Ogopa Deejays are a

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

music production A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

team and

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

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 Lucas Bikedo, and manager Banda. They rarely show their faces in public and do not agree to have their photos taken or published by Kenyan media. The team started out producing hit songs for artists such as

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 ...

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 ...

and

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, ...

. They are widely acclaimed to have helped boost the Kenyan urban music scene from obscurity. They are also credited with creating the

Boomba The bladder fiddle was a folk instrument used throughout Europe and in the Americas. The instrument was originally a simple large stringed fiddle (a musical bow) made with a long stick, one or more thick gut strings, and a pig's-bladder resonato ...

(sometimes referred to as Kapuka) style of Kenyan music which is modern hip hop and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

influenced by

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

drums and rhythms. They later formed Ogopa Productions which apart from music production also organizes events. They revolutionised Kenyan music in the early 2000s. They have released three compilation albums and several albums by their artists. Their first album was released in 2001 and was widely popular in East Africa. It also introduced fans to the talent of 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 ...

and K-Rupt. They are famous for their logo of a red face screaming. A music producer from Virginia, United States, gave the group a chance to showcase their musical talent in 2003. Tickets sold out about three hours, a record time for this group. Ultimately the show was a huge success and the group planned to start a world tour in 2013. Their studios are located in South B estate of

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 ...

. They have also started a sister label operating in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

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 ...

, known as Ogopa Butterfly. They have produced for

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

based girl duo,

Gal Level Gal Level is a R&B female duo from Windhoek, Namibia, made up of Daphne Willibard (born 1 April 1981) and Frieda Haindaka (born 1 February 1984). They are very popular in Southern Africa, and other African countries. They are produced and manage ...

, and Kenyan-Namibian musician Faizel MC. In 2018, Ogopa Deejays and

Calif Records Calif Records is a Kenyan record label based in Nairobi's California estate, known for the Genge genre of music. It was founded in 2000 by record executive & producer Clement "Clemo" Rapudo, together with Juacali and Nonini. It is among two l ...

co-hosted the Ngoma Festival at

Uhuru Gardens Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum is a commemorative park and museum in Nairobi, Kenya that celebrates independence from the British Empire in 12 December 1963. The word "uhuru" is Swahili for "freedom". It contains three points of sig ...

.Ogopa Deejays vs Calif Records showdown flops big time
''Nairobi News'', October 28, 2018.

List of signed artists

Artists who have been signed to Ogopa Deejays label for at least part of their career (artists who have occasionally recorded with Ogopa are excluded) include:

Current artists

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

* Amani * Colonel Mustafa *

Marya The Marya are a tribe in western Eritrea. They are mostly shepherds and farmers they inhabit the middle valley of the Anseba River in the Keren District. There split into two clans: the Marya qeyih and the marya tselam. They are related to the Me ...

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and et ...

* Trapee *

* Boomba Boiz * Rapper willyjay *Hearts Prince Brown Jr (EsirEaly)

Former artists

Avril Avril means April in French and other languages. It may also refer to: Places * Mont Avril, a mountain on the Swiss-Italian border * Avril, Meurthe-et-Moselle, a commune of the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, France People * Avril (name) * ...

* Big Pin *

* Nameless *

Deux Vultures Deux Vultures is a musical group in Kenya performing hip hop and pop music. The group consists of two members: Colonel Mustapha (real name Daudi Mustapha) and Nasty Thomas (Thomas Konzanga). They grew up in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Like many other ...

Kleptomaniax Kleptomaniax is a rap group from Nairobi, Kenya. The group consists of three members: Roba (Robert Manyasa), Collo (Collins Majale) and Nyashinski (Nyamari Ongegu). Kleptomaniax were formed in 1999, when they were still high school students at the ...

* K-rupt *

Longombas Longombas are a duo from Kenya performing a mixture of Hip hop and Soukous. Christian Longomba died on March 3, 2021. Career The group consists of two brothers, Christian and Lovy Longomba. They're from a musical family; father Lovy Longomba w ...

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 ...

Vinnie Banton Vinny or Vinnie is a masculine given name, usually a shortened version of Vincent, Vincenzo, or Vicente, which may refer to: Vincents * Vinnie Anderson (born 1979), New Zealand rugby league footballer * Vinny Appice (born 1957), American rock dr ...

Mr. Lenny ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

& Kunguru *

* Tattuu *

Wahu WAHU may refer to: * WAHU-LD, a low-power television station (channel 31) licensed to serve Crozet, Virginia, United States; see List of television stations in Virginia * WVIR-CD WVIR-CD (channel 35) is a low-power, Class A television station ...

References

External links