The music of Kenya is very diverse, with multiple types of folk music based on the variety over 40 regional languages.
Soukous is a popular genre of dance music from the Congo Basin. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance currently associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, longer dance sequences. Notable performers of the genre include African Fiesta, Papa Wemba and Pépé Kallé.
Daudi Kabaka (1939–2001) was a Kenyan vocalist and musician.
Gerald Linford Beckley is an American singer, songwriter and musician, and a founding member of the band America.
Congolese rumba, also known as Rumba Lingala after its predominant language, is a popular genre of dance music which originated in the Congo basin during the 1940s, with strong similarities to Cuban son. The style gained popularity throughout Africa during the 1960s and 1970s.
Jack Rose was an American guitarist originally from Virginia and later based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. He was also a member of the noise/drone band Pelt.
Samba Mapangala was born in Matadi in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He spent early 1970s with various bands in Kinshasa, before moving to Uganda in 1975 where he and some other Congolese musicians formed the Les Kinois band. They moved to Nairobi in 1977. He formed a new band, the Orchestra Virunga, in 1981. The band is named after Virunga volcano located in Congo.
Daniel Owino Misiani was a Tanzanian-born musician based in Kenya, where he led the Shirati Jazz collective. He was known as the "King of History" in Kenya; overseas and in Tanzania, he was known as "the grandfather of benga", which he pioneered.
The Bedtime Record is a defunct record label that began in Chattanooga, TN in 1997 by Jake Cunningham. The label was born from an idea to release 7" compilations with four bands on each record, two from the United States and two from Europe. All releases were limited edition in vinyl format. The label also released several 7" singles and a 10" split. The bands included Golden, The Microphones, Wookieback, Orange Cake Mix, Bob Hund, Le Mans, Spring, Dent, The Ruby Dare and Fegan among others.
Adegbenga Adejumo, known as Benga, is a British musician from Croydon, known for being the pioneer of dubstep record production. He has been featured on a variety of compilations including Mary Anne Hobbs's Warrior Dubz, Tempa's The Roots of Dubstep and the BBC Radio 1Xtra anniversary mix.
Kevin Omondi Migot better known for his stage name Dola Kabarry is a benga musician from Kenya. He leads the band Orchestra Super Haki Haki. His songs are mainly in Dholuo language.
Joseph Kamaru was a Kenyan Benga and gospel musician and political activist. He was an icon, a hero, and a leading Kikuyu musician, who has sold about half a million records. He was notable for his politically motivated songs either praising or criticising the government. His music covered the teachings of life, promiscuity and sexual harassment in Kenyan politics and social culture.
Maroon Commandos is a musical group from Kenya. It is a military band belonging to 7th Kenya Rifles Battalion of the Kenya Army. They are based at the Langata Barracks in Langata, Nairobi. The group performs benga, rumba and other styles of music. They perform both original and cover versions. The band plays often at state functions.
Deux Vultures is a musical group in Kenya performing hip hop and pop music.
Musa Juma Mumbo was a rumba and Benga musician from Kenya. He was born to the second wife of his father, a policeman, and into a family of 18 children. He grew up in Homabay where he attended primary and secondary schools. He began signings and playing instruments at a young age. His first instruments were guitars and drums made from tins and strings. He was the bandleader, guitarist and composer for Orchestra Limpopo International. Most of his music was sung in Dholuo language. Some of his songs are a fusion of the Luo and Congolese musical styles. He also sang in Kiswahili and English.
Dan "chizi" Aceda, is a Kenyan musician, entrepreneur, architect, and actor from Nairobi. He has recently been recognised by a Kenyan online magazine as having one of the top 10 most iconic male voices in his home country. In 2014 he was nominated to be a part of the Global Accelerator Conference for entrepreneurs organised by the UN Foundation in New York City. He is also a 2013–2014 Global Health Corps fellow
Christine Kamau is a Kenyan instrumentalist who plays the trumpet and the saxophone. She has performed at various local music festivals and has appeared in the BBC series African Beats which features emerging African musicians.
Joshua Abrams is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist.
