Hip hop in Kenya has been trying to get recognition for a long time with mainstream artistes considering themselves more commercial, lately underground hip hop has not been about the theme of your music (political or social issues) it’s the state of your music which maps you out.
Few rappers have stood out who were once the Lords of underground hip hop here in Kenya, we have seen a lot of progress in our music industry with rappers like Octopizzo, Khaligraph Jones, King Kaka, Kayvo Kforce, Eko Dydda and many more placing hip hop music into new levels.
Cheza Kenya who is a hip hop activists has been involved in the movement to put new talents into scenes for recognition,
This was the feedback Abbas Doobeez gave
One of the reasons we are slugging behind is selfishness and lack of unity among artistes which is slowing down the development of hip hop in the country. We have young artistes with real talents who needs support but where are they? Their talents are fading away because they find it hard to pave they way up, their is no stepping stone.
Music is a business and who doesn’t want to earn from it, Shows, event, rallies, parties etc underground artistes gets few, we are all here to make money, make new profiles. It’s your content that will take you from being an underground artiste to a mainstream one, once you can express yourself your music will move so will the fans.
But I also think that mainstream artistes should create avenues for upcoming talents, Rappers should invest into their creativity if they want to trek into stardom, know your style because hip hop is a game you must be wise.
