Kenyan music has had its fair share of one-hit wonders throughout history, artists who came in blazing and captured the hearts and ears of a nation. But as fast as they exploded onto the scene, they quickly faded away into obscurity, to be remembered as the song that piques your nostalgia during a “throwback” night at the club. Whether they left music behind or simply never reached the heights of their biggest single, here’s a list of one-hit wonders that will have you saying “Hey, I even forgot about that song” 

• Take It Slow – Zikki

The year is 2015 and every other hour on radio you constantly hear this wonderful song on radio about taking it slow with your lover. Take it slow was a massive hit that shot to the top of the Kenyan charts due to its relatable lyrics of being in love with someone from a different economic background and also the catchy beat and Jaguar feature helped the song gain traction with the listening public. It soared to the top of the charts but as quickly as it did, it fell off.

Zikki was unable to ever recapture the magic of this particular song and it has remained the only song that most people know him for even though he is still making music. 

• Taboo – PHY

It feels unfair to call PHY a one-hit wonder but by all metrics she is definitely one. Taboo was supposed to be the launching pad to superstardom, the next in a line of amazing Kenyan singers who could convey so much emotion from their voices. But label issues and motherhood caused her to take a break from actively making music after the release of her album Phylosophy. She is still sporadically releasing music while pursuing other creative endeavors but nothing has yet reached the heights of Taboo. 

• Anguka Nayo – Wadagliz

Wadagliz released a song that inadvertently became the anthem to a protest. The uptempo track that samples “Kufa Juu” became the hottest song in the country in the midst of the anti-finance bill protests of 2024. It was literally everywhere, in every club, radio, tv and anywhere that music was played. The viral nature of the song and the dance that was associated with it made it the de facto go-to protest anthem of the moment.

But as quickly as they captured the defiant spirit of a nation, they disappeared into obscurity. None of their tracks have even gotten close to half of Anguka Nayo’s success but there still is time for them to make a comebackj 

• Narudi Ocha – Q-ta-C

In the midst of the great recession of the mid 2000’s we also had our version of recession pop become a hit song. Q-ta-C’s Narudi Ocha was a song lamenting the tough economic times that defined the era and is still relatable to this day. Complaints about the quality of life and the price of things were the hallmarks of the song and that made it into a certified smash hit that unfortunately became the only hit of Q-Ta-C’s career as his career fizzled out immediately after this.

• Tokelezea – Chantelle

Tokelezea hit the Kenyan music industry like a tactical nuke. It was the turn of the decade and here was this brash and bold young lady who was speaking bombastically on some of the hardest production we had heard in a while, plus she had Abbas Kubaff on the track too. Tokelezea ushered in a new style of hiphop that eschewed the Jomino style for a more rugged flow and it became the biggest song in the country at the time.

But that was just it, Chantelle quit music after that, she only had one shot but she aimed for the stars, giving us one of the most iconic one-hit wonders in Kenyan music history. 

• 4 in 1 – Ndarlin P 

4 in 1 became popular based on its novelty more than anything else. The exaggerated accents, the blatant imitations of popular rappers and the boom bap beat made 4 In 1 a surprise hit on Kenyan radio at the turn of the millennium, a sort of mish mash of Kenyan foibles and quirks plus western sensibilities. But as Kenya’s music scene improved there was no space left for novelty acts and Ndarlin P never got a chance at superstardom again.

• Talk To You – Patonee 

Patonee was on the cusp of becoming the face of Kenyan RnB when he put out this song. Paired up with Big Pin and Amani, accomplished artists in their own rights, Patonee released a track that defined the zeitgeist, a love- tinged pop ballad that made all the girls swoon and was the subject of every “dedix” in high school letters. But unfortunately once Patonee was done “talking to us” he never said another thing, quietly exiting the Kenyan music scene at the height of the song’s popularity, never to be heard from again.

• Mafeelings – Della

Della had been around for a while before the release of Mafeelings, a known voice in the music scene but not outside of it (She was even featured on Sauti Sol’s debut album). Mafeelings was her big break though, an uptempo track that captured the pain and loss of heartbreak with a video that was basically the essence of 2015 distilled into a visual form.

Mafeelings was a monster hit, unavoidable and the lead single from Della’s album. Unfortunately the following singles floundered and eventually so did Della’s career, leaving Mafeelings as her only recognizable track. Hopefully she can make a comeback to rectify this.

• Gal – Shaevy and Slice

A song that started life in the dimly lit stage of Tacos restaurant talent nights morphed into the biggest dancehall song in Kenya’s history. Shaevy and Slice were the eventual talent show winners and got a chance to work with Ulopa, who was scouting for artists at that talent show. This fusion gave us Gal, a dancehall banger with no comparison, the soundtrack to high school funkies in the late 2000s and an alarm that forced everyone to the dance floor.

Ask any millennial about this track and you’ll see them light up, this wasn’t just a hit song, it was the soundtrack for a generation. Shaevy and Slice never got here again, no other music came from them but this particular track will stand the test of time in Kenyan music 

• Amka Ukatike – Czars

Amka Ukatike might just be the biggest one-hit wonder in Kenya’s history, all because of the hype that preceded it. The video to the song had been teased for days on TV, with snippets being played, until the release date. It made it appointment viewing, the country stopped to watch the video then spent days dissecting it. The Calif Records song made Czars into a bonafide star all while he was still in high school, he became the most popular teenager in the county over night.

Amka Ukatike was the biggest song in the country and Czars was definitely up next. But things quickly took a sharp turn, he publicly broke down in tears at the 2005 Kisima Awards after Amka Ukatike didn’t win and soon after he disappeared, no one knows where he went or what happened to him. The hype behind the song and the circumstances of his disappearance makes this the one of the most unique one-hit wonders to ever exist.