Gengeton
Odi Pop
Kenyan music genre
Odi pop is a Kenyan music style which involves localized hip hop and draws influences from reggae and Dancehall music to build on an African Rhythm base performed in sing-along rap in heavy Kiswahili/Sheng language.[1] There are several sub-genres stemming from this umbrella term including Gengeton, Dabonge, Debe and others. The music is spearheaded by Kenyan youths and most of them are pursuing their careers as music groups opposed to solo careers.
The term Odi Pop was coined in 2019 by musician and music scholar Dan 'chizi' Aceda, who is popular for Benga music. He described the naming on The Elephant:
For the sake of definitional simplicity, I am proposing the collective term “Odi-pop” to refer to all the sub styles of this new sound. I am aware of each group having named their style separately e.g Gengetone, Dabonge style and so on and my definition is not trying to replace that. For me this musical style is basically pop but with a common sound (hip-hop rap influence blended with Caribbean phrase and rhyme schemes, all constructed on an African rhythm base and performed in sing-along rap with heavy Kiswahili/Sheng inflections). My naming structure is borrowed from K-Pop.[2]