THESE NAIROBI CLUBS HAVE THE BEST DEEJAYS!
After all the furore my earlier article on the best Nairobi clubs raised…
Well, your clubbing connoisseur is back at it again with an unbiased take on the clubs that have the best music mixes ergo the deejays obviously know what they’re doing.
My criterion is pretty simple, if all you play is ragga and dancehall, you won’t make it to the list. Self-same way, if all you do is play “hiphop” a.k.a lil Wayne then you will defoz won’t get on my list. This list is about the deejays that are most responsive to the crowd at the club scene.
I won’t be sold to the school of thought that just because a club isn’t as hype it doesn’t deserve to be on the list. That is the same school of thought that has starved Kenya of some talented underground acts and that reasoning is garbage.
And here’s a disclaimer: if you’re old and should have retired from the rave scene (27-80yrs old!) this list isn’t for your old foggie self. You need to be sippin at some retirement homes such as Sailors! This is a list for the cool kidz!
With that off my chest, let’s get right into it:
Nairobi WestMall: This joint gets favourable mention because the deejay does it all, he is best described by the adjective versatile. From Rhumba to Zouk to hiphop to ragga this guy does it all!
Mollys: This is without a doubt Nairobi’s most banging club but unfortunately they have a tendency to play hiphop sets for abit too long and that gets tedious. But with that said, the deejay does his thing and reps all the other genres and even plays mad local content.
And now we are into the top 5 clubs with the best mixes and deejay sets:
#5 Volar (same venue as Ngong Racecourse Karen)
This guy knows his crowd and knows how to cater to them so well that i oft wonder whether or not he would be able to adapt to playing in another setting. in my opinion his level of specialization is both a pro and a con but as fart as getting the crowd hypw,. this lad knows his stuff! He switches from Kwaito to some soulful Naija to House to HipHop so seamlessly that at times you are well into a new set before you know it! unfortunately, lad doesn’t seem to have alot of local tracks in his repertoire.
#4 Riviera (Kimathi Street opp. KFC):
These guys know how to get the crowd hype! The deejay is adept at reading the audience moods and catering to them. On some nights when the house is so full of sufferers that change is returned in 1shilling coins, the music will be heavy on ragga. When the crowd is abit more upmarket the deejay plays house and hiphop and when the crowd is opld foggies, the deejay throws in a little Souk. Best thing about the club’s resident deejay is that he plays requests! That’s right, that means that you can request a track and he’ll actually play it.
#3 Brew Bistro (Piedmont Plaza)
This lad knows his music to a T! Pulling out mixes that prove both his versatility and his eccentricity. He does his set like a baus! There’s never a dull moment at Brews and if you doubt me then i’m guessing that’s cos your hateful self got frozen! So playahater, don’t hate me because you couldn’t gerrin!
#2 Santa Fe (The Mall)
This lad mixes up a storm! Let me first say that there are two deejays and one is a complete wasteman! The other though? BossCityDJBabu is stellar! He has a gargantuan repertoire of music that he unleashes with exceeding zeal and he obviously enjoys his work and such an aura lends itself to the party atmosphere and he gets everyone dancing! Lad unleashes locals and blends them with ragga then gets some house in the mix and you’d have to be a retiree (27-80yrs) not to get onto your feet!
This lad is mad responsive to requests -when they are sensible- and he owns them when he lets them check in to the mix such that they sound like they were already part of the mix. That loosely translates to his mix being LIVE! He doesn’t do that “kareke” “kama ina bamba sana’ pre-recorded regurgitate!
#1 Bacchus Lounge (Electric Ave. Westlands)
First let me start by saying that the deejay here is an alluring lass1 That’s right, Bacchus has a female DJ who knows how to keep the crowd on there feet. Maybe it’s because she’s female or maybe it’s because she na omaricha (gorgeous) or maybe it’s because she puts alot of the sons of Adam to shame but this daughter of Eve gets the crown. She kept the party going till way past the witching hour and well into the morning! Kept me dancing even though i was as sloshed as a alcohol in a bottle getting whirled. And on this one, the proof is in the pudding, you should swing by on Saturday and check out the scene for yeself!
