From gaining recognition from one of Hip-hop greats KRS-0NE,Kunta, has gone on to establish himself as a prolific producer, building songs from snatches of memory and rhythm as his work with a range of rappers from East Africa attest.
Kunta-Currently doing his production at Truce Label based in Nairobi speaks about his past and current projects and the future of Swahili Rap in this interview with our writer Bernard Okumu
How did KRS-1 notice your work
Throught my friend called Oldumare who is a member of KRS-Ones crew,Temple of hip hop,and KRS was looking for beats for one of his upcoming projects and Oldumare mentioned to him about me and connected me to KRS1 we exchanged emails and I sent him several beats.
What stood out for him in your work
He really loved the sound,he thought it was dope and more so because the beats was from Africa, where the drum comes from a key element in hiphop and any other black music.
Did he use the tracks and in which projects
He hasn’t put out any project wityh the beat but probably it could be in this year’s projects which might be released to mark Hip-hops 51st anniversary.
What impact did the recognition from Krs have on your work and how you have built on the recognition
Just by KRS cosigning on my work it has had a major impact on my career as a music producer,many people now belived that I was worth the salt and started listening to my projects and also through that I got a chance to work with Kalamashaka and that was poerful for me because I grew up listening to them
Who Else have you gone on to work with?
Iam working with MF Doom’s late brother Mobonix, Produced Roba Mwenyeji-one half of Wenyeji Reflections Album that dropped in 2024, Doing a number of Songs for Rhymes Intellectual Chief,RIC, Brima and Fikra Teule’s Sauti Zetu among other projects.
Which producers have been the bedrock of your production,those who have influenced your sound
Once is set out as producer I always and still do wanted to find my own sound ,but a number of producers I have looked up to the list includes: Dj Premier,Apollo Brown,Shaky and Chizen Brain from Kenya. From all that influence though I try to fashion my own Sound,my todays sound is different from my work that am doing today, there’s been progress.
What have you been listening to grow the sound
Actually as much as I do hip hop I don’t listen to HipHop that much instead I listen to a lot of music that I usually sample like the Delfonics,The Manhattans,The Dramatics,James Brown,Etta James as well as early works by Les Wanyika,Fadhili Willliams and Kamaru. I am now digging more locally I don’t want to overuse the samples that have been used already, am trying to carve my own niche and that’s where am headed to.
How did you becoming a rapper first before u delved into production back your knowledge of the game
I started rapping while still in Primary School up to now it gave me an in-depth knowledge of the game not just the rhyming part but also the production. It helped me understand the game more, I had a lot of insight,knowing what to and not what to do
What are some of the key projects have you done thus far
The projects that I really enjoyed and cherished was working on two songs by Kshaka in 2023.It made a big impact on my career.Another project was when I was involved in the production of a grammy nominated song in 2025 ,Ablity,for the best social change category which was done by Chad Harper,Muzi of Jabali Africa,50 Don and Swadu.
Does Hip hop still hold its place as a voice-for the voiceless in today’s society
Hip hop is still the voice for the people. Hip hop came from the streets as much as people are making money today off hip hop,its still a tool for the oppressed to express themselves and that aspect is still there .Conscious and uplifting music is still around even the production that I do its all about spreading consciousness.
