As Censorship Wanes, Kenyan Youth Culture Takes Off
By: Andrew StricklerYoung people in Kenya are finding their voice as government censorship abates and media proliferates and diversifies.
NAIROBI - From her studio on the 20th floor of an office building
in downtown Nairobi, 25-year-old radio disc jockey Eve D'Souza has
a good perspective on the tastes of young Kenyans.
As she spins CDs for the evening show "Hits Not Homework" on
Nairobi's Capital FM, D'Souza juggles the phones and keeps an eye
on the dozens of instant messages on her computer screen from her
young listeners.
From the requests, it is clear that young Kenyans have
wholeheartedly embraced American pop culture.
Among the hundreds of messages D'Souza receives nightly is a
call from Larry in Baru, who requests a track from Naz.
D'Souza says that until a few years ago, her show was filled
exclusively with Tupac, Dr Dre and other US artists.
But Kenya's music scene has exploded in recent years.
These days, D'Souza's Top 10 countdown includes tracks from
Nameless, Prezzo, Necessary Noize and others from a growing list of
homegrown talent.
D'Souza welcomes the change.
"We're finally becoming serious about local music, and being
proud of being Kenyan," she says.
DJ Adrian, a Nairobi native and a fixture on the city's club
scene, agrees that the last three years have seen a major shift in
the tastes of young Kenyans.
"You can't do a party any more without local music," he
says.
The surge in popularity of Kenyan musicians and the new
visibility of youth culture can be linked directly to the recent
liberalisation of the media scene, which for decades was under the
strict control of the government.
For most of Kenya's 41-year history, Daniel arap Moi, a giant of
African politics, ruled as a virtual dictator for almost a
quarter-century.
Although Moi was applauded by many as a stabilising presence in
the often-volatile region, his regime was riddled with corruption,
and his critics were often arrested and tortured.
Many others simply disappeared.
The news and entertainment media were similarly restricted
during Moi's rule.
Through the 1970s and '80s, Kenyans had only one choice on the
radio, the government-controlled Kenyan Broadcasting Company, which
broadcast religious programming and pro-government news.
Young voices rarely made the airwaves.
Ken Obura, a 23-year-old college student from Nairobi, recalls
as a child, "It was all politics, always the same old
characters."
Moi began to loosen the reins in his final years in office.
A few new stations appeared, although political criticism
remained risky.
But the real change began with the election of current Kenyan
President Mwai Kibaki in 2002, who appears to be fulfilling his
campaign promise to liberalise the media.
Today, Kenya radio is experiencing a boom.
Government officials say Nairobi now has 24 licensed FM
operators, most of them less than four years old.
Many are eager to capture the attention of young people, and not
just through music.
Among the reggae and Kenyan rap tracks, many of which are sung
in the Swahili-English slang known as "sheng", are frank
discussions on topics such as interracial relationships,
inequalities among Kenya's many cultural groups and AIDS.
Not all topics are open for discussion, however.
"There is no mention of lesbianism and homosexuality," says
Luiza Safari, 20, an anthropology student from Mombasa.
"People think these things are not happening, but they are, so
they should talk about it."
And despite Kibaki's promise to support a free press, government
interference remains a threat.
In March, after a DJ at a Nairobi radio station mocked a
government minister on air, the station's signal was temporarily
blocked by a rival station.
Although it was never officially acknowledged, many in Nairobi
say the action happened under orders from Kenya's first lady, Lucy
Kibaki.
Several magazines for young Kenyans, many of whom are raised in
conservative Christian and Muslim households, have appeared in
recent years and are pushing the limits of customary propriety.
The latest entry is The Entertainer, which focuses on East
African hip-hop music.
Among the magazine's offerings of celebrity gossip and CD
reviews are articles extolling the virtues of late-night clubbing
and thong underwear.
"Sure, some people are disgusted," says Entertainer Editor
Joseph Ngunjiri.
"But the culture is here, you can't just wish it away," Change
is also being felt in the offices of the independent student
magazine The Comrade at Nairobi University, which was frequently
shut down during the Moi regime.
Editor Kennedy Mbara, 25, says students overwhelmingly supported
President Kibaki's campaign because he promised to support a free
press and create jobs for young Kenyans.
"When the regime changed, everyone here was happy, everyone was
hopeful," Mbara says.
However, Mbara says he is troubled by Kibaki's recent refusal to
sign the new constitution, which would decentralise presidential
power, as well as recent warnings from the government-controlled
administration that the magazine's involvement in student protests
will not be tolerated.
"So far they have not banned us, but we can only pray," he
says.
But despite the threat of a reversal of recent gains, Mbara says
that young Kenyans' willingness to speak out is here to stay.
