Allow me to introduce you to Kenya’s new breed of rap and lyricism

Gabiro is steadily building a reputation for Kisumu’s best lyricist, and but also shares his personal struggles through his art. From working as a matatu tout to battling drug abuse, Gabiro’s ability to tell stories separates him from rap music ‘status quo’.

Following the successful release of the hit single Nitembezee featuring Kenya’s top recording and stage act Kidis the Jembe, self-proclaimed Kisumu president and most sort after award winning lyricist Gabiro Mtu Necessary is back with a new song featuring his producer Videz of Hybrid beats.

Multi-talented writer, IT professional, musician and performing artiste Gabiro Mtu Necessary, has released the visuals of his new song International Local that has been on rapid social media promotional buzz for over two weeks.  Written and performed by Gabiro Mtu Necessary, featuring Videz the video was directed by Crizo Mzeyah who is the brain behind all his previous music and lyric videos something that shows the close bond between the two over the years.

The two artists; Gabiro and Videz have a unique sense of identity that makes them stand out in a field characterized by cut throat competition. The diversity in the different acts has brought a spiced flavor that Kenyan music lovers and listeners all over the world can identify with. However, behind all that glamour, fame and fortune is a lot of hard work that these artists put. Some artists toil and sweat trying to come up with ‘Good Music’ that never makes it to the air waves. Breaking through in the industry, having a voice and a platform to showcase your art is no mean achievement.

“International Local is one of those songs that tries to enlighten us that your favorite international artist was also once a local artist or maybe they still are local but on a much elevated platform that makes all of us see them in that context”, says Gabiro

Videz on the other hand believes that local music is the exact replica of what many of us believe as international music but when rounded up to the simplest definition it all comes back to what we all refer to as ‘good music’ even though their can never be good or bad music considering every audience has their own different taste of music.

Seeing the two artists define and combine their level of a creativity, skills and ability on one track is one thing many of us would have wanted to happen soon considering Videz produced the hit single Nitembezee by Gabiro which saw him elevate to a mainstream artist. The track is an authentic Kenyan sound fused with a little bit of Caribbean sound to give it the much hyped feeling and vibe we can all expect in a club banger.

Speaking on the new release, Gabiro said,

“I owe a lot to my fans and everyone who puts my work out there in one way or another and when I was almost giving up on music you all gave me a thousand reasons not to stop doing this and so International Local is just one but a few of the reasons you should also not stop supporting and showing unconditional love towards my me as a brand and as a person. This song is the definition of the standard of quality I promised to deliver – I am sure they will definitely enjoy this one!”