New Music on the Radar May 6 2025(Frank Ireri, Tipsy GEE, Mau & Boondocks Gang)

This week’s New Music on the Radar brings a mix of comebacks, reinventions, and bold statements. Boondocks Gang’s unexpected reunion on Kafya shows the gengetone old guard regrouping to face off arbantone stars like Tipsy Gee who has made  a matatu anthem Nganya with the help of Mavo on the Beat. Silly  by Mau From Nowhere an hihi is as braggadocios as  rap songs can get but this is cleverly wrapped in witty lyricism laced with self-aware irony and good nature that leaves you laughing because it is Silly , unlike Frank Ireri’s Someone To Love that is a cheesy yet self aware ballad with all the danked upon tropes that acts as defiance of the  constant internet gender wars by reminding listeners the  real lovers have not all disappeared, May kicks off with releases you don’t want to miss. Here are four songs making waves right now.

Frank Ireri – Somebody To Love

You don’t press play on “Somebody To Love” expecting revolution—but maybe you should. With every warm guitar lick and that plaintive piano weaving through contrasting pitches, Frank Ireri’s debut-era ballad walks the tightrope between familiar and quietly defiant. It’s a love song in the most earnest, classic sense—lush with desire, tempered by vulnerability, and carried by a gentle Ed Sheeran-esque arrangement that knows when to swell and when to soften. The piano commands the early mood, tiptoeing between soft keys and climactic highs, before letting the electric guitar carry the urgency of longing. It’s in these subtle production decisions—letting instruments emote, giving each a turn to lead—that the song’s emotional arc finds sonic grounding.

Frank’s delivery is intimate, sincere, and rich in self-awareness. He doesn’t pretend to be cool about love. Instead, he opens with a soft-spoken wish: “I wanna stand and stare at the stars with somebody that I love, with somebody that I treasure so much,” before layering on the ache of solitude and yearning for reciprocity. His voice rises as he circles in on love as a psychological necessity: “I just want somebody to call my own,” and “I need someone to see my scars.” And then, just when it could veer into sentimentality, he grounds it with a disarming line in the bridge: “And nothing cute from someone I love, I think you are the one that I love.” The song’s charm is that it knows what it is—a cheesy, heartfelt ballad—and leans in unapologetically.

But what makes Frank Ireri’s emergence so compelling is not just his ability to sing about love—it’s that he dares to. In a digital age where relationships are often reduced to transactional memes and misanthropic punchlines, a 2025 Kenyan singer-songwriter with just four months of releases and already 2,199 monthly listeners offering up such naked romanticism is a quiet rebellion. His self-description—a lover of love songs who teases upcoming diss tracks—shows an artist aware of the tropes, but not imprisoned by them. Frank’s rise is emblematic of the current Kenyan underground scene: one where idealism, introspection, and authenticity can still find an audience. In a time of cynicism, maybe real lovers aren’t gone—they’re just indie, and learning to produce their own tracks.

Tipsy Gee ft. Parroty – Nganya

The chant hits first—“Nganya, nganya, nganya!”—and before you know it, you’re pulled into a nostalgic reworking of the nyama nyama nyama playground rhythm, now weaponized as a street anthem. Tipsy Gee and Parroty’s “Nganya” is as much a sonic celebration as it is a cultural timestamp, offering a tribute to Nairobi’s iconic matatus that is brash, playful, and full of swagger. It’s the sort of song that doesn’t just describe matatu culture; it belongs to it. With a beat crafted by the ever-adaptable Mavo on the Beat—who fuses boombap melodies with modern synths and gengetone drum patterns—the track pulses with an irresistible energy. Mavo’s history of riding and shaping sonic waves in Kenyan music, from  late stage Kapuka acts like Kenrazzy,Kristoff and Timmy Tdat to Gengetone and now Arbantone, finds another chapter in this track.

The delivery is classic cypher-style. Tipsy and Parroty go back and forth like old heads battling in a parking lot, trading lines with effortless bravado as they exalt the nganya—the pimped-out public service vehicles that double as mobile discos and social canvases. The chorus is not just catchy but clever, “Nganya gani kali, nganya gani nare?”, turning a question about the best matatu into a barometer of street cred. Each verse ends with the statement “Nganya ni culture na kwetu pia lifestyle”, grounding the track in the tradition of kibwagizo, a Swahili poetic device where the same line closes each stanza to drive the point home. This repetition echoes the way these vehicles circle back into daily life, always present, always loud, always part of the city’s rhythm.

