I was recently analysing the Kenyan music charts
While the Arbantone genre might be having it’s moment in the sun, I couldn’t help but notice that gospel music is having a resurgence. For our younger readers, gospel used to be the most popular genre in Kenya back in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Artists like Daddy Owen, DK Kwenye Beat and Jimmy Gait were the talk of town, getting all the shows and endorsement deals around. Now they are a shadow of themselves, or they have even moved on to other ventures outside of music.
However, there are a new group of gospel artists bringing back the word of God to the mainstream. This time around they are not in the Urban Gospel category that blended influences from dancehall with the holy message. This time around we have “purer” gospel artists with clear influences from mainstays like Rose Muhando. These are:
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Papi Clever and Dorcas