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The Continuing Rise Of Kenyan Songstress Nikita Kering by Frank Njugi_ english/german
When Kenyan musician and songstress, Nikita Kering, released her project The Other Side — a 7 track extended play — on November 11, 2022 ( under Universal Music, South Africa ), the EP struck a primal chord in anyone who has had to relive struggles of trauma. At twenty years old during its release, The Other Side, was a sequel to a 2021 debut project, A side of me – another 7 track EP that had been deluged with exploration of love, relationships and all its entails. The Other Side and A side of me, established Nikita as an artist whose blueprint is using mesmerizing vocals to synthesize self– disclosure, in both romantic and relationships with oneself, as something…
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The Transcendental Poetry Of Naomi Waweru // by Frank Njugi //english_deutsch
“At sixteen, I am allowed to love a boy whose cheekbone is an analogy for how heavens hold rain intact just for Sunday mornings.” This is how my most memorable line from a Kenyan poem goes. A mesmerising line from a poem titled Analogy, published in the Liberian literary magazine Pepper Coast Lit, written by Naomi Waweru, who is perhaps one of the most exciting poets to emerge from Kenya in recent times.
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Chronicling the Kenyan Music Industry – An Interview with John Muchiri by Lorna Likiza // english_deutsch
Kenya has massive talent. The only problem is that many musicians haven’t yet mastered how to market themselves internationally. From the people I have interacted with in the UK in the music scene, Kenya is considered a very prime market for entertainment but we need to get out of our comfort zone. We need to think beyond our comfort zone which is the East African Market. We need to be more strategic. We also need to invest heavily in our music. So to be precise, the three things we need to master are Management, Marketing and Strategy which our Nigerian counterparts have long mastered.
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African Author Spotlight – Interview with Peter Ngila Njeri – Engl/Ger
AFRICAN AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – AN INTERVIEW WITH PETER NGILA NJERI By Lorna Likiza Peter Ngila Njeri is a Kenyan Writer who won the James Currey Prize for African Literature in September 2023 for his novel manuscript, The Legend Of Beach House. This is an annual award given to the best unpublished work of fiction written in English by an African writer and named after James Currey, a renowned publisher of African literature. He is an Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni and Ebedi Fellow. In this interview with Culture Africa Associate Editor, Lorna Likiza, Peter delves deeper into the writing process of his winning manuscript and shares why he feels literary prizes are essential for writers. Lorna Likiza: Hi Peter, welcome…
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African Author Spotlight – An Interview with Dennis Mugaa_ Engl/Ger
Dennis Mugaa is a Kenyan Writer whose debut collection of Short Stories, Half Portraits Underwater, is set for release in 2024 by Nigerian Publisher, Masobe Books. No stranger to the literary scene, he won the 2022 Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest, was shortlisted for Isele Magazine’s inaugural Short Story Prize and was longlisted for the 2021 Afritondo Short Story Prize. Additionally, his works have been featured in various literary journals across Africa and overseas.
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Nuria Book Store – Customers First! Behind the scenes of one of Africa’s biggest Online Bookstores_ english/deutsch
A success story from Kenya: Nuria bookstore is the biggest online book store in East Africa. From its headquarter in Nairobi, Abdullahi Bulle manages the distribution and customer service of Nuria. A clever customer orientated online surface makes it easy for sellers and buyers. And the big threat Amazon ist still far away. The online market can be an advantage for native companies like Nuria. We have a talk with founder Abdullahi Bulle.
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The House of Rust and Swahili Culture – Interview with Mombasa writer Khadija Abdalla Bajaber -engl
Khadija Bajaber had written a successful book last year, The House of Rust, which was recognized very well in african countries and abroad (see also the review of Lorna Likiza on this site). Raised and living in Mombasa, Kenya, she is strongly influenced with Swahili Culture and its long and rich history. This year, Khadija Bajaber is an invited guest at the African Book Festival in Berlin. I took the chance to talk to her before she left for Europe. And, yes, the answers are longer than in usual interviews. But its published here in full lenght version. For the first issue, only in english this time.
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Is there Anybody Out There? Nairobi Space Station – Kairos Futura Artist Project Starts this March_deutsch/englisch
They look like the futuristic Space Guerilla. From 18 March, they will make Kanairo unsafe. That is the Sheng name for Kenya's capital Nairobi. The venerable MacMillian Library in the centre will kick off the launch. It becomes a space station. They have camels with them with Massai blankets. The olive overalls are well tailored, the steel masks make them look martial. With this project, the Kairos Futura artists' group puts a big exclamation mark on Nairobi's Design Week. But it is not only about spectacle. The artists' collective, consisting of artists, designers, scientists and environmentalists, wants more: visions and proposals for an environmentally friendly Nairobi. It is about reclaiming urban space, about the "rewilding" of inner-city areas. They…
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Bringing Art to the Masses – Interview with Patrick Mukabi – engl_ger
Patrick Mukabi is a Kenyan Visual Artist, Graphic Designer, Dad and Mentor, best known for his appreciation of the African female form. In this interview with Lorna Likiza and Hans Hofele, he talks about his journey as an artist and why the middle class in Kenya are yet to fully appreciate art.
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Centering Black Literature: An Interview with James Murua- engl/ger
In the run-up to the African Book Festival in Berlin, of which cultureafrica.net is a media partner, there will be a series of interviews with participants and experts in the African literary scene. This time it is James Murua. He is one of the most influential bloggers in the African literary scene. He has attended many literary festivals, both nationally and internationally. His website jamesmurua.com is one of the most successful on the continent. James Murua lives with his wife, the writer Zukiswa Wanner, in Nairobi, Kenya. The interview was conducted during the Heroe Book Fair literary festival in Mombasa.
