Khali Cartel: Top Kenyan rappers who’ve been supported by Khaligraph Jones

The OG has played a critical role in growing Kenya’s rap industry, with scores of top rappers having featured on his yearly cypher dubbed Khali Cartel.

The recent nomination of rapper Khaligraph Jones, real name Brian Ouko for a Black Entertainment Television (BET) award is a testimony of his rap prowess.

Even though the father of two lost the Best International Flow gong to UK grime rapper Stormzy, he made history by becoming the first Kenyan rapper to be considered for the award. Earlier in the year, Khali put Kenya and East African hip-hop music on the world map after trouncing African rap giants like S.A’s Kwesta and Ghana’s Sarkodie to win the ‘Best in Hip-Hop’ award at the 2020 Soundcity MVP awards. But aside from his exploits, the Blue Ink Corp studios founder has also played a critical role in growing Kenya’s rap industry, with scores of top rappers having featured on his yearly cypher dubbed Khali Cartel. The last instalment of the cypher released on September 26, 2019, has garnered over 2.8 million YouTube views and some of the featured rappers have gone on to make a mark in Kenya’s rap scene.