98.4 Capital FM (other variations of the name include Capital FM and Capital FM Kenya) is a Kenyan

urban music Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

radio station.

Location

Its offices are situated on the 19th floor of ''Lonrho House'', along Standard Street in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, the capital and largest city in Kenya. The coordinates of the radio station are:1°17'06.0"S, 36°49'22.0"E (Latitude:-1.285013; Longitude:36.822767).

Background

Established in 1996 shortly after the

liberalisation Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

of Kenyan airwaves, it was the second FM station to be opened after 101.9 Metro FM, however several other FM stations have continued to crop up, catering to all tastes, 98.4 Capital FM continues to be a popular station especially among the middle-class and upper-class markets. The presenters play a variety of genres i.e hip hop,

RnB Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

, world music,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. Capital FM now caters to Mombasa, Western Kenya, as well as the international community, via the internet. When President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

visited Kenya in July 2015, he gave an exclusive one-on-one interview on 98.4 Capital FM, one of the only two one-on-one radio interviews that he gave during that visit.

Ownership

It is owned by the late

Chris Kirubi Christopher John Kirubi (20 August 1941 – 14 June 2021), born in Murang'a county, was a Kenyan businessman, entrepreneur, and industrialist. He was a director at Centum Investment Company, a business conglomerate, of which he was the largest ...

, a Kenyan businessman.

Presenters

Many of Kenya's biggest radio presenters all began at Capital FM – which has earned it the slogan – the home of nurturing radio talent. These include: * Phil Matthews – head of The Radio Academy * Sean Cardovillis – now working at Nation Media Group * Jimmi Gathu – lead breakfast TV presenter at K24 * Caroline Mutoko – Marketing Manager at Kiss FM *

Zain Verjee Zain Verjee (born February 11, 1974) is a Kenyan journalist. She is a former CNN anchor and correspondent, and now works in public relations. Her communications firm, Zain Verjee Group, has worked with Bloomberg Media, Bloomberg Philanthropies, ...

– Anchor now with CNN * Jo Thoenes – breakfast presenter in the UK * Patricia Amira – of the Patricia show at KBC * Alex Belfield – a radio DJ from the UK * Fareed Khimani – Director at Nusu-Nusu Productions Limited, Executive Producer of MNET's Mashriki Mix Magazine show * Seanice Kacungira – a businesswoman in Kampala, Uganda *

Eve D'Souza Eve D'Souza (born 11 March 1979) is a Kenyan media personality, radio presenter and actress. She was a radio presenter at 98.4 Capital FM from 2001 until she left in November 2010. Early life D'Souza was born on 11 March, 1979 in Mombasa, Ken ...

Gaetano Kagwa Gaetano Jjuko Kagwa is a Ugandan actor and broadcaster. He currently co-hosts a breakfast show "Gaetano & Lucky in the Morning" at 91.3 Capital FM with Lucky Mbabazi as well a judge on East Africa's Got Talent alongside Dj Makeda, Jeff Koinange a ...

– Ugandan personality who gained fame due to his participation in the

Big Brother Africa ''Big Brother Africa'' is the African version of the international reality television franchise ''Big Brother'' created by producer John de Mol in 1997. The show was first aired in 2003 for one season on M-Net and broadcast to audiences in 42 ...

competition * Nini Wacera * Italia Masiero * Preety aka Herpreet Jaswal *

Disk jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

Dr. Vey, Nairobi, Kenya *

Rick Dees Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...

, host of the

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 ''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40'' (sometimes known as ''The Weekly Top 40'') is an internationally syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide. It is di ...

every Saturday *

Walt "Baby" Love Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt Bel ...

, host of Gospel Traxx every Sunday afternoon Fareed Khimani and Seanice Kacungira hosted a morning show from 2006 until 2009, which had a wide audience with high ratings. *Suleiman Munyua AKA Soulo – Currently a Copy Writer still at Capital FM *Fareed Khiman
is back at Capital FM
presenting the morning show with Davina Leonard *

Capital Digital Media (CDM)

Capital Digital Media is a section within the Capital FM company that deals with online and digital media presence. This includes digital sales and advertising, web development, video production and social media strategy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:98.4 Capital Fm Music organisations based in Kenya Radio stations in Kenya Mass media in Nairobi Radio stations established in 1996 1996 establishments in Kenya