#NuNairobi

Not just the banner for a new wave of artists, creatives and entrepreneurs that are proud to call the Kenyan capital home, #NuNairobi is also a collection of tracks from various musical genres that take the cultural temperature of one of East Africa's largest cities. It features 17 songs from some of the brightest, and also rising, stars of contemporary Nairobi, including the hip-hop group Camp Mulla, whose club classics ‘Fresh All Day’ and ‘Party Don’t Stop’ (both featuring Collo) are included here. The credit for coming up with the buzzword and hashtag is attributed to Camp Mulla's lyricist Taio who wanted to celebrate the new scene as an opportunity for the city to shed its reputation for a crime rate so high that it was often unkindly referred to as ‘Nairobbery’. There are some choice tracks on this collection, including the uplifting ‘Something for You’ by rapper and social activist Octopizzo who has drawn the admiration of Kenya's president for his work to provide clean water supplies for poorer neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, Makadem's catchy fast-paced ‘Kisumu Bound Bus’ tells the autobiographical tale of a rural musician who moves to Nairobi to find work following his artistic passion — an inspiring example of art imitating African life.

As part of the larger project, an interactive map and guide to Nairobi's new cultural scene is available online at www.nunairobi.com.