Two Excerpts Of Online Articles About Kenya's Gengetone Music

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents excerpts from two online articles about Kenya's Gengetone music genre.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural and historical purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to  Barbara Wanjala and thanks to Elizabeth Musyimi, the authors of these articles and thanks to these articles' publishers.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/08/comments-about-kenyas-genge-music.html for an August 2020 pancocojams post entitled "Comments About Kenya's Genge Music & Gengetone Music Genres (From A July 27, 2020 That Fire LA Reaction Discussion Thread)"

****
EXCERPT #1: 

from https://www.themantle.com/arts-and-culture/play-i-some-music-gengetone-music "PLAY I SOME MUSIC, THIS GENGETONE MUSIC: An examination of Gengetone and the future of Kenyan music By Barbara Wanjala 

Note: No date was cited for this article. However, the article includes references to 2019.
I retrieved this article on July 20, 2020.

"A new musical wave, dubbed Gengetone, has been gaining momentum and shifting the tides for Kenyan audiences. Young MCs, each with a signature flow, deliver rhymes in sheng – a mix of English, Kiswahili and other Kenyan languages – over pulsating electronic beats. The typical hit is a synthesis of Kenyan-style dancehall and rap, an amalgam born of Jamaican and American influences. The eminently danceable hits feature clever and often risqué wordplay and catchy hooks. The accompanying music videos display vigorous unabashed twerking.

Rife with controversy, the new wave has been lauded by its enthusiastic supporters as the future of Kenyan music, while others have forecast its imminent death amid copyright issues and calls for song restrictions.

New Wave and New Hits

Gengetone is perhaps the most significant development in Kenyan music in years.

[…]

Cashney Mathu, frontman of the group Sheddy Empire, talked about riding the Gengetone wave. “People used to complain that Kenya doesn’t have a sound, that we copy others. Gengetone is feel-good music. It has the appeal of dancehall and it talks about mambo ya mtaa – things of the ‘hood’. It is our own. That is why it has caught people's attention,” he said. Prior to Gengetone, the group made Trap music. “The market is what determines the kind of music that we make which is why we switched,” he added.

 […]

Other observers of the new wave phenomenon have referred to it as Odi Pop. Odi means ordinary in sheng, referring to the common mwananchi, or citizen. According to Mumbua Nzula Nyoka for KBC, the style originated from the Nairobi neighborhoods of Kayole, Umoja, Dagoretti, Rongai, and Dandora and was an underground genre before being brought into the mainstream with Collo's 2016 hit “Bazokizo.”

Earlier in the year, mainstream media was criticized for failing to promote local talent. Sounds from Nigeria, Tanzania, and further afield dominated the airwaves, leading to the hashtags #playkenyanmusic and #playkemusic. Kenyan artists were accused by local audiences of producing mediocre music in comparison to their counterparts from other parts of the continent. Gengetone is believed by some to have risen as a response to this criticism.

[…]

Controversy and Exposure

The male-dominated new wave has been criticized for its explicit content. Those opposed to it say some of the song lyrics promote violence and misogyny, and that the videos promote the sexual objectification of women.

There was public outcry over Sheddy Empire’s song “Pigwa Shoka” which led to their music being taken down from YouTube. The video was released around the same time a university student was hacked to death with an axe. The group issued an apology. According to Mathu, the sheng lyrics were misunderstood, leading to the banned song’s message being misconstrued as being about femicide.

Ethic Entertainment’s latest song, “Tarimbo” has also stirred controversy for its lyrics which have been condemned for encouraging rape.

[…]

The Kenya Film Classification Board Chief Executive Ezekiel Mutua called for Ethic Entertainment’s arrest for going beyond the prescribed delimitations on freedom of expression by advocating for violence against women. The group issued an apology via Twitter …

Fans argue that “msanii ni kioo cha jamii" -- the artists’ music is simply mirroring society. The controversial songs have millions of YouTube views, and even after official videos being taken down, fans continue to make their own versions.

The Contemporary Sound Landscape

What is it about the new wave that has grabbed the nation’s attention?

Kenyans didn’t have a sound they could relate to,” said Mbugua. “Also, Kenyans love our songs because as soon as you hear an Ethic song you want to have fun and Kenyans love having fun. Ethic’s art is raw. It stems from the environment around, from what we see in society.”

According to avid hip-hop consumer and critic Richard Oduor Oduku, early Kenyan underground hip-hop from the early 1990s to early 2000s.

[…]

Since then, Kenyan artists have been experimenting to see what will capture the youth. The contemporary sound landscape runs the whole gamut, from songs that speak about debauchery to conscious lyricists rapping with conviction. Other artists straddle both worlds, producing output that has commercial appeal as well as tracks that are socially responsible.

[…]

When I spoke to Oduku, he emphasized that what matters is authenticity. “To what extent can you be differentiated from the next artist? The reason why Zzero Ssufuri and Ethic are up there is because they are fresh and authentic.” In an article on Kenyan hip hop, he writes that style is the soundscape through which the geyser of content can be channelled. If stylistic inventiveness is what wins.” the contest for Kenyan ears, then it appears that the future belongs to the audacious.”

****
EXCERPT #2
From https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/word-is/2020-01-02-the-rise-of-gengetone/ "Here To Stay? The Rise Of Gengetone ...Some critics say genre may fizzle out"
by Elizabeth Musyimi, January 1, 2020

"Gengetone is the new music genre that almost everyone is jamming to. In 2019, this genre rose to become Kenya’s newest love in the music industry.

But how and where did it come from?

It started when #PlayKeMusic trended, with deejays and media houses accused of playing Nigeria’s Afro-beat and Tanzania’s Bongo Flava instead of Kenyan music.

Then Gengetone was birthed and, it would seem, Kenyans have consumed more of their own music in 2019 compared to the past few years.

And, there have been fewer complaints from Kenyan artists and fans about the music played in local media.

Gengetone has, however, generated a lot of controversy because of its vulgar language, with critics saying it is encouraging immorality.

Critics have also pointed that the genre may fizzle out if the artists keep serving fans the same theme.

But some fans disagree, saying Gengetone has revolutionised the Kenyan music industry.

The genre, characterised by fast-paced beats, has spread its roots to gospel music.”
-snip-

This article continues with profiles -including song titles= of the following artists."

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.