One of the privileges of selling Kenyan music is that artists get to tell me their personal stories. I get to hear the stories behind their music or regarding the songs that they compose. One such interesting story is that of the well renowned phrase "Hakuna Matata" which has come to be associated with Walt Disney’s block buster film, The Lion King.

One evening in November 1979, Them Mushrooms band was playing at the Severin Sea Lodge in Mombasa. After their performance, Teddy Harrison Kalanda overhead a group of tourists at the pool bar joking around and trying to speak Kiswahili. “Jambo”, “Habari”, Mzuri sana”, they said to each other.

It was then that an idea struck him and he thought to himself to compose a fun song with the simplest Kiswahili words. He would then get the tourists to learn the language as they sang along whilst dancing to the music. And with that, the greatest Kiswahili phrase was born out of the song Kenya Hakuna Matata. Them Mushrooms thereafter went on to record this song on 21st February 1980 at the Polygram Studio in Nairobi.

As you can imagine, the song was an instant hit with tourists wherever Them Mushrooms played it. Soon all the other bands in Mombasa started to play it too as it seemed the tourists could not get enough of it. Kenya Hakuna Matata went Silver in 1982, then Gold in 1984 before peaking at Platinum in 1987.

To date there are over 15 cover versions of Kenya Hakuna Matata. These include renditions by Liza Shakir of Sudan, Shimelis Ararso of Ethipia, Adam Solomon of Canada, Samba Salad of Holland, Fausto Pred of Italy, Boney M of Germany, just to mention a few.

Unfortunately for Them Mushrooms, none of the credits to the song have been attributed to them although they came up with the phrase long before Lion King popularized it in 1994.

Well, if you are wondering what village in Kenya The Villagers Band come from, then you’ll be left scratching your head after you listen to their songs. I can’t remember when I first heard of them, but my first encounter with The Villagers Band came by way of the AFYA ART TRIBE concert that was held at the Tribe Hotel in Nairobi in mid-May. Among the talented artists set to perform was the band, which got to play a number of their hit songs.

Established in 2005, the Nairobi based band comprises of 9 established musicians, including Qqu from the group NIX, and is led by the gifted sogwriter Chris Adwar. The band which is a common feature in the Narobi live music scene has a unique style of music dubbed Begenge - a unique Kenyan sound in which they mix indigenous African grooves and melodies from styles such as benga, makossa, lingala, kwela and mbalax with other forms of urban music found within Africa. Bengenge is coined from benga and genge styles of music, whereby ‘ benga’ represents all artistic and authentically African forms of music and ‘ genge’ represents everything pop and urban.

Of the 15 tracks from their second album, The Nofork Hotel (not to be confused with The Norfolk Hotel), it's impossible to say which of their songs is the best. With the first and last tracks being interludes, the rest are witty songs with amusing lyrics and a theme of both rural and urban love in today’s era of social networking and materialism. The songs also mirror people’s desires to live a better life and the lengths they go to try and achieve all of this. From the boy in ‘Country Girl’, ‘Mr. Walker’, ’Damu Yangu’, ‘Dar es Salaam’ who admires a girl from afar or the guy in ‘ Nofork’ who lies to his wife about where he goes to every morning or the girl in ‘Mercedes Benz’ who wants to get with a celebrity.

One thing that I particularly like about their songs is that they are authentically Kenyan and they don't try to imitate foreign acts. From the way they sing, sometimes in a strong rural accent, to their beats, their originality clearly stands out. It is therefore not a surprise that I would strongly recommend this album without any reservations.

Enjoy The Nofork Hotel, because you will.

With time, I have slowly found out that one of the tangible benefits of having a collection of Kenyan music albums is that you can listen to the music while exercising. Personally, I think it makes it worthwhile to working out with music playing in the background. Be it from a stereo music player or from a personal mp3 player.

Depending on the work out and sometimes the mood, I will go through my selection and pick an album or two to exercise to. It is kind of like matching the music to the occasion. If one is cycling, you can choose a fast paced album to pace oneself. Usually, Contemporary Gospel or Urban music will be appropriate. On the other hand, one will find Zilizopendwa suitable for walks, especially in the evening with the sun setting over the horizon. If jogging or weight training, one can settle for a more upbeat album. This could be Soukous, Benga or even Rumba albums.

With the characteristic good Spring weather in the Northern hemisphere, this is the perfect time for outdoor activities such as walking, jogging or cycling. For those who need some motivation to work out, look no further than our website. In our music catalog, you will find music albums to keep you company as you exercise.

And for those who just want to lie down and relax after a long day, we have something for you too. After all, relaxation is also a way to recharge your batteries.