"One thing about our students, we will always talk," he
says.
- Pacific News Service PNS contributor Andrew Strickler is a
freelance journalist and a student at the U.C. Berkeley Graduate
School of Journalism.
As she spins CDs for the evening show "Hits Not Homework" on
Nairobi's Capital FM, D'Souza juggles the phones and keeps an eye
on the dozens of instant messages on her computer screen from her
young listeners.From the requests, it is clear that young Kenyans
have wholeheartedly embraced American pop culture.Among the
hundreds of messages D'Souza receives nightly is a call from Larry
in Baru, who requests a track from Naz.D'Souza says that until a
few years ago, her show was filled exclusively with Tupac, Dr Dre
and other US artists.But Kenya's music scene has exploded in recent
years.These days, D'Souza's Top 10 countdown includes tracks from
Nameless, Prezzo, Necessary Noize and others from a growing list of
homegrown talent.D'Souza welcomes the change."We're finally
becoming serious about local music, and being proud of being
Kenyan," she says.DJ Adrian, a Nairobi native and a fixture on the
city's club scene, agrees that the last three years have seen a
major shift in the tastes of young Kenyans."You can't do a party
any more without local music," he says.The surge in popularity of
Kenyan musicians and the new visibility of youth culture can be
linked directly to the recent liberalisation of the media scene,
which for decades was under the strict control of the
government.For most of Kenya's 41-year history, Daniel arap Moi, a
giant of African politics, ruled as a virtual dictator for almost a
quarter-century.Although Moi was applauded by many as a stabilising
presence in the often-volatile region, his regime was riddled with
corruption, and his critics were often arrested and tortured.Many
others simply disappeared.The news and entertainment media were
similarly restricted during Moi's rule.Through the 1970s and '80s,
Kenyans had only one choice on the radio, the government-controlled
Kenyan Broadcasting Company, which broadcast religious programming
and pro-government news.Young voices rarely made the airwaves.Ken
Obura, a 23-year-old college student from Nairobi, recalls as a
child, "It was all politics, always the same old characters."Moi
began to loosen the reins in his final years in office.A few new
stations appeared, although political criticism remained risky.But
the real change began with the election of current Kenyan President
Mwai Kibaki in 2002, who appears to be fulfilling his campaign
promise to liberalise the media.Today, Kenya radio is experiencing
a boom.Government officials say Nairobi now has 24 licensed FM
operators, most of them less than four years old.Many are eager to
capture the attention of young people, and not just through
music.Among the reggae and Kenyan rap tracks, many of which are
sung in the Swahili-English slang known as "sheng", are frank
discussions on topics such as interracial relationships,
inequalities among Kenya's many cultural groups and AIDS.Not all
topics are open for discussion, however."There is no mention of
lesbianism and homosexuality," says Luiza Safari, 20, an
anthropology student from Mombasa."People think these things are
not happening, but they are, so they should talk about it."And
despite Kibaki's promise to support a free press, government
interference remains a threat.In March, after a DJ at a Nairobi
radio station mocked a government minister on air, the station's
signal was temporarily blocked by a rival station.Although it was
never officially acknowledged, many in Nairobi say the action
happened under orders from Kenya's first lady, Lucy Kibaki.Several
magazines for young Kenyans, many of whom are raised in
conservative Christian and Muslim households, have appeared in
recent years and are pushing the limits of customary propriety.The
latest entry is The Entertainer, which focuses on East African
hip-hop music.Among the magazine's offerings of celebrity gossip
and CD reviews are articles extolling the virtues of late-night
clubbing and thong underwear."Sure, some people are disgusted,"
says Entertainer Editor Joseph Ngunjiri."But the culture is here,
you can't just wish it away," Change is also being felt in the
offices of the independent student magazine The Comrade at Nairobi
University, which was frequently shut down during the Moi
regime.Editor Kennedy Mbara, 25, says students overwhelmingly
supported President Kibaki's campaign because he promised to
support a free press and create jobs for young Kenyans."When the
regime changed, everyone here was happy, everyone was hopeful,"
Mbara says.However, Mbara says he is troubled by Kibaki's recent
refusal to sign the new constitution, which would decentralise
presidential power, as well as recent warnings from the
government-controlled administration that the magazine's
involvement in student protests will not be tolerated."So far they
have not banned us, but we can only pray," he says.But despite the
threat of a reversal of recent gains, Mbara says that young
Kenyans' willingness to speak out is here to stay."One thing about
our students, we will always talk," he says.- Pacific News Service
PNS contributor Andrew Strickler is a freelance journalist and a
student at the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.