Camp Mulla was an

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

group originating from and based in

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 ...

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. The group rose to prominence with the release of their single "

Party Don't Stop "Party Don't Stop" is the debut single by Kenyan alternative hip hop group Camp Mulla, featuring Kenyan rapper Collo. It peaked at #2 on 98.4 Capital FM's radio playlist ''Hits Not Homework'' and at #13 on Homeboyz Radio's ''HitList'',Camp Mull ...

" on 31 August 2010, with that and their subsequent works earning them a nomination for Best International Act (Africa) at the

2012 BET Awards The 12th BET Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on July 1, 2012. The awards recognize Americans in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. Actor Samuel L. Jackson hosted the ev ...

. Following the release of their debut studio album, ''

Funky Town "Funkytown" is a song by the American disco/ funk band Lipps Inc., released in 1980 as the second single from their 1979 debut album, '' Mouth to Mouth''. It was successful globally, reaching top spots in places such as the United States, Wes ...

'', the group's lead singer Karun and rapper Taio both left the group to pursue higher education and solo careers. In September 2017 the main four members announced their reunion at The Wave performance at the Waterfront, Ng'ong racecourse, but soon after disbanded again. The group's musical style, fashion sense and origins have drawn comparisons to

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

, while they have also been criticised for making "

bubblegum music Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

History

2009–2012: Beginnings, rise to fame and ''Funky Town''

After releasing a series of experimental projects, manager Mykie Tooni and rappers Shappaman (then known as Young Kass) and Taio (then known as Taio Tripper) co-founded the group in mid-2009, with Karun (then Miss Karun) and Kus Ma (then K'Cous) joining later. Initially distributing their music online via ReverbNation,

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

and SoundClick for digital download, their song "Low" was the first to gain radio airplay, having been introduced by radio presenter

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, Keny ...

on Capital FM when it debuted on radio in 2009. On 31 August 2010, Camp Mulla released their first single, "

", to generally positive critical acclaim, peaking at number 2 on Capital FM's "Hits Not Homework" playlist and number 13 on Homeboyz Radio's "HitList". This and other songs that followed earned them several awards, including the "Teeniez' Group or Collabo" and "Teeniez' Nu Artist" awards at the 2012 Chaguo La Teeniez Awards held on 20 April 2012. Camp Mulla made their first public appearance on 12 February 2011 at

Collo Collo ( ar, القل, links=, lit=, translit=al-Qull) was an ancient Roman– a city of the Ottoman empire and Berber. Located in the northern Skikda Province, Algeria. It was the capital and one of three municipalities of Collo District, and ...

's Valentine's Day concert, where he revealed the music video for his new song "Chini ya Maji". They then served as the opening act for Nigerian R&B duo

P-Square P-Square is a Nigerian music duo consisting of the twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye. They produced and released their albums through Square Records (now Square Root Entertainment) In December 2011, they signed a record deal with Akon's ...

at a live performance at The Carnivore on 26 February 2011, and opened for

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

acts such as

Naeto C Naetochukwu Chikwe, stage name Naeto C, is a Nigerian rapper, Afrobeat artist and record producer. Early life He was born in Houston, Texas and is of Nigerian origin. The Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha appointed Naeto C, as his Speci ...

and Flavour at Naija 9te (or Naija Nite) in October 2011. The group was billed to perform at the Big Brother Africa 7 opening ceremony alongside

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

, Aemo E'Face, P-Square, Naeto C and Flavour on 6 May 2012, but did not make the show due to delays in their travelling documentation. However, they went on to perform on the program's first eviction show on 13 May 2012. Camp Mulla also performed at the grand finale of the fifth season of ''

Tusker Project Fame ''Tusker Project Fame'' is an East African reality-singing competition show sponsored by Tusker Lager. The show is similar to American Idol and Project Fame South Africa, musicians compete to win cash and a one-year record deal with Universal Mu ...

