When I first heard of Nah Eeto’s music I have to say I was taken a back and quite honestly mad at myself for not knowing her sooner. Her music style and sound are like that of a rogue nomad lady on the move to make her dreams come to life, cost what it may. When I dug some more I wasn’t surprised to find that she has a fan base that subsequently adores her originality and perspective in how she chooses to express herself. On 19th July, she released her much anticipated album ’53, a number that carries a lot of meaning to her.
The 6 track album was released under Blah Records, where she is known as the first lady of the label and rightly so. Her rap unique rap style of effortlessly mixing Kiswahili and English is something that the world definitely needs to hear more of. The energy carried on songs such as ‘E Eye O’ featuring Lee Scott, and ‘Mbali No Machina’ featuring Milkavelli, will either having you bopping your head or making some sort of stank face. With a spectrum of clever punchlines, and a sonic array of heavy bass and mellow hip-hop flows, the album manages to maintain a very fresh feel.
‘Mafu’ produced by Lee Scott is the lead single off of 53, which was accompanied by a music video earlier this year. The video was directed by The Raww Film Maker and was shot at The Ngong Hills in Kenya.
Shrappers Boutross and Dope-I-Mean from AD Family also feature on this rebel fuelled album in the best way. I am excited to see more frequent collaborations between these two teams. She also carries her own very well with songs like ‘Bila You’ which has a sick baseline. I imagine that this particular song will have people raging hard when she eventually performs it live (eagerly waiting for that day) as it strongly holds firm to a ‘Without You’ attitude, which is a direct translation of the song title. “Natoa panga have you dancing like labamba. Slap you silly you still asking for my number” - lyrics like that will definitely have you on yourworst behaviour, especially if you’re a young Swahili speaking lady. (Shout out to my ladies, we demand more respect).
Definitely go check out this dope Kenyan girl who’s rap skills are set to cause more havoc in Kenya’s hip hop scene, and in the world.
