[2] Odi pop earliest roots can be traced back to early 2000 Kenyan gospel music which was faintly related to the church.
[5] The government clamped down on several secular artists who were considered enemies of state, resulting in the rise of Kenyan gospel music as the style was under an acceptable theme.
Ogopa DeeJays, a Kenyan record from the late 1990s was rising to prominence during this period developing music stars like E-sir, K- Rupt, Nameless, Amani, and others.
During the same period, a wave of music called Genge was popularized by hip hop artist Jua Cali and Nonini from Calif Records.
[10][11] In October 2016, rapper Collo from music group Kleptomaniax released 'Bazokizo' featuring Bruz Newton which is considered a turning point for Odi Pop.
[13] The style has emerged from the Nairobi area mainly in the Eastlands region including Kayole, Dandora, Umoja, Dagoretti, and Rongai.
In 2008, President Kibaki signed a deal with the UAE government that brought high speed broadband internet to Kenya by under-sea optic fibre cables.
[18] Rapper Collo's collaboration with Bruz Newton, Bazokizo helped popularize Odi pop to the mainstream Kenyan media.