\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tShem Obara*<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tMany years later, as a soloist, Bill had a more foreboding take, like on his 2023 song \u201cDracula.\u201d \u201cIt was kind of foreshadowing what was happening,\u201d Bill says, reflecting on the last year of protest. \u201cIt\u2019s just like, \u2018If the government and the powers that be don\u2019t really listen to us, then we also will not listen to them.\u2019\u201d This year\u2019s protests swelled tensely across some major Kenyan cities, where some saw government buildings set ablaze, even more police brutality, and ultimately at least 50 more deaths, according to<\/a> the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Embattled President William Ruto attempted to stifle news of the dissent, halting live television broadcasts of the melee until Nairobi\u2019s High Court intervened<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\t\u201cOne of the bittersweet things that have come out of the whole protest is how it has spiked a lot of creativity,\u201d says Mutinda Kilonzo, who helps lead Qwani, a Nairobi-based youth arts collective. Qwani members introduced me to music like \u201cMaandamano,\u201d by beloved Kenyan singer Bien, featuring rapper Breeder LW, roughly 10 years his junior at 28 years old. Bien is best known as the frontman of Sauti Sol, one of the continent\u2019s biggest bands<\/a>, which he\u2019s spent 20 years shepherding. Though \u201cMaandamano\u201d was released on YouTube last July, it was brought to streaming services this summer as the June 25 protest anniversary approached. Bien and Breeder\u2019s reflections on the previous unrest took on a second life.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCaptured By Odede*<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tProtests are referred to as\u00a0maandamano<\/em>\u00a0in Swahili, and on the track, Breeder\u2019s verse, peppered with some English, honors those killed and the resolve to keep fighting, Qwani member Mark Murimiri translates for me. Breeder boasts that their brood is \u201ctribeless\u201d and \u201cpartyless\u201d with bass and a matter-of-fact confidence. Meanwhile, each breathy \u201cmaandamano\u201d Bien croons on the choir-backed chorus feels like a drop of kerosene on the fiery spirit of the protesters. With the jazzy bounce of laid-back Afrobeats \u2014 likely spreading its message even further \u2014 \u201cMaandamano\u201d is also filled with visceral sound bites from the demonstrations, from impassioned chants of \u201cRuto must go\u201d to a senator asking \u201cHow do you tear-gas a baddie?\u201d while seemingly praising the protesters on Kenyan television. To date, \u201cMaandamano\u201d has been played more than 2.3 million times on YouTube.<\/p>\n \n\tMeanwhile, Kenyan rapper Octopizzo\u2019s \u201cJune 25th,\u201d released to commemorate the lives lost when demonstrators stormed Parliament in Nairobi last year, takes a much more somber tone with its sad, twinkling synths and moody guitar. His gravelly croak sounds melodic but grave. The tempo supports his rapid-fire bars, though, balancing heartbreak over those slain with conviction for their cause. His refrain of \u201cJune 25th\u201d is bookended with three forceful gunshots.<\/p>\n\n
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