Sinpare: Hip Hop from Kenya

Over the last five years Sinpare has continued to work with other young hip hop artists, poet and activists, not only to perform but organize peace concerts and does very useful community work. For instance in early 2008 at the height of the post election violence, Sinpare used his own resources to stage an audacious peace concert in the heart of Kangemi, appealing to ghetto youth to shun violence and uphold inter-ethnic harmony because they all shared the same a common Kenyan identity. On the same issue of Kenyan identity Sinpare has been adamant and passionate he usually eschews his given birth names in favor of his stage name as a protest at the rampant tribal habit of pigeon holing Kenyans based on their surnames.

There is a video Sinpare composed 8years ago that eerily fore told of the 2008 violent clashes in Kenya. The song Jivunie Ukenya “Be proud of your Kenyan identity” opens up with a group of urban youth accosted by policemen doing their nightly patrols. One by one each youth identifies which tribe he comes from when asked. It is only the one played by Sinpare himself who identifies himself as a “Kenyan”.

This intro then leads to a musical denunciation of tribalism and the politically motivated clashes instigated by the elite who divide Kenyans a long ethic lines. Other songs of note by Sinpare include militant revolution featuring the late Angel “Angela Wainaina” and Ran-D and One more step from the album mental revolution, more fire from the album Mabepari and wololo yaye from the album arm too Korrupt.