Thematically, “Nganya” fits squarely within a long-standing lineage of matatu odes in Kenyan hip hop. The most iconic of them—Khaligraph Jones’ remix of Tunji’s “Mat Za Ronga”—might have used hard-hitting bars to immortalize the matatu, but Tipsy Gee and Parroty choose the Gengetone-infused Arbantone style to reach a new generation. This isn’t a throwback; it’s a reinvention. And that reinvention is loaded with meaning. Tipsy Gee, a rising voice in the Arbantone scene, has made it clear he’s not just making music—he’s pushing a movement. His claim as “Arbantone Master” isn’t idle braggadocio; it’s backed by hits like Tik toker, , growing clout, and a readiness to square off with Gengetone loyalists for the soul of urban Kenyan sound.

Silly – Mau From Nowhere & hihi

Kenyan-British rapper mau from nowhere and genre-defying American Midwest producer hihi deliver a bold sonic statement with “silly”—a tongue-in-cheek, high-octane track that flips the emotional introspection of their earlier work on its head. Where their previous single “what’s all this then” leaned mellow, silly comes in loud, chaotic, and gleefully unserious.

hihi’s production is a carnival of sound—blending Latin percussion, South Asian rhythms, and hip-hop bounce into a frenzied beat that somehow never loses coherence. The song mimics lo-fi minimalism for intricate layering, full of tempo switches and rhythmic cycles that showcase hihi’s background as a DJ. Even in sections where the melody pulls back, the energy never dips—thanks to dense, detailed drum programming.

At the heart of the song is an ironic chorus: “So silly how I rap sometimes / ‘Cause I really, really rap sometimes.” It’s a knowing wink from mau from nowhere, whose delivery drips with swagger, wit, and meta-commentary. The first verse opens with:
“Hold the applause, I’m not quite finished, “and proceeds to juggle confidence with creeping doubts—bragging that he’s “too prolific to stay dumb” while admitting his audience might be growing numb. The choice to be “silly” is not just comedic—it’s philosophical. It’s an antidote to pressure, a method of self-preservation in the face of high expectations from the fanbase of the awarded rapper. The second verse shifts tone—mau critiques those who don’t connect with his music, but rather than lash out, he leans inward: saying he understands them as he is,“Young, Black, talented—and anxious. “The cadence drops, his tone softens, and we’re left with a calmer, more grounded narrator. It’s the sound of growth: choosing play over perfection, presence over performance.

In a world where rap often swings between hyper-masculine bravado and vulnerable soul-baring, silly lives joyfully in the in-between. It’s a celebration of contradiction—where chaos is crafted, irony is honest, and confidence doesn’t cancel out doubt. This balance marks a turning point in their collaborative journey, setting high expectations for their upcoming album PRESSURE.

Kafyat – Boondocks Gang

Boondocks Gang returns with Kafyat, sticking to their gengetone roots while subtly evolving their sound. The production leans into familiar territory with looping keyboard and synthesizer melodies that deliver the genre’s signature bounce. However, the drum patterns are noticeably toned down, hinting at a more mature approach from the group. Produced by gengetone powerhouse Black Market Records, the track maintains its party-ready energy but with slightly more sonic restraint.

The phrase “haka ni kafyat”—Swahili slang for “this one is crazy”—anchors the chorus and runs through the verses as a playful, endearing description of a love interest. In the song’s context, “crazy” refers more to eccentric behavior, often associated with marijuana use, than to any genuine instability. It’s a light-hearted, humorous take on attraction to unpredictable partners.

Odi Wa Murang’a takes the lead on the hook and first verse, setting a laid-back tone with his deep voice and relaxed cadence—a departure from tracks where Exray leads with higher energy. His verse paints a picture of a woman who’s socially awkward yet intriguing: she raps like Moi (an ironic jab at her lack of talent) and mingles with questionable crowds. Exray follows with a more cautionary verse, describing the “kafyat” as someone better left to seasoned players (“tumwachie ma badman”). He laces his bars with drug-related slang like “zimeriet” and “macho nyanya” (red eyes from being high), shifting into a melodic delivery as the verse wraps up. Odi returns for a second verse, switching up his usual style with a rare melodic cadence. He narrates a weekend filled with parties and romantic filters—sorting those he finds appealing from those he doesn’t. Edu Maddox closes out the track, emphasizing physical attraction to tie the narrative arc together. Kafyat is ideal for clubs, chill radio sets, and party playlists. Its slower tempo and relaxed vibe make it a strong contender for casual listening sessions and late-night wind-downs—an easy favorite for those who want a dose of fun without the full-throttle gengetone energy

Kafyat marks the first full-member release by Boondocks Gang in over two years, a highly anticipated return that answers fan speculation about their status as a trio. The timing is notable—Ethic Entertainment, another iconic gengetone group, recently reunited with Rekless after announcing a split two years ago, even releasing a new track featuring veteran Nameless. These reunions suggest a quiet resurgence in gengetone collectives that had splintered during or after the pandemic. Fans have dubbed this comeback wave a “recession indicator” in jest—but the truth is that when groups split, only one or two members usually maintain solo momentum.

Written by Otieno Arudo