Bad Mambo to offer Kenyan reggae fans exceptional sounds

Even though reggae has a long history in Kenya, according to Celina Njoki a host at Ghetto Radio (89.5 FM), the way reggae was introduced in Kenya made a big impact on how it is perceived. Reggae music was played first for people from less privileged backgrounds, mostly in urban ghettos, and so it became associated with certain vices and crimes. Indeed many of Kenya's most ardent reggae fans came from certain suburbs in Nairobi.

The most notorious hailed from Nairobi estates like Ziwani, Kaloleni, Jericho, Bahati. Such groupings were and still are referred to as "massive and crew" on the Kenyan reggae scene. Massive and crew were famous for all the wrong reasons: such as smoking joints openly, spoiling for fights on the dancefloor, intimidating ladies or disrespecting well-muscled security men. 

This trend, thankfully, is gradually changing. A few promoters are working hard at building the image of reggae music in Kenya.

Bad Mambo is a Kenyan outfit pushing an alternative sound to the mainstream reggae that is basically the only choice in most Nairobi clubs. Since 2014 the organization, together with the Bus Yard Collective, has hosted a series of events seeking to give Kenyans a unique perspective to reggae music.“There is a paucity of good live reggae coming from Kenya,” says David Cecil, Artist and Repertoire Manager at Bad Mambo, adding that reggae was traditionally a live music genre but because of the expense of getting a live band together, reggae has suffered.

In 2016 Bad Mambo will launch a series of reggae themed events that will be staged on the last Friday of every month. Dubbed Rebel Bass Sounds, the first event in the series will be staged on Friday 22 January at the Meriada Gardens near Valley Arcade in Nairobi. 

Previously Bad Mambo hosted events under the name Rub-a-Dub were mainly focussed on promoting pure dub reggae. With Rebel Bass Sounds, the idea is to move forward with a new vibe and a new crew, drawn partly from Ghetto Radio and Bad Mambo.  For Rebel Bass nights, Bad Mambo will be targeting Nairobi's true reggae fans and involving local Kenyans to give an element that Rub-a-Dub lacked. The DJ line-up for the inaugural event includes both Kenyans and other nationalities, including DJ Musty (Ghetto Radio), Celina Da Brown Skin Sadaqta (Ghetto Radio), Shoeshine Boy (KE), Binti Afrika (KE), DJ Relic (UK) and DJ Skaface (Bad Mambo, UK).

Lack of support

Even though reggae music in Kenya has been very vibrant, with lots of fans and listeners, reggae events have faced a challenge in attracting sponsorship. “The problem with reggae is promoters can't attract sponsorship as other music events would," explains Celina. "Corporate organisations have not accepted reggae due to the negativity associated with it. Companies give reggae events a wide berth due to its association with violence, slackness and drugs.”

Besides having little or no success in attracting sponsorships, the Kenyan reggae scene has on some occasions experienced "no-shows" from various reggae artists slated to perform in the country. David says that this is a controversial issue, with some people blaming greedy promoters and others blaming arrogant artists. "The truth is that this madness can be avoided by proper communications and working with like-minded people," he says. "If money is the primary reason for hosting or playing a gig, then you are bound to run into problems."

As a solution, David encourages audiences, artists and producers to see the musical potential in reggae. “Reggae is not just Rasta business – it is about love, politics, laughter, money, madness, sadness, badness and joyfulness,” he smiles.

The promoter says local audiences need to be much more selective about the quality of music and sound system. He says revellers should stop attending nights with bad sound as this just encourages weak operators. “The next challenge is to step up with a bigger and more high-fidelity sound system which is, to my mind, the most important aspect of any reggae night and the most neglected one in Kenya right now. So far, only the Mungo’s Hi Fi event that Bad Mambo hosted in October 2015 really had proper sound - you could see the audience response when we turned the bass up!"

Bad Mambo has events lined up for the fourth Friday of every month. To learn more, visit the Bad Mambo website.