Bongo flava has been around for more than ten years, with its popularity crossing over the borders to other East African countries. The flava not only gave the youth a platform to express the challenges they face everyday, but it made possible for many youth to self employ themselves through music. This was the beginning of Bongo flava and entrepreneurship to join forces and assist the youths on their fight against poverty.
Unfortunately, bongo flava has had to fight through different misconceptions in the beginning, but throughout the years this genre has given many young people different opportunities. For example, the bongo flava group called East Coast Team was among the first to branch out and start a t-shirt business. East Coast Team saw the opportunity and decided to capitalize on their fame by starting East Coast Team clothing line.
Bongo flava artists quickly realized their music and fame could open many more doors for them, especially when considered that they could not live on the money they were making from their album sales. Later as cell phone technology grew, some mobile phone companies introduced bongo flava ringtone business. Even though ringtones business was already common in other countries, but bongo flava ringtones were a new and exciting phenomenon. This helped artists to be able to generate a little bit more income from their music ringtones, instead of only depending on their discouraging album sales and unprofitable music concerts.
Fortunately, today entrepreneurship in bongo flava has grown and opened doors to many youths and even helping the government on the problem of youth unemployment. Bongo flava has provided one solution to that problem, and even though the music industry is still very young but its slowly progressing. The next article will look at one of bongo flavas successful rapper, Ambwene Yesayah a.k.a Mzee wa Commercial. He has managed to take full advantage of the opportunities that Bongo flava has presented him. In conclusion, this is how P Funk, one of the most influential producers of bongo flava music explains what bongo flava is:
