New Music on the Radar MAY 16 (We are Nubia, Nviiri, Clark Keeng, Dufla & Femi One)

May 16, 2025 3

Dear reader, welcome to this week’s edition of New Music on the Radar, MAY 16. This week, we highlight the turn to vernacular lyricism: a complete one by dancehall star Dufla Diligon in Adok Ebei and a partial one by Nviiri the storyteller in Mwana wa Mubi. The Jinja born artist has spent much of his adult life in Kenya and shaped its urban culture so much that few fans would have thought him Baganda. The column also features Ngamani, a philosophically inspired but also danceable afro soul and kwaito synthesis by Clark Keeng, Zawadi Mukami & Chris Barr, a trio we covered weeks ago who have released their EP Musings in full. Dnd sees We Are Nubia and Zaituni Wambui rekindle the coquettish magic of Taarab with a modern Afro pop twist. Enjoy

We Are Nubia ft. Zaituni Wambui – Dnd

“Dnd” is a seductive collision of Taarab’s lyrical subtlety and Afropop’s rhythmic urgency, delivered with flair by Nairobi’s rising girl duo We Are Nubia, featuring Zaituni Wambui. This genre-bending number doesn’t just flirt with tradition—it caresses it, reshapes it, and sets it dancing to the beat of a Nairobi night out. The title might suggest a text-era dismissal (“Do Not Disturb”), but what follows is an invitation—steamy, poetic, and artfully layered.

The song opens with the Swahili proverb “dalili ya mvua ni mawingu,” signaling approaching passion, followed by the cheeky “hiyo swali yako leo nakupatia jibu.” Maggie, the BBIT graduate and Nairobi-bred half of the duo, bursts in first—blazing through her English-heavy verse with quickfire candor, admitting “such a different feeling when you put it on me.” Her urban edge pierces the Taarab veil before giving way to the more traditional callback: “kuja nikuonyeshe joto tupoeshe.” Gloria then takes over, embodying the classic coastal coquette with her deep alto dripping sensuality: “naitaka kwanza, naitaka sana.” Her line “usiseme mpenzi huja onywa / I’m the genie in the bottle” is less a warning, more a command. Zaituni Wambui, carrying the torch of Urban Taarab, finishes with urgency and poetry: “si unajua masaa ni machache… take me high to the moon.”

Behind the bold femininity is a meticulously crafted production. The song cleverly mimics Taarab’s lush instrumentation while reimagining it within an Amapiano frame. Pulsating 808s crash into traditional Swahili percussion, while airy flutes and textured shakers fill the silence with coastal grace. A softened synth keyboard and clean electric guitars lend it a pop sheen, making it as ready for a girls’ night as it is for urban radio. The polish is thanks in part to Ywaya Tajiri, the behind-the-scenes hitmaker whose lyrical fingerprints are found across Kenya’s Afropop royalty. Here, he lends both finesse and authenticity, reinforcing the balance between provocative suggestion and poetic flair.

But the song’s true triumph is cultural. “Dnd” reclaims the sensual tradition of Taarab without diluting its nuance, letting urban Nairobi and the Swahili coast speak to each other without filters. It is at once a big-girl anthem, a nostalgic ode, and a sly assertion of feminine agency. In a sonic world where innuendo is often lost to raw explicitness, We Are Nubia and Zaituni Wambui remind us that flirtation is power—and sometimes, the most powerful thing a woman can say is, I warned you.

Nviiri the Storyteller – Mwana wa Mubi

There’s an electricity that runs through Mwana wa Mubi, a raw defiance wrapped in melody. Nviiri the Storyteller isn’t just singing—he’s reintroducing himself. The hook is a flag planted in new territory: “hii ni take over” and “we got the keys to the city”. But this isn’t the arrogance of a man who’s arrived—it’s the fire of one who’s fought, lost, learned, and now returns from the trenches bearing both scars and clarity. And as if anticipating resistance or disbelief, he adds the stinger: “hakuna mabaki kwa wenye wanasubiri”. This is no feast for the latecomers.

Thematically, Mwana wa Mubi is a layered statement. On one level, it’s a hustle anthem for the everyman grinding “Monday to Monday”. The phrase “tunapiga kazi mashini, tukipanda ngazi haturudi chini” is repeated like a mantra, laying the foundation for an underdog tale. But on a deeper layer, it’s a reclamation of identity. For years, Nviiri has embodied Nairobi’s urban cool so completely that few knew he was born in Jinja, Uganda. Here, he shatters that illusion, with parts of the chorus delivered in Luganda—a first in his discography. In doing so, he bridges his two worlds: the poetic Nairobi wordsmith and the son of Uganda’s east. It’s not just a cultural nod—it’s a full embrace. The line “we don’t depend on the system” hits harder now that he’s walking solo, no longer under the Sol Generation banner.

The production backs this transformation subtly but powerfully. Guitarists Ross Patel and Isaac Aine sculpt a rhythm that glows under a soft synthesizer, while R&B 808s give the track bounce and buildup. There’s restraint in the arrangement, letting the verses breathe before surging into the chorus. Producer DTX Music creates an atmosphere that blends introspection with triumphant ambition—making it feel right at home on a hip-hop-heavy hustle playlist, even though its sonic roots lie in Afropop.

Mwana wa Mubi marks a shift—not just for Nviiri, but for what it means to be an East African pop star. In tweeting “King from the East… from the soil of Jinja to the unforgiving streets of Nairobi,” Nviiri drew a map across two countries, carving a space for hybrid identities in the music scene. By incorporating Luganda into his mainstream release, he chips away at the Kenya-Uganda musical wall, inviting a regional consciousness into a space too often compartmentalized by nationality. And in shedding the comfort of a record label to explore this sound on his own terms, he doesn’t just claim keys to the city—he’s building a new one.

Clark Keeng, Zawadi Mukami & Chris Barr – Ngamani

From the moment it begins, Ngamani draws you in—not with force, but with rhythm, wit, and seduction. Anchored in a fusion of Afro Soul, Pop, and Kwaito, the track pulses at 112 BPM in D minor, inviting listeners to move even as it urges them to reflect. It’s this exact contradiction—kinetic yet contemplative—that defines both the track and the project it’s housed in: Musings.Produced by Clark Keeng—better known for his vocals but increasingly carving out a name as a boundary-pushing producer—the track is a standout. It’s richly textured, with layers of African percussion, electric and acoustic guitar interplay, smooth bass, and synth flourishes that weave a lush, danceable soundscape. It’s the kind of production that doesn’t just support the vocals; it courts them.

Lyrically, Ngamani is deceptively playful. At face value, it’s a flirtatious exchange among the trio: Clark Keeng, Chris Barr, and Zawadi Mukami trade verses in a rhythmical back-and-forth. But dig deeper, and the core concept—a reinterpretation of the Swahili proverb “mwenda tezi na omo, marejeo ngamani”—emerges. The message is philosophical, even Hegelian in its essence: extremes ultimately synthesize into balance. In musical form, it becomes a call for moderation amid the chaos of desire, work, love, and nightlife.Clark Keeng repeats the proverb in a steady refrain, grounding the song’s structure, while Chris Barr interjects with “shika breki” (hit the brakes), and Zawadi floats over it all with “tunapenda kudunda” (we love to dance), evoking the format of Ngonjera—a traditional Swahili poetic style where multiple voices build dialogue through chant and response. .

In context, Ngamani follows Table, a previously released single off the Musings EP that showed a quieter, more romantic side of the trio. But while Table simmered with intimacy, Ngamani bursts with energy and argument, making it the heartbeat of the project. The EP itself, as its name suggests, is reflective—three artists offering their internal worlds not as finished portraits, but as thoughts-in-motion.

Dufla Diligon – Adok Ebei

Few artists in East Africa have managed to reinvent themselves as masterfully—and meaningfully—as Dufla Diligon. Once a poster boy for the East African dancehall renaissance under the now-defunct Grandpa Records, Dufla (aka The Jumping Antelope) has since undergone a metamorphosis. With Adok Ebei, the titular track off his latest album, he doesn’t just flirt with tradition—he embraces it fully, offering a powerful fusion of Samburu heritage and contemporary dancehall sensibility.

Born in Baragoi, Samburu County, Dufla’s musical roots are as authentic as they come. He sang while herding cows and watching out for wildlife in the plains of Kaichukan. His musical journey began with community performances before being discovered by Mzazi Willy M Tuva during a Mseto Mashinani Tour in 2012—a discovery that landed him a spot at Grandpa Records. But even after Grandpa’s flame dimmed, Dufla continued to burn bright, collaborating with artists like Masauti, Cindy Sanyu, Fena Gitu, and Redsan, proving that his voice had longevity beyond the label.

Now, with Adok Ebei, Dufla returns to his roots—but he doesn’t do it quietly. This Symo-produced single is a full-bodied dancehall banger, enriched with a tribal flavor that feels both celebratory and reverent. The beat thumps with familiar heavy drumming and keyboard-driven melodies, but what sets it apart is the infusion of Samburu chants and call-and-response patterns. A bouncy synth motif underpins the choral repetition of “Adok Ebei”, giving the track an unmistakable folk-dance energy.

On the surface, Adok Ebei is a love song. It opens with a line in English—“I got a girl, and everybody knows I got love for her”—one of the rare non-vernacular lines in the song. But the love here is twofold. The “girl” becomes a metaphor for home. The verses go on to mention towns like Kambi Moto and Kapedo in his home county, as well as the neighbouring counties of Laikipia and Isiolo, weaving in praise for the resilience and strength of his pastoralist community.

The entire album marks a definitive turn in Dufla’s career. Performed entirely in his native tongue and other Maa languages, it’s a departure from the club-ready Kiswahili/English tracks that first brought him acclaim. But the success of earlier vernacular singles like Amoru hinted at this evolution—and Adok Ebei confirms it. This isn’t just Dufla experimenting with language; it’s him staking a claim on cultural preservation, proving that tribal identity can not only coexist with urban soundscapes but actually elevate them.

Femi One – Sema

Written by: 254 Radio

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