Local artistes create great music but need our support to succeed
Kenyan rapper Khaligraph Jones aka Papa Jones during a past live performance in Mombasa.
What you need to know:
- While most Kenyans love music, they hardly support local artists.
- Local artists always lament lack of support from the public and the government.
Music is a basic need. It keeps us going. It starts with creation of melodies in different forms; from making beats on your desk, to humming a tune and finally producing it in a studio. While most Kenyans love music, they hardly support local artists.
Nowadays, it is normal for people to vent online that we should embrace and support local music. However, local artists — from established names to up-and-coming talent — always lament lack of support from the public and the government.
Some of them have resorted to moving out of the country or even quitting their career in music. Kenyans think merely listening to local music equals adequate support for local talent.
Support should be more than this. It should include pushing for their songs to trend on social platforms like YouTube by sharing links.
Kenyans are vocal on Twitter and, by asking the government to invest more in the music industry using the platform, it could go a long way. We can also nominate and vote for Kenyan musicians for international awards.
Highly talented artists
On the 15th anniversary of Google trends, the tech giant released a list of the most-searched items in Kenya over the past 15 years. Under the category of top searched musicians, only two Kenyan artists made it to the list — Willy Paul at fourth and Khaligraph Jones at tenth. This shows the glaring lack of support.
While the list is made out of data from over a long period of time, most trending Kenyan music and musicians are of recent times. The artists keep complaining and they know more than we do about what goes on in the industry.
As much as you like listening to music from other countries, try supporting our local artists. The industry has so much to offer; rap, trap, soul, R&B, gengetone and so many more that you can take interest in.
Even reggae that originated from Jamaica has also been made and produced by Kenyans.
It is high time we started listening to and supporting our highly talented artists.
Sharon, a student at Rusinga School, is interested in a career in journalism.
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