Tetu Shani, who considers himself a leader in alternative music, was heavily involved. Under this banner, artists came together for the #AwesomeChallenge, releasing one song a month for a period to create awareness for their movement. What makes it unique is, it’s basically me unfiltered.” Tetu about his styleĪt one point, Kenya’s alternative music scene was known as Nu Nairobi. But I think finally I have settled on Alternative Pop. I mean, throughout the years, it’s been Afrofolk, at one point I called it pop-rock, and Afropop. “ I am currently calling my music alternative pop. For example, when popular music styles like benga, seben and Afrofusion were in their heyday, there were other artists such as Ayub Ogada, making alternative music, that strayed from popular norms.īecause of these changes, or “alternatives” to what is currently popular, the scene has borne many names. I consider myself as part of the alternative music movement in Kenya, and one of the pioneers along with other great names like Muthoni Drummer Queen, Blinky Bill, Mayonde, Just A Band and a bunch of other people.”Īs long as music has existed in Kenya, there has been an alternative music scene however, it can be difficult to pinpoint historically what that timeline looks like.
So, Alternative musicians then, are the people who create a sound that is different from the mainstream sound in their culture at that point. This is what you ubiquitously hear on the media, say radio for instance. Say, at any given point, you have what is the mainstream – the collection of sounds that specific culture has embraced, at that moment.
I’ll share what it means to me as a Kenyan musician. “ Alternative music means something different depending on the context or country. Tetu Shani, a key alternative musician in Kenya, who recently got nominated for the AFRIMA Awards under the African Rock category and earned himself a music placement on Netflix’s Blood and Water series, set us off by sharing his understanding of the scene, it’s history and the key players.
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