The Evolution of Kenyan Music: Catherine Omenge’s Take

The Kenyan Music scene has evolved so much in the last decade; from the Kalamashaka of the 90’s to the new age crop of musicians like Eco Didda, Avril, Juliani, Suati soul just to mention a few. It has evolved more so on the gospel scene as so many musicians of last year got fame through gospel music.

Although there is much that can be said about Kenyan music industry form the good the bad and the ugly there is always an upright way of looking of such issues. There are so many things that can build a musician, from collaborations to beefs to anything in between. Many musicians in Kenya for instance rely on Collaborations as we call them to make a name in this industry; for instance the Toklezea hit of 2011 was collaboration between a big name in Abbas Kubaff and a new name Chantelle!! Another is the bigger collaboration between Sauti soul and P-Unit that really shows how different genres can be fused to create a hit!

Collaborations are not the only thing that can make a musician in Kenya but also beef. The one thing that you have to understand about beefs is that most are a fabrication! There is no lost love between musicians involved as the main agenda is to sell their music. The more people know you have a beef the more popular an individual gets and the more music is sold.

Apart from collaborations and beefs there is the aspect of international audience and most Kenyan musicians have not been left behind. There have been so many collaborations especially in the East African Block and also further abroad with Amani doing collaboration with other acclaimed musicians in Africa as a result of the R. Kelly Productions.

Generally the Kenyan music scene has grown. There is much that people can look forward to from their celebrities as the time for one hit wonders have gone to the dust as the more songs the better chances for survival in the industry. Music in Kenya has now become a career for many people a thing that was not possible in the 1990’s. But hey better watch out for the gospel music scene as I bet more is yet to come from them this year.