Back in the day most people could never relate thse songs of Kalamashaka with how tough life was for youth growing up in Dandora…its only after Social media, klist Live by the Gun and the Hessy wa Dandora exposes on FB did the reality sink in
With the elections coming up lets remember how tough life was for the ordinary mwananchi under the rule of President Moi and his Kanu regime and why the masses stood up to demand change and a new constitution to replace “system ya wakoloni”
What is better…“Life without Peace or Peace without Life” or are this two mutually exclusive
Hebu fikiria
amani bila maisha au maisha bila amani
amani bila maisha nadhani yawezekana
binadamu wanaweza ishi bila kukosana
sidhani
hata ukitazama
cheki molo , njoro
hii ni somo
watoto wamebaki bila wazazi wewe huoni hata likoni
system ya wakoloni watumia
divide and rule imeingia
Mungu wangu niokowe
tabu uzitoe
roho yangu na ipoe
alafu mtulize roho na hii documentary ukitafsriri ho mambo
Moi used to say…“kaeni kwa amani” yes there was relative peace…but there was no life…life here meaning freedom…now the constitution has given us freedom to think, write, say what you want, vote for your candidate…meaning life…but there is no peace…every election time we are worried what is going to happen
I feel like kenyan hip hop has diminished greatly…long gone are the days when we used to anticipate for this hip hop songs…kina kalama shaka, uko flani mau mau…system ya majambaz etc etc …i remember in high school where my love for hip hop solidified we had the uko flani mau mau color black album we used to listen to it before entertainment started on sato afternoon…
We are definitely rooting for democracy and freedom of speech with a great sense of peace… although i feel like the best medicine for kenya might be a slight- totalitarian someone who is a fascist who will put the agenda of kenya first and be tough on corruption, be pro integrity (which we lack in kenya)…and be pro-develpment but development in the sense of uplifting the mere mortal status of life Making sure ako able to feed and care for himself
Hip hop then was the real shit…i remember listening to jirongi, kalamashaka launching their first video on channel o (fanya mambo, “uko teyari huh, uko teyari huh ok”…,) Nazizi and crew, etc…real hip hop faded away amd i dont know why!!!
Kama from the group Kalamashaka explaining the history of his group Ukoo Flani Mau Mau and the conection to the views of the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya during the Q & A at the 2013 African Hip Hop Film Series at California State University, Los Angeles.