The music of Kenya is very diverse, with multiple types of folk music based on the variety over 50 regional languages.
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Incredibad is the debut studio album of the American comedy troupe The Lonely Island, released on February 10, 2009, through Universal Republic Records. Composed of writers and childhood best friends Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, the album consists of hip hop-inspired comedy songs and skits with a satirical slant on traditional hip hop culture.
Jorma Christopher Taccone is an American writer, producer, director, comedian, actor, and musician. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island with his childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wrote and directed the SNL spinoff film MacGruber, which was his directorial debut. He directed his second feature alongside Schaffer, the musical comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which he also co-wrote and co-starred in with Schaffer and Samberg.
"Lazy Sunday" is a single and short film by American comedy troupe The Lonely Island. It was released on December 17, 2005, when it premiered on episode nine, season 31 of Saturday Night Live as the troupe's second Digital Short. Primarily performed by Andy Samberg and fellow cast member Chris Parnell, the song and accompanying music video follow the two comedians as they eat cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, buy snacks at a convenience store, and smuggle the food into a Sunday afternoon matinee of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Akiva Daniel Shebar Schaffer is an American writer, producer, director, comedian, actor, and musician. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. Schaffer began his career with The Lonely Island making videos for Channel 101. In 2005, Saturday Night Live hired the trio, with Schaffer joining as a writer. In their time at SNL, The Lonely Island pioneered the digital short format, creating popular sketches such as "Lazy Sunday", "I Just Had Sex", "I'm on a Boat", and "Dick in a Box". After SNL, Schaffer went on to direct movies including Hot Rod, The Watch, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. The Lonely Island has made albums such as Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, and The Wack Album. Schaffer also produced a number of TV shows and movies, including MacGruber, PEN15, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and Palm Springs.
"I'm on a Boat" is a single from The Lonely Island's debut album Incredibad. It was also featured as a Saturday Night Live Digital Short. The song features R&B singer T-Pain. The song, produced by Wyshmaster, is a parody of many rap video clichés, especially the music video for the Jay-Z song "Big Pimpin'." The music video reached number one on YouTube in February 2009 and was number one on the US iTunes music video chart. The song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 52nd Grammy Awards. The Lonely Island has also performed the song live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Black Thought filling in for T-Pain. The trio also performed an altered clean version for a "Classroom Instruments" segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The song went platinum.
Asa Taccone is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and frontman of the band Electric Guest with whom he has released three albums since 2012. He is noted as a close collaborator of The Lonely Island and has contributed to their musical work on Saturday Night Live and a number of their films. He also has written music for other comedy film and television projects including American Dad! and Portlandia.
James "Jim" Wathigo "Wat" Mburu,, better known by his stage names Jimwat and Jimweezy, is a Kenyan genge rapper.
Camp Mulla was an alternative hip hop group originating from and based in Nairobi, Kenya. The group rose to prominence with the release of their single "Party Don't Stop" on 31 August 2010, with that and their subsequent works earning them a nomination for Best International Act (Africa) at the 2012 BET Awards. Following the release of their debut studio album, Funky Town, the group's lead singer Karun and rapper Taio both left the group to pursue higher education and solo careers. In September 2017 the main four members announced their reunion at The Wave performance at the Waterfront, Ng'ong racecourse, but soon after disbanded again. The group's musical style, fashion sense and origins have drawn comparisons to The Black Eyed Peas, while they have also been criticised for making "bubblegum music".
"3-Way " is a song recorded by American comedy music group the Lonely Island, featuring American singers Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. The R&B and new jack swing track was written by Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Timberlake, while produced by the Futuristics with further production from Asa Taccone and Ryan & Smitty. It appeared as an SNL Digital Short on May 21, 2011, in the episode of the sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live, which saw Timberlake and Gaga as the host and musical guest, respectively. She commented that Samberg and Timberlake were nervous about presenting the idea to her. The song was released as a single on May 24, 2011, three days after the broadcast.
Sauti Sol is a Kenyan Afropop band formed in Nairobi in 2005 by vocalists Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi. Initially an a cappella group, guitarist Polycarp Otieno joined before they named themselves Sauti Sol.
The Wack Album is the third studio album by American comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island. Recorded in Los Angeles and New York City with producers including TODAY, DJ Nu-Mark and Asa Taccone, it was released on June 7, 2013 by Republic Records. The album reached number ten on the US Billboard 200 and topped the Comedy Albums and Rap Albums charts. "3-Way ", "YOLO", "Spring Break Anthem", "I Fucked My Aunt", "Diaper Money", "Semicolon", "Go Kindergarten" and "Spell It Out" were released as singles.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a 2016 American mockumentary musical comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone and written by and starring Andy Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer. The trio, collectively known as The Lonely Island, also co-produced the film with Judd Apatow and Rodney Rothman. Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Imogen Poots, Joan Cusack, Maya Rudolph, and Chris Redd appear in supporting roles.
Kevin Ambalwa better known as Kayvo Kforce, is an African hip hop artist from Nairobi, Kenya. He released a diss track 'Kill A King' which disses all the Kenyan hip hop artistes.
Petra Bockle known professionally as Petra, is a rapper, singer and songwriter of Kenyan and Seychellois descent. She performs in both Swahili and English, sometimes switching back and forth. She cites 2Pac, Eminem, MC Lyte and Lil' Kim as her musical influences.
Jacob Obunga popularly known as Otile Brown is a Kenyan independent R&B singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He gained media attention after the release of his hit single "Imaginary Love," featuring Khaligraph Jones. He released his debut studio album, in April 2017 which included the singles "Basi", "Alivyonipenda", "Shujaa Wako", "DeJavu" and "Aiyolela". Otile has collaborated with artists such as Sanaipei Tande, Okangasto, Barakah The Prince, King Kaka, Volvexzshawa, ruby among others.
Michael Kennedy Claver professionally known as Naiboi, is a Kenyan singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, record executive, and entrepreneur. In 2014, he made the switch from being solely a music producer, under the moniker Rapdamu, to a recording artist, and with the switch came a change of name to Naiboi. His collaborative records, “Welle Welle” in 2014 featuring Timmy Tdat and “Daktari” 2015 featuring Frasha gained him notoriety and recognition in the Kenyan music scene as a recording artiste of note.
Brian Ouko Omollo, popularly known by his stage name Khaligraph Jones, is a Kenyan rapper known for his hit singles "Mazishi" and "Yego". He released his debut full-length studio album Testimony 1990 in June 2018. Khaligraph Jones has received numerous awards during his career. He was nominated for 'Best Male Artist' at the 2018 Afrimma Awards, won 'Best Hip Hop Artist' at the 2020 AFRIMMA, and was nominated for 'Best International Act' at the 2020 BET Awards.
Shariff Thabit Ramadhan, better known by his stage name Darassa is a Tanzanian hip hop artist, recognized for his 2016 hit song 'Muziki', featuring Ben Pol.
