IS GENGETONE HERE TO STAY?

 

dusan jovic on Unsplash

Gengetone is the newest music genre in Kenya. It evolved from Genge, a genre popular in the early 2000s with pioneers like Jua Cali, Nonini and the late E-Sir. Gengetone combines rap, dancehall and reggeatone resulting in high energy music. 

For a long time Kenyans have been consuming foreign music like Bongo Flavor and West Africa's Afro-pop music with no regard for their own music. Despite the many calls by artists for Kenyan music to be given as much airplay as West African and Tanzanian music nothing ever changed, this went on for years. Fortunately, around 2016, Gengetone music was birthed to a country so thirsty for her own sound that it became an instant hit. Acts like Ochungulo Family and Ethic Entertainment produced hits that helped spread the genre.

 More youths are identifying with this fresh genre that is purely Kenyan and incorporates the use of sheng words. Gengetone contains explicit words, with topics ranging from casual sex, the use of recreational drugs, violence and night life. It also depicts the life in the hood and street culture hence its popularity with most Kenyan youth. Radios and TVs have programs dedicated to Gengetone music only, the growth of this genre has been so fast that it is even popular in Tanzania. Gengetone has successfully made Kenyan music visible to the international music scene.

However, critics argue the genre will fizzle out with time if the artists keep serving the same themes. Moralists have also pointed out the usually offensive and raunchy lyrics in most of the songs that seem to encourage sexual misbehavior will mislead the youths and children. The Kenya Film Classification Board chairman Dr. Ezekiel Mutua has banned several songs since the onset of Gengetone such as Soko by Ethic and Takataka by Alvindo, saying that they do not reflect the Kenyan morals.

Kenyans on twitter, known for not holding back in any debate, had their say about Gengetone. Most were of the opinion that Gengetone artists were shallow as music does not only involve drugs and sex, others called for the prohibition of inappropriate, suggestive songs from airing on TVs.

Despite the backlash that Gengetone artists have drawn over the years for the content that they create, some Kenyans are in support of this new wave. A section of netizens argued that Kenyans have had no problem consuming explicit content from Jamaica and US. Others pointed out that the genre was purely entertainment and if anyone needed content then they should read the Bible. 

Currently, top Gengetone acts include Ssaru, Mbogi Genje, Ethic Entertainment, Mejja, just to name a few. Ssaru is the undisputed queen of Gengetone. She rose to fame after her freestyle Nyama went viral. In an interview she revealed that at first her music was not Gengetone but rather Trap. Fans were nonetheless supportive of her work and branded her the queen of Gengetone. Mejja has managed to remain relevant in the music industry over the years by being in almost all music collaborations. He has been featured in most of the Gengetone songs by both new and established artists therefore cementing his place in the Kenyan music scene as the king of collabos. Ethic Entertainment are credited with setting the precedence of Gengetone sound. Many are of the opinion that they rescued the Kenyan industry at its most dire time. Mbogi Genje are a fast-rising group that uses sheng from Eastlands in their music. The slang they use is up to date making it difficult to understand unless you are an ardent sheng speaker, perhaps this is one of the things that has endered them to their fans.

All the backlash that Gengetone has drawn only serves to make the genre more visible in the international scene. It has shaped the Kenyan sound. Established acts have partnered up with the up and coming Gengetone artists to create music that has appealed to the masses. Sometime back Jamaica's Konshens remixed on of Ethic's songs and  Nigeria's Mr. Eazi gave the group a shoutout for the good job they were doing, this shows that Gengetone can appeal to the international market. Whether this infamous genre is here to stay or just a passing wind is a wait and see situation.

dusan jovic on Unsplash