Ogopa 1 - Kenyan Club Classics

No one has shaped contemporary Kenyan music as much as Ogopa Deejays, a production team and record label formed in the 1990s who are behind some of the country’s biggest hits over the past 25 years. Even Gengetone, the dancehall inflected hip-hop which has emerged as the sound of Nairobian youth since 2020, can be traced back to Kapuka (or Boomba), the style pioneered by Ogopa Deejays in the ‘90s. Their first compilation, released in 2001, exemplifies their trademark blend of hip hop, pop, dancehall, and Kenyan styles, with music by E-Sir, in the form of a “sneak peak” of his alum Nimefika, and king of Kenyan dancehall Redsan, with his song “Julie” which samples Karibu Yangu by Tshala Muana. The compilation also contains a couple of house cuts, a snapshot of the vibrant Nairobi clubbing scene in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.