Kalamashaka: Dandora trio that fired up Kenya's music industry

Members of the hip hop group Kalamashaka that started in Dandora. Their courageous lyrics opened up Kenyan music industry to a whole new level. [Courtesy]

What is in a song? Over the years, certain songs have had a major cultural and political impact on societies and served as catalysts that defined historic moments.

The Kenyan hall fame would not be complete without Fadhili Williams, Maliaka, Daudi Kabaka’s Harambee, Harambee, Them Mushrooms, “Jambo Bwana, Ayub Ogada’s Koth Biro and Eric Wanaina’s “Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo”. The songs were associated with patriotism, cultural identity but lyrically, they were safe even as they stretched musical borders. However 20 years ago, one songemerged that radically changed Kenya’s urban music scene forever.