Boomba music,also referred to askapuka(due to the beat pattern; not to be confused withkapuka rap), is a form ofhip pop musicpopular inKenya.It incorporateship hop,reggaeand African traditional musical styles. The lyrics are inSwahili,Shengor local dialects.[1]It is associated with theOgopa Deejaysand is believed to have originated in the late 1990s with artists such asRedsan,Bebe CoolandChameleone.It went on to dominate East African airwaves (especially Kenya andUganda) after the release of the Ogopa Deejays' first album in 2001, which included artists such as the lateE-Sir,Nameless,Mr. Lenny,Amani,Mr. Googzand Vinnie Banton amongst others.
The over-saturation of playlists with this music style caused some to criticise it, including the artistsK-Southwho had a hit titled "Kapuka This, Kapuka That". This[clarification needed]also led to other styles such asgengemusic being formed by producerClemoto diversify the market. Despite the critics the music continues to be very popular in Kenya although more so now in Uganda. Of late, "genge" has also come to refer more generally to boomba and "kapuka" music.
Vegatone,Riftsyde flavaorNaxvegas muzikis a genre of hip hop/Afro Dancehall music that originated from the town ofNakuruor colloquially Naks/NaxVegas as many youths call it.
The music is a blend of indigenous kapuka mixed with a reggae baseline. It is characterized by very flashy Musicians who mainly rap and sing about their sexual escapades and the number of women that they keep, but cipher their language to avoid being explicit. Vegatone has evolved in recent times.
Artists in this genre include award-winning artist Teferah who has numerous hits having worked with Nyanda from Brick and Lace on the song "Put It On Me" produced in Romania by Tommo records, and getting signed to an American music label Mpact Muzik in 2017. Teferah is seen as a break-through artist in this genre. Other Vegatone artists are Rhonda Bwoy, Skymer, Juss Nera, Hush BK, Avril, Vivian, K-FRESH, Igiza, Obako, Mavo, 77 and many more. Nakuru is credit for creating the viral sounds of Gengetone which uses the slang used in Nakuru and most Gengetone producers are from Nakuru Sadafa, Mavo on the beat, Duboiz, Samba on the beat, Andah water, Magix Enga and other creatives that fuse Vegatone arrangements. Vegatone is a common sound especially on Kenyan and local nakuru radios highly popularized by Radio presenter Caleb Koyo.
