As a platform that showcases, plays, and promotes Kenyan music and content, one of the saddest things is that every day, thousands of people tune in to listen to Kenyan music. Still, most of those listeners are not Kenyan. So, the question that we ask ourselves and others is how we change a culture and get Kenyans to love Kenyan?
If you visit Tanzania, you will only hear Tanzanian music because the people of Tanzania are proud of their country and support their artists. If you visit America, the majority of music you will hear will be American music. In Kenya, you will hear music from all over the world, which is not a problem, but when you visit the world, you do not hear Kenyan music.
For Kenyan music and content to make it on the global stage, we in Kenya must first love Kenya and Kenyan music more than any other country’s music or content. We don’t need Vybz Kartel and Drake to come to Kenya to have a stadium concert. Why can we have an event with Coster Ojwang, Samido, Toxic Lyrikali, Njerae, and Virusi Mbaya and have people come in large numbers?
The problem is simple. As Kenyans, we don’t value Kenyan. We think that Kenyan is less, which is wrong. Simply because we see Uncojingjong all the time does not mean that he is not talented or as good as international dancehall acts. Kenyan music is great, but it needs Kenyans to support it for it to get to where Afrobeats is. Afrobeats is global, not because it is better than Kenyan music, but because Ghanaians and Nigerians are proud of their music at home and in the diaspora. When you visit Ghana, all you hear is their music. When you visit Nigeria, all you hear is their music. What are Kenyans listening to? They are not listening to Radio 254, at least not the majority of them. If you look at Spotify, YouTube, or Apple Music, you will see that in 2026, Kenyans are still not listening to a majority of Kenyan music. They are listening to Kenyan music, but nowhere close to how other countries are listening to their own music.
By not playing and listening to Kenyan music and content, we are playing ourselves. Showmax has recently announced that it is shutting down, meaning a platform built to have exclusive Kenyan movies and TV shows was unable to make money or be sustainable due to the lack of subscriptions by Kenyans. The Kenyan market is difficult for Kenyans but great for others. Artists like Burna Boy, Davido, Diamond Platinum, and Tems are paid millions when they come to perform in Kenya. Yet Buruklyn Boyz have never been paid millions to perform at home.
The reason this is a problem is that, despite how great Kenyan music is becoming, and the level of content (TV shows and Films) is improving, we still need to make sure that Kenyan artists and creatives are earning from their work. How will they earn when Kenyans don’t support them? Kenyan music and content need the support of Kenyans at home as well as Kenyans in the diaspora. Support is not just listening but buying the music and films, purchasing concert tickets, and brand partnerships and deals with corporate Kenya. We have to change our culture and start to love Kenyan. Like love, nobody can love you until you love yourself. We have to love and support Kenyan music and content as Kenyans before the world does.
As Radio 254, we see and know that the world loves Kenyan music and content. Millions of people from across the world tune in to listen to only Kenyan music and content, but we want to see Kenyans love their own.
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