UrbanTone: Sampling Frenzy - Innovation or Stagnation?
UrbanTone music, a unique and evolving genre from Kenya, has carved out a niche in the vibrant Kenyan music scene with its distinctive urban tone beats. This genre, known as Kenyan UrbanTone or simply UrbanTone, blends traditional African sounds with modern urban music influences, especially sampling from old Kenyan Gengetone and Jamaican dancehall music. As the popularity of UrbanTone continues to grow, questions arise about the authenticity and originality of its beats. Critics and fans alike debate whether this style represents a true innovation or if it falls into a pattern of sampling madness and laziness. We take a look at UrbanTone music, exploring its roots, impact, and the controversies that surround its creative process.
I have always been the devil’s advocate, my inclination towards playing the role of a contrarian stems not from a desire for controversy, but from a genuine fascination with the debate. In a previous article, I wrote earlier concerning the trajectory and decline of the Gengetone genre, I highlighted the issue of a lack of innovation. Years later, the landscape appears unchanged, the same market but with different madmen, only this time it’s not the inhabitants of the slums singing in Shembeteng and Kiburugudah, its uptown who rehash familiar dancehall tracks of our collective youth. Let’s face it, urban tone is a cocktail of picked up beats, catchy and witty bars and an audience of university kids who just need music to smoke weed with (No judgements)
I don’t know who came up with this idea that we channel our inner “Yeezy” and sample
Kanye West
every song we hear on the radio, while it’s not wrong or new or in any way authentic, I understand that we do not live in an episode of the Originals. Imitation though is limitation, not that the songs don’t hit, God knows I put my ballerina shoes on when the speaker blasts “TikTok kanakuwanga Tik Toker…” My point is it’s enjoyable for a while but it will tire us someday, soon and very soon, just like its godfather “Gengetone”, no one will care about any of these songs by 2026. As a believer in the excellence of the Kenyan Industry, we need to tell our artists the truth; we can’t compete if we are the only audience we have. The trouble with these mushrooming genres is that they are age-tied, the kids listening to Urban tone will have grown up by 2026, and it won’t sound the same then. What happens when you lose your audience, and the new 20 year old come up with their new genre, we have a repeat of Gengetone?
Ochungulo Family
What does this mean for an artist, to be relevant for just two years?
It’s the equivalent of Kai Havertz being exceptional in pre-season only to pull mad stinkers during the season, sometimes it makes me so sad I want to cry for him.
The battalion of Gengetone artists that rocked our campus days are majorly out of the game, getting out or trying to get back in.
Maddox from Boondocks Gang (RIGHT) is allegedly depressed after his peers moved on career wise ahead of him,
These are not isolated cases, I could ask you to name a single Gengetone era artists who still has the industry by the balls and you wouldn’t name a single one. Only Ssaru, Fathermoh and the Mbuzi gang have held it down and even they had to switch up something new. The standout case is Kappy who is still dropping gems, although he never made it out of the hood musically THEN, his versatility is what is holding him down. Ethic split up, Ochunglo Family split up, Wakali wao went somewhere, and Zzero Sufuri threw away a golden chance to heir Octopizzo to the throne.
Magixx Enga, the producer that literally held Gengetone down is allegedly stranded in a Keg den in Nakuru.
At one time, these artists reigned supreme on the Kenyan entertainment horizon, but I saw it differently. Despite my cautions about their lack of a distinctive sound—a critique not of their use of Sheng, (which is authentically Kenyan) but of their originality, their fans, opposed me when I said their lack of authentic sound would all but guarantee their decline. Okay, Bervon but what is your point? My message to the urban tone artists is this:
Innovation does not equate to the mere recycling of beats. Creativity under the vast sky should seek originality, there is nothing new under the sun, but we don’t 3D print banana trees and stones, stop lifting beats man that is not sampling.
In my circle, I count numerous artists as close friends, spanning an array of disciplines from writing, singing, and rapping to producing, directing, and acting. Among this eclectic group is even a ventriloquist dummy named Bob. Currently, Bob and I are experiencing a rift, sparked by my blunt critique of his career path and an ill-received jest calling him a puppet, anyway, I digress.
In my interactions with artists across various disciplines, the paramount value they attribute to their work is authenticity—the pride in originating a concept that defines their artistic wealth. Yet, the approach adopted by our urban tone counterparts, with their habit for reusing Jua Kali beats as though we're in the heyday of Vybz Kartel, suggests a deviation from this ideal.
I recall a tweet about Vybz Kartel recording two tracks on the same riddim to assert his dominance, highlighting the contrast between mere replication and true artistic innovation.
I invite you to consider the journey of several artists who transitioned from underground to mainstream of the Kenyan music scene, marking the transformative power of true artistry. During my teenage years, I witnessed the ascent of genres like Shrap, Gengetone, and New Age Hip-Hop, and followed artists such as Boutross, AD Family, Jovie Jovv, and WAKADINALI, who were then budding talents with just a couple of fans. I was lucky to meet, watch live and sometimes interact with these artists before they ascended the ladder of music fame. The release of "Lamba Lolo" by Ethic marked a seismic shift in the Kenyan music landscape, momentarily sidelining these early favorites. Yet, their stories exemplify the enduring value of authenticity, hard work, consistency and innovation in music.
But after all was said and done, the dust settled, and vision cleared, Wakadinali, Asum, BreederLW, Boutross, TNT have all went mainstream, they are still here, a popular song will bring you to the limelight, authenticity keeps you there.
You might have noticed that I am not name dropping these youngins wa Urban tone, it’s their moment, and I’ll let them have it.
However, as talented as some of them are, the advancement of technology has allowed a lot of hogwash bullcrap to make it into the music scene.
Far from harboring any negativity, I recognize the intrinsic dynamics of the music industry, which graciously allows artists to evolve their craft in real-time. This journey often witnesses artists refining their talents, and despite the potential for the urbantone genre to wane, it will invariably give rise to committed and serious artists. These individuals will transcend the confines of "Urban Tone," leveraging their experiences to forge a unique identity. Embracing the hustle with the universal goal “Dream ni ya kutoka kwa block” so we all gotta do what we gotta do, otherwise I wouldn’t be here raining on yall’s parade.
My sentiments most likely do not hold any water, but neither does Urban tone. We are not going anywhere with this basic over sampling peppered with nursery rhymesque lyrics, actually it is very lazy, far from innovative and original, actually if anything, IT IS ANNOYING.
