Boomba music, also referred to as kapuka (due to the beat pattern; not to be confused with kapuka rap), is a form of hip pop music popular in

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

. It incorporates hip hop,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and African traditional musical styles. The lyrics are in Swahili, Sheng or local dialects. It is associated with the

Ogopa Deejays Ogopa Deejays are a Kenyan music production team and record label formed in the late 1990s who gained regional fame and popularity due to standards of their production work. Background The people behind Ogopa DJs are brothers Francis and Luc ...

and is believed to have originated in the late 1990s with artists such as

Redsan Swabri Mohammed (born 1 May 1981), better known by his stage name Redsan, is a Kenyan reggae and ragga musician. He is one of the most well renowned ragga and dancehall artists in East Africa. His popularity has extended to the rest of Africa, ...

Bebe Cool Bebe Cool (real name Moses Ssali; born 1 September 1977) is an African reggae and ragga musician from Uganda. He started his career around 1997 in Nairobi, Kenya, but moved back to his native country a few years later. Bebe Cool was one of the ...

and

Chameleone Joseph Mayanja (born 30 April 1979), better known by the stage name Jose Chameleone, is a Ugandan AfroBeat artist and musician. Chameleone sings in Luganda, English and Swahili. He started his music career in the early 1990s in Kenya with the ...

. It went on to dominate East African airwaves (especially Kenya and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

) after the release of the Ogopa Deejays' first album in 2001, which included artists such as the late

E-Sir Issah Mmari Wangui (May 20, 1981 – March 16, 2003), better known by his stage name E-Sir, was a Kenyan hip hop artist. He was the elder brother to fellow Kenyan rapper Habib. He was famous for his deft lyrical ability and command of the Swahi ...

, Nameless, Mr. Lenny, Amani,

Mr. Googz Mr. Googz (real name Moffat Omari) is a musician from Kenya. Biography He grew up in Zimmermann, a suburb of Nairobi. He attended Ainsworth Primary School in Eastleigh, Nairobi and later Highway Secondary School.Mwafrika.comMr. Googz/ref> He te ...

and Vinnie Banton amongst others. The over-saturation of playlists with this music style caused some to criticise it, including the artists

K-South K-South was a Kenyan hip-hop duo made up of "Bamboo" (Tim Kimani) and "Doobeez'" (Jerry Manzekele), now known as "Abbas Kubaff". Founded in 1995, K-South is among the most notable pioneers of the genre in Kenya. The name is an abbreviation of K ...

who had a hit titled "Kapuka This, Kapuka That". This also led to other styles such as

genge Genge music, or genge, is a genre of hip hop music with additional influences from dancehall music that has its beginnings in Nairobi, Kenya. The name was coined by the producer Clemo and popularized by Kenyan rappers Jua Cali and Nonini, wh ...

music being formed by producer

Clemo Clement Rapudo Sijenyi (born June 2, 1980) better known as Clemos, is a music producer and co-founder of Calif Records based in Life Ministry House near Hurlingham Business Center along Jabavu Road in Nairobi, Kenya. He won an award for "Producer ...

to diversify the market. Despite the critics the music continues to be very popular in Kenya although more so now in Uganda. Of late, "genge" has also come to refer more generally to boomba and "kapuka" music.

Vegatone

Vegatone, Riftsyde flava or Naxvegas muzik is a genre of hip hop/Afro Dancehall music that originated from the town of

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

or colloquially Naks/NaxVegas as many youths call it. The music is a blend of indigenous kapuka mixed with a reggae baseline. It is characterized by very flashy Musicians who mainly rap and sing about their sexual escapades and the number of women that they keep, but cipher their language to avoid being explicit. Vegatone has evolved in recent times. Artists in this genre include award-winning artist Teferah who has numerous hits having worked with Nyanda from Brick and Lace on the song "Put It On Me" produced in Romania by Tommo records, and getting signed to an American music label Mpact Muzik in 2017. Teferah is seen as a break-through artist in this genre. Other Vegatone artists are Rhonda Bwoy, Skymer, Juss Nera, Hush BK, Avril, Vivian, K-FRESH, Igiza, Obako, Mavo, 77 and many more. Nakuru is credit for creating the viral sounds of Gengetone which uses the slang used in Nakuru and most Gengetone producers are from Nakuru Sadafa,Mavo on the beat, Duboiz, Samba on the beat, Andah water, Magix Enga and other creatives that fuse Vegatone arrangements. Vegatone is a common sound especially on Kenyan and local nakuru radios highly popularized by Radio presenter Caleb Koyo.

Kapuka rap

Kapuka rap is a genre of hip hop music that is derived from Boomba music, but incorporates more

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

than

and

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

but still incorporates some hip hop. Artists such as

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 ...

and

Camp Mulla Camp Mulla was an alternative hip hop group originating from and based in Nairobi, Kenya. The group rose to prominence with the release of their single "Party Don't Stop" on 31 August 2010, with that and their subsequent works earning them a nom ...

incorporate kapuka rap in some of their songs.

Examples

*"KArE" -

P-Unit P-Unit is a Kenyan hip hop group consisting of Kenyan hip hop artists Frasha, Gabu, and Bon-eye. Biography The crew released the album ''Wagenge Hao'' in 2010, recorded at Decimal Media by lead singer/composer "Pradip The BOSS". The album had 1 ...

(incorporates a lot of

and some hip hop) *"

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 ...

" -

(incorporates some electronic dance music) *"Feel No Pain" - Camp Mulla (incorporates some electronic dance music) *"Chini ya Maji" -

(incorporates some

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

and some hip hop)

Vegatone

Kapuka rap

Examples

See also