What is good music? Good Kenyan music? I think you recognize it when you hear it. It's not one thing or the other. Not genge not kapuka not fusion not hip hop. Its all that but more than that. Good Kenyan music makes you know look at yourself, it talks about you and what you experience or know as a Kenyan.
Good Kenyan music is also good. Good means quality, professional. Not necessarily expensive or cutting edge. Good also means creative. Unusual rhyme patterns, Unheard of beats. New ideas new sounds. Or even old stuff just created differently.
So what does one need to make this good Kenyan music? I think the greatest asset any artist could possess is an open mind, a willingness to turn the tables on what everyone else is doing.
We have problems. Piracy means artists don't get paid for their work. Few media houses means getting your music heard is a huge problem. Our diversity means that there is no guaranteed audience for your sound. But all these problems are just opportunities in disguise for some person or person to be the Russel Simmons of Kenya, to really revolutionize the our cultural identity.
Listen to the music(media) and get in touch. Music is my religion and my drug.