Monaja: Underground rap king out to promote social justice

Hip-hop musician Mwongela Kamencu, popularly known by his stage name Monaja. PHOTO | POOL | NMG

What you need to know:

  • Hip-hop singer Monaja, who wants to go back to the 90s when Kalamashaka were top group in town.
  • Monaja refers to his music as TemaImba — a portmanteau of the Swahili words tema (spit; referring to rapping) and imba (sing).

  • Monaja takes on corruption, greed, the death of dreams and social graces, among other topics.

From the first week of March 2019 to the last week of July, Mwongela Kamencu, popularly known by his stage name Monaja, hosted ‘The Free Friday Flow”, a popular freestyle rap session, on his Facebook page.

It was a commentary of sorts, sans any accoutrements, delivered in rhyme and the signature cadence of hip-hop.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING

The Friday Flow was akin to a weekly column, a thought-provoking op-ed, a soapbox. Monaja took on corruption, greed, the death of dreams and social graces, among other topics.

While it lasted, it was among the most shared content online. The music was dark with caffeine, and yet tonic, especially for listeners starved of alternative music.

According to Monaja, the break from routine was occasioned by a need to regroup and also finish his upcoming debut album, “Kalcha Yetu”.

In musical terms, ‘underground’ denotes work that mainstream media hardly touches — mainly owing to its socio-conscious, political vibe, preferring instead club and popular music.

There was a time, not even that long ago, when the underground music scene was vibrant. Pioneered by groups such as Kalamashaka (K-Shaka), the hard-hitting music spoke of police violence and gangs. The collective Ukoo Flani carried on the tradition into the 21st century.

But the moulting of the local hip-hop scene with a penchant for glorifying the club scene and opulence has all but eclipsed the movement.

INFLUENCE

Since childhood, Monaja was drawn to music, and though he grew up in Upper Hill and later Woodley, a world apart from estates such as Dandora where hard-core rap found its roots, his preference was socio-conscious music.

“I grew up in the 1990s when conscious music was big. Listening to K-Shaka’s hit ‘Tafsiri Hii’, Nas, Lucky Dube had an effect on me. For some reason, I just found myself gravitating towards their music,” says the University of Nairobi graduate, who studied history. He also cites gaining influence from the K-South duo of Bamboo and Abbas.

Monaja refers to his music as TemaImba — a portmanteau of the Swahili words tema (spit; referring to rapping) and imba (sing).

“I consider it a sub-genre of hip-hop,” says Monaja. “I can spit and at the same time sing,” he says, adding, “I try not to follow popular trends or what would be considered the ‘hot thing’ ”.

At its core, underground music — made popular by artistes such as Common and Rakim — is the promotion of justice, empowerment and, lately, “wokeness”. About a week ago, with the invitation of the Kenya National Commssion on Human Rights, Monaja together with a collective known as Mneti Huru, attended International Prisoners Justice Day at the GK Thika Women’s prison.

HALFWAY CENTRES

 The centre of discussion was the establishment of halfway centres in Kenya that would enable former inmates to reintegrate into society. In July, Monaja performed at the 29th anniversary of Saba Saba in Limuru.

Earlier in the year, Monaja, who has performed in nearly all major towns in Kenya, was invited by a movement called Julawata (Jukwaa la Wasocialisti Tanzania) to perform at an event called Tuzungumze Filamu. During the visit he recorded music with the group Dambwe la Hip Hop and also with two other artistes, EMC and Neponova.

One of Monaja’s most inspiring moments was when he visited Dandora and met some of the pioneers. “I visited Dandora Social Justice Centre and learnt from the team,” he reports.

A few of his songs have made it onto Capital FM’s “Cipher” and KBC’s “Underground”.

“I can’t say that mainstream media has embraced my music, but soon enough you’ll hear some of my songs on more platforms,” he says.