The Kenyan hip hop scene is getting interesting by the day and with the emergence of super talented new school rappers in the rap game like Mbithi, Clay OG Stoner, Breeder LW, Boutross, Wakadinali, TnT, Kay Green, Katapilla, Muddah, Tonny Syumah, Maandy, X-ray King, Asum Garvey, Monski, Dez and many others jumping in the rap realm, we can only hope for the best of the best records coming out of the country like never before.
These new school rappers are making the rap industry more interesting to spectate on while making it even more competitive for the rap artistes altogether thus making the hip hop realm one of the hottest genres of music in the country today and that’s what we love to see, the industry growing, especially the rap genre.
For the longest time in the Kenyan rap’s history book since the millennium era took heed, we have seen the emergence of multi talented rappers like Abbas Kubaff, Chiwawa, Nyashinski, E-Sir, Big Pin, Jimw@t, who have hold down the rap game to the fullest as they should over the years and passed down the rap’s touch to rappers like Octopizzo, Juliani, Khaligraph Jones, Nyashinski, Naiboi, Timmy Tdat and King Kaka who took hip hop to mainstream internationally and into the cooperate board rooms and even Juliani once rapped about it on his record.
Nyashinski
Nyashinski is a special case since he is the only rapper in the Kenyan music history to ever bounce back in a rap career successfully after taking a 10 -years musical hiatus. He is one of the rappers who passed down the touch to rappers like King Kaka, Octopizzo, even Khaligraph Jones back in the day and later on passed it down to himself after he was done with the music hiatus where he spent a decade in the United States of America.
That being said, the upper echelon rappers currently who can pull a crowd in Kenya are Khaligraph Jones, Timmy Tdat, Octopizzo, Naiboi, King Kaka, Nyashinski, and every move these artistes make are calculated to make their careers reach greater heights and if applicable make people talk about them.
Arguably most of the rap beefs are calculated for gimmick purposes in order to create clout for them(artistes) before and/or after releasing a record or a project.
With that in mind, we need to have a record/s out by two of the most successful and sought-after hip-hop artistes Kenya has ever seen today, despite the unreconcilable beef that they seem to have toward one another even though they are cordial with each other.
I mean even Drake once did a record together with Chris Brown dubbed ‘Only’ where they were both featured by Nicki Minaj even though the two artistes were not in speaking terms. Music should always come first for artistes.
We just need a Khaligraph Jones, Octopizzo collaboration already, if not for anything else, for the sake of the Kenyan hip hop industry which will forever immortalize the mentioned record they will inevitably eventually do together.
Khaligraph Jones is on record saying that he is open to work with anyone and he made this clear after he won the coveted Afrimma awards in Texas last year for the Best Rap Artiste in Africa.
“Before this (winning Afrimma), I used to think differently. I am not the same anymore. I can do a collabo with anybody…anybody,” he responded when asked if he was ready to work with Octopizzo.
Clearly Khaligraph Jones is ready to work on a project with Octopizzo since he believes he is a changed man who thinks differently now and he is ready to put everything beside to have a record with Kibera’s finest, Octopizzo.
“(I am ready to work) with Khaligraph Jones so long as our partnership will bring me money and increase my fan-base. That is what matters most to me.”
Octopizzo also opened up about the possibility of working with Khaligraph Jones earlier on this year when asked about it by Mzazi Willy M. Tuva saying that he hasn’t talked to Khaligraph Jones for over two years at that time but he would be happy to work with him if certain situations (money is involved) are met.
“The last time I spoke to Khaligraph Jones was 2 years ago. I, however, regularly keep in touch with King Kaka and Sauti So’s Polycarp because they are real people. During our conversations, rarely do we speak about music. Most of the time, our chats revolve around the state of Kenya, family – our spouses and children,” Octopizzo said in part.
Octopizzo iterated that he doesn’t do collaborations for the sake of it or for the sake of hype, even from giving in to pressures. He is always ready to work with anyone so long as there’s guaranteed money on the pipeline of any collaborations projects.
“I am ready to work with any artiste so long as I am making money from such arrangements. I won’t work with an artiste for the sake of it, for the sake of hype, or for the sake of giving in to pressure from certain quarters. I would work with a musician because I am passionate about the project we’re pursuing.” Octopizzo continued.
Tackling the issue right by the bull’s horns, Octopizzo said that indeed he can work with Khaligraph Jones if it will help him increase his fan base and bring in money in their partnership.
Octopizzo said, “(I am ready to work) with Khaligraph Jones so long as our partnership will bring me money and increase my fan-base. That is what matters most to me.”
Clearly both artistes are willing to work on the collaboration/s we have all been yearning for as fans for years and what just might be missing is Octopizzo’s people talking with Khaligraph Jones’ people and make this collaboration work and make history and great music together because that’s what the fans want, a collaboration of Khaligraph Jones and Octopizzo coming to fruition.
If we can get to have a collaboration between these two great rappers of our generation, rap will never be the same again, they would have made rap great again in the country (not that it isn’t great) but still, it will be a masterpiece collaboration, that music I can guarantee.
I know this might be far fetched but if Octopizzo and Khaligraph Jones wants to shut down the music industry completely in the country and arguably across the African continent through rap and make loads of money, and make fans happy at the same time, they need to do a collaborative project together just like Kanye West and Jay Z did with their ‘Watch The Throne’ album which has gone down in rap’s history as one of the best projects rap has ever seen.
So, I have two questions for Khaligraph Jones and Octopizzo, what are y’all waiting for and for how long will we have to wait for the collabo to come through?
