Genge

Genge music, or simply Genge, is a genre of hip hop music that had its beginnings in Nairobi, Kenya. The name was coined by Clemo and popularized by Kenyan rappers Jua Cali and Nonini who started off at Calif Records. It is a style that incorporates hip hop, dancehall and traditional African music styles. It is commonly sung in Sheng (slang), Swahili or local dialects. The term Genge is a sheng word for "a group or a mass of people".

Origins and characteristics

As Kenyan urban music became more and more popular, Kenyan artists and music fans wanted to have a common name for their music and lots of names were suggested; among them were Boomba music, Kapuka, Gemba among others. Around this time Nonini started a campaign to popularize the term "genge" to refer to Kenyan urban music, but also specifically music by artists on Calif Records.

Calif-style Genge was originated by producer Clement "Clemo" Rapudo of Calif Records located in California Estate, Nairobi. It was popularized by rappers, Nonini with his song "Manzi wa Nairobi" and Jua Cali with the songs "Nipe Asali","Ruka". Due to disagreement on the identity Kenyan urban music, the name Genge is now more commonly used to describe music from Calif Records. However, Genge is easily identified through its rapping style in which artistes rap in a conversational rhythm format that makes the song sound like a casual discussion in sheng.

The most notable genge artists are Nonini, P-Unit, Jua Cali, Flexx, Jimw@t, Rat-a-tat, the late Lady S, Pili Pili among others. Nonini was the most popular artist on the Calif Records stable between the year 2002 and 2004 when he left for Homeboyz Entertainment. He has since fallen out of favor with most genge artists and mainly producer, Clemo. Jua Cali, who stuck on with Calif Records, is the defacto king of Genge; he is presently riding high on his latest song, Kwaheri - a collaboration with the glamorous Sanaipei. Nonini is the self titled Godfather of Genge.

Some of the most popular genge tracks include:

See also

• Kenyan hip hop
• Boomba, another form of Kenyan hip-hop