay both on TV and radio. The hiphop artistes began to fall out of favour and as a result most of them fell along the way due to lack of airplay and recognition. A few turned to crime while others ended up doing odd jobs to survive as they could not keep up in the industry.
This era too marked the dawn of beef in Kenyan hiphop. Chiwawa came up with the famous 'War Song' track that dissed various artistes who did kapuka music. Bamboo was also featured and he vented out his frustrations on Samawati studio producers. Others involved were Wodhes, DJ Loop and MC Sharon who took a swipe at the 'fake' female emcees. More beef sessions were to follow later as Bamboo feuded with Prezzo, Chiwawa against Kleptomaniacs, Abbas against Chiwawa and most recently Octopizzo against Khaligraph.
RELATED POSTS:
Kenyan Hiphop History pt 1: The Beginnings
Kenyan Hiphop History pt 2: The Foundation
Kenyan Hiphop History pt 3: The Growth
Kenyan Hiphop History pt 4: The Media Role
Kenyan Hiphop History pt 6: Current State and the Future
No comments:
Post a Comment