Passing the Dutchie in Lukenya Hills
It is a Friday afternoon and we are parking our bags on the roof rack of a tour bus outside The Heron Hotel in Milimani, preparing to go spend the weekend in the bush like proper tourists sans the ‘Hakuna Matata’ t-shirts and tan Safari boots. I am excited because we are leaving the city […]
Leaving Binyavanga in Lamu to Go Drink Busaa in Eregi
We had been booked in Lamu for the entire Christmas period, after which we would be flown back to Nairobi. But what the Kwani? guys forgot was that they were dealing with a Luhyia man, who gets an irrepressible urge to travel back to his tribal land to be with his people at Christmas time, to eat ugali and chicken cooked in a pot the traditional way, and thereafter pay a visit to the drinking dens in Shichiko village in Eregi to catch up with his kinsmen over a pot of traditional busaa beer after a year of being away in what my people call iruguru (literally, abroad).
Mendelssohn In Nairobi: Diary of a Violinist
It had been about three months since I played in an orchestra.
Beyond Nairobi’s Shadow: Ace Bornzilla’s Vision for Naivasha’s Musical Renaissance
In his Odinare Rap Challenge entry, Naivasha based rapper, Ace Bornzilla, makes a declaration, “Toka Vasho finest hip-hop beat assassin nimesign”, a declaration one might mistake for the usual verbosity hip-hop artists throw around in an attempt to portray a bravado that they might not necessarily possess. In this case however, Bornzilla is not just […]
Leaving Binyavanga to Go Eat Fried Shrimp in Lamu
From the small crowd of writers and literary-types present, we selected ourselves by the eyes without talking, and one by one we slinked off and assembled in the hotel lobby downstairs.
Music Alone Shall Live: On Fela, Bob Marley and Tolkien’s Evangelism
When I was eight years old, I visited my favourite barber Boni’s shop at least once a month. This was the only way I could get the latest issue of Supa Strikaz. Back then, when you could get a clean shave for 20 bob and the blue notes were still in circulation, Boni would buy […]
Clark The Keeng’s Musical Coup D’etat
I like to think of opening acts at music concerts as starter meals. Typically, starters are consumed in anticipation of something else. They are meant to whet your appetite in preparation for the main meal. But what happens when the starter is so good that you want to have more and more of it at […]
The Duality of Wangechi: ‘Emotional Gangster’ Album Review
Since Wangechi stepped into the Kenyan rap scene with her unique flow and energy, and lyrics containing a confessional frankness, she has on occasion been tipped as the artist to challenge the hegemony of male rappers in the industry. Her first two projects, the mixtape Consume: Chakula Ya Soul, and EP Don’t Consume if Seal […]
Remembering Grandmaster Masese, King of the Obokano
I knew Grandmaster Masese well. Not only was he my neighbour at one time, he was also my comrade in arms.
Keeping E-Sir Alive
For a brief moment in 2003, my favourite musician, E-Sir, would come back from the dead. It had been a few months since the news had reached us through the smuggled Palito Scan radio sets we hid from the pervading eyes of the teachers on duty. The news had broken me because I had loved […]
