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ONGOING PROJECTS
  • Contributor, V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) – Democracy, Elections and Political Parties in Zanzibar(2000-2020).
  • Researcher, Providing for Peacekeeping Project – International Peace Institute (IPI) (2015-Ongoing).
  • Research in Popular Music and Culture (2019-Ongoing).
  • Research in Politics and Elections in Tanzania (Ongoing).
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Shembeteng and the Rise of Popular creativities in Kenya

Jun 01 2022

Shembeteng and the Rise of Popular creativities in Kenya

By Nicodemus Minde

In the recent few weeks a new form of Sheng is emerging. Sheng is Kenyan street slang which has origins in low income urban settings of Nairobi. Dubbed a Shembeteng, this new variety of street slang, has been described by the Kenyan Dictionary as “sheng words that sound like they are encrypted”. The Kenyan Dictionary is a popular platform that decodes Kenyan popular verbal exegeses. It describes itself as a guide to understanding Kenyans. Apart from decoding the verbal exegeses, the platform is a space for reading contemporary Kenyan popular culture. The platform offers a humorous guide and hidden explanations of Kenyan mannerism and what it means to be a Kenyan away from the conventional. It has been argued that Kenya has struggled in its quest for a national and cultural identity but I believe the everyday lived experiences of a Kenyan constitutes a Kenyan identity.

 

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Nicodemus Minde
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