Each year, the Ballantine’s True Music Fund awards 10 organizations are granted £10,000 to help sustain and enhance their essential work. The goal of the initiative is to support emerging local music-centric organisations and collectives as they strive for equality in music. Santuri East Africa is one of the recipients of the 2023 cycle of the grant, alongside nine other progressive organisations from across Africa, Brazil, and Spain.
At the tail end of 2020, three film lovers Jesse Mpango, Gertrude Malizana and Darragh Amelia came together to form the audio-visual collective Ajabu Ajabu. At first, the three would meet to watch independent African films on a big screen with friends. Eventually, the purpose was clear: to foster space for the preservation, production and presentation of audio-visual art.
It was Kalamashaka who together with Hardstone, Poxi Pressure and K-South became the mavericks that made it their own.
MVNSA is an exceptional talent causing waves in the East African ALTE music scene. Raised between Niger and Tanzania, the rapper and producer is driven by his passion for bridging the musical divide between East and West Africa, hence his dedication to creating music that resonates with audiences from both regions.
Joshua Baraka's highly anticipated remix of his chart-topping hit NANA arrived, bringing together the best talents from both the East and West of the Motherland. Collaborating with Ghana's King Promise, Nigeria's Joeboy, and Kenya's Bien, Baraka, a rising star from Uganda, showcases his prominence within the East African Alternative R&B scene—fusing it with elements of Afrobeats.
Nabalayo describes herself as a music-maker, illustrator and East African Griot, representing and documenting not only her own culture, but also those of her fellow countrymen.
The “Mizizi'' collection is an ideological experimentation in brand/consumer relationships. Peni Mbili has made a unisex design that challenges the everyday person to contemplate their own expression. In its construction it mimics the design of the familiar football jersey, but incorporates the collar of the closet staple polo shirt, two shapes that theoretically would be easy for any consumer to adapt to.
Ugandan singer Donald Otim, popularly known as MAUIMØON, is different. His sound is characterized by a distinctly laid-back vibe and smooth vocals. It is influenced by his East African roots and incorporates elements of R&B, Afro-pop, and Hip-hop from his multicultural experiences of growing up in Rwanda, Uganda, the UK, and Canada.
For nearly half a decade, Micheal Rumbi has been contributing continuous hits to the alternative scene with the sound he likes to call Indie-pop; using the sharpened resources of his laid-back and ethereal guitar compositions, his finely tuned beats as a producer and his lively and underrated bars as a rapper, all of which have mashed up into this sensual and distinct soothing sound he can call his own.
mau from nowhere has been a powerful force within the alternative music scene in Nairobi for the last few years so it’s wonderful to see this gentle giant stake his claim in such a meaningful way.
Nairobians ended the first quarter of 2023 celebrating our city with some of the country’s most promising new wave artists on the rise. Boiler Room x Ballantine's True Music Studios made this possible this past March with a three day series of events curated with the intention of amplifying East African club and alternative music. Held at The Mall’s now illustrious rooftop, Boiler Room partnered with Kenyan DJ, producer and filmmaker Coco Em to showcase the diverse range of Nairobi’s alternative music scene.
Gondwana is known as Nairobi’s (if not Kenya’s) most prolific African Electronic music label and events company, and for good reason. With what started as a fun idea for Suraj Mandavia back in 2015 before later collaborating with partner Eugene Onyango in 2016 and officially forming a functional machine by 2017, their journey has been nothing short of inspiring.
Determined to keep the art of the ancestors alive, Liboi draws inspiration from various communities’ music, predominantly the Kenyan coastal chakacha drum patterns and swahili metaphorical devices.
Ballantine’s and Boiler Room’s True Music Studios residency is coming back to Nairobi for its fourth edition in the city. Running from March 28th to 30th, the 3-day event series will feature a panel discussion, a dance master class, and a party and concert. All of these components were curated alongside pioneering Nairobi DJ, Coco Em. It’s a full circle moment, as Coco was featured in the first ever Nairobi edition of True Music Studios back in 2018. Since then, she has grown to be an international champion of East African dance music.
The Extravaganza Eleganza Ball, is the first of its kind in Nairobi. Ashton Laurence (he/they), commonly known as the eyelinermonarch has been running the Wunderlust Party for the last 3 years, each time garnering more and more attendees, and quickly becoming a household name in Nairobi’s party scene.
It is not so common to see young artists today in Nairobi take up the courage to use their talent to talk about social issues in a way that exudes both eccentricity and pride. However, Dipa Konnection have boldly taken up this mantle.
Emmanuel Jal wears many hats. The South Sudanese-Canadian is a musician, actor, speaker, political activist and businessman. His story is a powerful tale of overcoming challenges as he rose from a child soldier to a celebrated South Sudanese icon.
“FEELING BODY” is a musical journal, documenting the grief and gratitude of a woman grappling with her body in a time of deep turmoil. “FEELING BODY”, is a grounding movement of music that eats at your soul, it calls your own relationship to self into question tugging at what you knew to be true about your own body.
Happy New Year reader, your favorite rap and hip hop column is back. January is normally a month many people use to reset.
