It’s a Thankless Job, but it’s One That Needs To Be Done

Imagine where Kenyan music would be if we had a Radio 254 in the early 2000s?

If you ask most people, they will tell you that was the best era in Kenyan music.

Kenyan music has always existed, but it took a long time for it to become popular or mainstream the way it is today. In the mid to late 90s, as a result of developments in technology, we began to see more Kenyans releasing music for radio as veteran producers like Bruce Odhiambo, Tedd Josiah, and Suzzanne Gachukia opened up music studios that catered to what was then the new age of Kenyan artists that pioneered the Kenyan music industry.

At the time, the country had very few radio stations, which meant as a Kenyan artist, you had very limited places where your music would be played. The few radio stations that did play Kenyan music were very selective of whose music they played and often would refuse to play Kenyan music, claiming that it was of poor quality. Despite this, artists like Jua Cali and Nonini, who were then signed to Calif Records, found innovative ways to promote their music outside of radio, which at the time would not play them or give them very little airtime.

When I started making music in 2009, we were in the Nigerian era of Kenyan music. Having seen a market in Kenya, Nigerian artists, with the help of M-TECH and Taurus Music, came to Kenya and invested in radio and events that would help popularize Nigerian music in Kenya. You could not go anywhere in Kenya without hearing Nigerian music during this time. Before the Nigerian era of Kenyan music, Kenya was in the era of Bongo, which saw Tanzanian artists like Mr. Nice and TID, amongst many others, rule the Kenyan airwaves. Before Bongo was the Golden Era of Kenyan music, which many would say happened between the late nineties to early two thousands. The next time Kenyan music took over was in 2010 when the world heard Camp Mulla for the first time, and nothing was the same. Camp Mulla singlehandedly made Kenyan music great again and inspired a generation.

After Camp Mulla exited the scene in 2013, Kenya entered into its South African era, with Afro House, Amapiano, and other South African genres becoming popular in the country. South African music remained dominant in the country until 2020, when Gengetone was born. Gengetone changed Kenyan music forever. Whereas Kenyan music had been captured for so many years, Gengetone brought back or forced the Kenyan audience to start paying attention to Kenyan music again. Unfortunately, the Gengetone era was short-lived, and we are now in the Arbantone Era.

 To give readers a better understanding, below is a timeline of these eras.

1995 – 2002 would be considered the Golden Era

2003 – 2007 would be considered the Bongo Era

2007 – 2010 would be considered the Nigerian Era

2010 – 2013 would be considered the Camp Mulla Era

2013 – 2020 would be considered the South African Era

2020 – 2022 would be considered the Gengetone Era

2022 – current would be considered the Arbantone Era.

Despite Kenya music having different eras, which is not uncommon in music, throughout the different eras of Kenyan music, thousands, if not millions of Kenyan artists have continued to make and release music. Some of the music was influenced by the different eras, but a lot of the music was completely different and unique from what the mainstream was playing. Our playlist at Radio 254 consists of over 4 million different songs and DJ mixes that feature sounds from all of the eras above and even the eras before that that are not mentioned.

Whereas traditional radio has a playlist of songs that they play in rotation, we at Radio 254 have a playlist that is updated daily to include new Kenyan music every day. We don’t care about the genre or the era of music; we just care that the music is Kenyan. We don’t believe in a Kenyan sound; we believe that Kenyan music can sound like anything. It can be rock, it can be gospel, it can be drill, it can be anything so long as it was made by or features a Kenyan.

We believe that if you focus on an era or an artist’s popularity, then you alienate so much amazing Kenyan music out there that would never be played on the radio. It is always humbling when an artist lets us know that Radio 254 was either the first radio station to interview them or play their song. It is the reason we exist, and we love doing it. For so long, Kenyan music has been ignored at home while we embrace music from other countries. Being the first station to play 100% Kenyan music has not been easy. There is a perception by many Kenyans that Kenyan music is not good, but only someone who does not listen to Kenyan music would say that. The truth is that, like everything else in life, there is going to be good and bad. We cannot say that any Kenyan music is bad, but if there is bad Kenyan music out there, it does not outweigh the good Kenyan music that is out there.

Thankfully, in recent years, more Kenyans have come to embrace Kenyan music. Thank you, Gen Z. Despite this, the Kenyan music industry still has a lot of challenges, with the biggest challenge being how artists can make a living from their music and how Kenyan music can get on the global stage. Yes, we have Bien, but we need like 10 Bien’s.

As the only station that plays 100% Kenyan music, all we ask for is for more people across the world to listen to and give Kenyan music a chance. You don’t have to listen to Radio 254; just listen to Kenyan music. It doesn’t matter where you listen to it from as long as you are listening. If you want to do more than listen, then we recommend buying an album from a Kenyan artist, not streaming it, or even better, purchasing tickets to an event where the lineup has Kenyan acts or has been organized by a Kenyan artist. Our prayer is that even as Kenyan music goes through its different eras and phases, which it will. That Kenyans don’t go with the wind but continue to support Kenyan music in its different eras even as they support artists and music from outside Kenya. Every time we leave or ignore Kenyan music, it doesn’t go anywhere; it simply waits for the country to come back and pay attention to it while we could be nurturing it. We have to support Kenyan music, not just the hits!