Msanii_XL

KILIO CHA HAKI

This has to one of the CD's that I was actually bouncing off the walls when I saw the UPS guy pull up in my apartment complex.... I was giddy firstly because being first as Kenyan in the west and hip hop junkie getting to listen to Mc's who try and present hip hop from Kenyan perspective and still stay true to the art form is akin to expecting Michael Jordan third return from retirement ‘not going to happen’. The title of the CD means a 'Cry for justice’, which through out the CD the Mc's attempt and successfully paint a picture of the aptly titled release. The CD itself is a collective of 37 Mc's who were brought together by the foremost Swahili rap Pioneers Kalamashaka trio (oteraw, vigeti and kamau) together with a slew of Dutch producers, Dutch singer, nynka, 1 American Mc, rha goddess and the UpToYouToo initiative.

In the intro we hear Mc' kinyanjui sing ‘I was born in the street, I was born in the slum’ which strikes a balance between lament and sedate assertion of his situation. 'Fanya tena' (you can hear the track if you click on my player) speaks on the realities that they live thru, the teen pregnancies and the consequences, the crime life all created by idleness, which is resultant of lack of opportunities. 'Sisi’ finds the Mc's spitting over a stringed guitar and beat boxing ala rahzel/dougie fresh...what makes it rare and refreshing is who expects this element of hip hop to be found anywhere in the African landscape? . On the title track 'kilio' the sampling of a traditional Luhya song fits like glove to MC Kama-kazi's superbly woven tale of AIDS and its devastating effects in his "hood” with lines like ‘tunaenda bash tunapata ni matanga’. 'Mama we' a story of orphans and an abandoned childhood, this track has a very infectious piano loop and it has one of my favorite beats. MC Johnny boy speaks on childhood without a mother, turning to 'weed' for solace. 'Hebu ridsha' finds mc's Zakah and Mwenyeji spitting over dirty gritty beat that lets the listener know the immense talent that exists in the 'DC' (Dandora city) this the area where they represent notice the similar acronym?

The straight out 94/95 def squad beat 'sina makosa' has the listener expecting Redman to come out spitting but alas Mc's cliff G, oteraw and damu moto hold sway of the beat minus the energy of 'Yo Mtv' raps, The lyrics are farther from what you would expect though as the boys rhyme about dealing with life of traversing the hood to find the next meal, hustling to get money for survival this is sort of like a 'survival of the fittest' track. One of the more interesting lines urges u to pass by their ‘hood’ in order for them to get something to eat and damu moto goes on to tell ‘amri kumi za mungu zi fanyiwa review’… “Mimi siwezi lala njaa kama kuku ya jirani iko nje tayarisha maji’…he continues . The only disappointing thing about the album is that the we only get to hear promising female emcees on only one track ‘Msanii’. L'ness and Atu spit solidly over a RZA influenced beat like veterans that have been doing this for a long time, hopefully we'll get to hear a future album. 'Got drama' has the Kenyan “RUN DMC”, (Kalamashaka) speaking on the shady music industry, the media, and the drama they go thru. MC vigeti spits explicitly and hits hardest on a tale how the 'snakes' smile in your face then turn around and backstab you, how the media establishment has downplayed their relevance calling them has-beens, how they lack focus and drunkenness and drugs dominates their life. Sure on some of tracks they did not bring it the two that show these are ‘sefue’ and ‘confessions of gangster’ the later has one of the most head-nodding beats but oteraw spit really lackluster just because I am of the view that they are mostly a conscious driven bunch and he would have added more to the verse. Overall a good release 4 out of 5

This has to one few best releases to come out of Kenya hip hop wise, you will not be disappointed and not mention you will be supporting a worthy cause, the proceeds go to building a recording studio in their ghetto Dandora City. A showcase on what immense talent can do with limited resources; imagine if the only had a fraction more of the said resources.

More info
Kilio Cha Haki

P.S. I went to the archives yesterday after my boy Izz mentioned that 'Situlikuambia' sampled 'Puppy Chow' from Common Album in 'Can I borrow a Dollar' good looks Izz