'' in 2012. Camp Mulla was nominated for Best International Act (Africa) at the

—becoming the first Kenyans ever to be nominated for a BET award in the process—alongside

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

Mokobé Mokobé Traoré (born 24 May 1976 in Vitry-sur-Seine, France), better known by the mononym Mokobé, is a Malian–French rapper and part of the music collective 113 alongside Rim'K and AP and within the greater French musical project and coll ...

and

Ice Prince Panshak Henry Zamani (born 30 October 1984) better known as Ice Prince Zamani or just Ice Prince, is a Nigerian rapper, hip hop recording artist and actor. He rose to fame after releasing " Oleku", one of Nigeria's most remixed songs of all t ...

, but lost out to eventual winners Sarkodie and

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

. On 29 September 2012, the group released their debut studio album, ''

''.

2013–2016: Departures and solo projects

In May 2013, Sub Sahara announced that lead singer Karun was leaving to pursue a solo career and further studies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with rapper Thee MC Africa also leaving to pursue a solo career. Tiri Murai (known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

ously as Tiri), another Kenyan singer and Kus Ma's girlfriend, was brought in to replace Karun in June 2013 after performing live with the group at the MTV Africa All Stars concert in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

the previous month. On 22 August 2013, Kus Ma released a solo mixtape entitled ''J's and Purple'', while Tiri followed up with a mixtape of her own, ''Nefertiri'', on 8 March 2014. On 20 April 2015, coinciding with the 4/20 celebrations, Shappaman released an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

entitled ''Wild Life on Tape''. He followed that up with a mixtape entitled ''Love Wild'' on 2 March 2016.

2017–present: Reunion and second album

On 10 September 2017, Camp Mulla announced their return from hiatus with a performance featuring t at The Wave concert at the

Ngong Racecourse Ngong Racecourse is a racecourse in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the main and currently only thoroughbred racing venue in Kenya. It is located along the Ngong Road near the Lenana School and next to The Nairobi Business Park, beside ngong forest. It is ...

. The group is reportedly set to release their second studio album, with a date yet to be officially confirmed.

Musical style

A majority of Camp Mulla's songs incorporate hip hop and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

. They call their musical style "2-5-Flow" or "254Low" (pronounced "two five flow"), which is a play on

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

calling code Country calling codes or country dial-in codes are telephone number prefixes for reaching telephone subscribers in the networks of the member countries or regions of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The codes are defined by the ...

+254.Camp Mulla: Cool Kids on the Edge of A New Frontier? – Open Mic – 29 April 2011 – http://willpress.blogspot.com/2011/04/camp-mulla-cool-kids-on-edge-of-new.html

Members

;Current members * Kus Ma (born Marcus Kibukosya; formerly K'Cous) – Record producer, songwriter, rapper * Shappaman (born Benoît Kanema; formerly Young Ka$$) – Rapper, record producer, songwriter * Karun (born Karungari Mungai; formerly Miss Karun) – Lead singer, songwriter * Taio (born Matthew Wakhungu; formerly Taio Tripper) – Rapper, singer, lyricist * Mykie Tooni (born Michael Mutooni) –

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

WHO IS CAMP MULLA? <

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:80 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2009 till:31/12/2017 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2009 Colors = id:Singer value:red legend:Singer id:Rapper value:orange legend:Rapper id:Producer value:green legend:Producer id:Manager value:blue legend:Manager id:lines value:black legend:Studio_albums BarData = bar:Karun text:Karun bar:Kus text:Kus Ma bar:Kass text:Shappaman bar:Taio text:Taio bar:Mykie text:Mykie Tooni PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Karun from:start till:end color:singer bar:Karun from:start till:end color:singer bar:Kass from:start till:end color:rapper bar:Kass from:start till:end color:producer width:3 bar:Kus from:start till:end color:rapper bar:Kus from:start till:end color:producer width:3 bar:Taio from:start till:end color:rapper bar:Taio from:start till:end color:rapper bar:Taio from:start till:end color:singer width:3 bar:Taio from:start till:end color:singer width:3 bar:Mykie from:start till:end color:manager bar:Mykie from:start till:end color:manager LineData = at:29/09/2012 color:black layer:back

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

Solo discography

;Kus Ma * ''J's and Purple'' (2013) ; Shappaman * ''Wild Life on Tape'' (2015) * ''Love Wild'' (2016)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control Kenyan musical groups Hip hop groups Musicians from Nairobi 2009 establishments in Kenya Musical groups established in 2009