MUSIC (Kenya): Rosa's InSide, feat Naiboi

InSide is a new club banger released in January 2018. It is a very "Nairobi" kind of song, but with a universal metropolitan beat. It is a "something new ...something borrowed" sort of moment. Rosa, the lead singer, is patently a new kid on the block -- I'd never seen or heard (of) her before this. She's so suddenly on the scene, and so fresh, she's literally improbable. But, out of the blue, here she is -- seamlessly layering her lyrical lines with phrases in English, Eastlands Swahili and Dholuo. 

With a mellow voice, she sings like a reigning star, back from a sabbatical she's not been around enough to earn. But her talent reveals itself and puts all queries to rest. Her tone and comportment suggest that where ever she's been -- here and even there, in the diaspora of one kind or another -- have all been good for (and to) her. She's hit the Nairobi musical scene with a sophisticated bang. She has great looks too, let's not beat about the bush, and uses both voice and cultured body with restrained self-confidence -- and to great effect. We're all the richer.

Naiboi joins her in this funky and disarming song, and I'm guessing that it is she who approached him for the song -- he being the more intricately networked in these parts. Not a bad choice if you have tracked his artistic progression and steep learning curve in the last couple of years or so. The song's title is InSide, but he makes it sound like a broken insider -- inisaida, in fact. No, there's no subliminal messaging there that I can pin down -- just a verbal prank helped along by a difficult set of syllables.

Click here to watch the video clip