Musicians of the early 1990s, including Tedd Josiah (Kenya), P-Funk (Tanzania) and Steve Jean (Uganda), began to combine western influences with the area's more traditional popular music.
Production houses specializing in the genre—such as Ogopa Djs, Swahili Entertainment Africa, Samawati, HipHop kila pahali, Home Boyz and Bongo Records—have emerged.
In 2004 the Kilio Cha Haki, A Cry for Justice (by Nairobi Yetu) compilation appeared, featuring Rha Goddess, a performing artist and socio-political activist based in New York.
[1] Swahili Entertainment Inc. and Nomadic Wax Records combined in late 2004 to start the distribution and publishing of East African urban music.
Some of the current most celebrated artistes include Tanzania's: Diamond Platnumz, Alikiba, Harmonize, Darasa, Aslay among others; Kenya's: Nameless, Major Kansoul; Sauti Sol; Frasha, Nadia Mukami, King Kaka among others and Uganda's Jose Chameleone among others.