On February 25, 2008, The East African newspaper published a story titled ‘Kenya: Alarming link between music and drugs’ that talked about the alarming trend of people abusing painkillers to generate the intoxication of banned drugs.
Music is the rhythm of life and, by extension, it embodies our culture, way of life, our struggles, our dreams, hopes and even despair. Essentially, music is the composition of a people, a reflection of themselves and each other.
Some of the biggest hits over recent years have a particular inclination of glorifying alcohol consumption. Among the biggest hits this past year are Alcohol by Joe Boy and Leta pombe (Bring the alcohol) by Iyaani. Some years back, other smash hits included Keroro by Nonini and Bartender by G Whizz and T-pain.
It is without a doubt that drinking is ingrained in our culture. The National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse, in its 14th Edition of Biannual Report on the Status of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Control in Kenya for January 1 to June 30, 2021, shows that 12.2 per cent of Kenyans, equivalent to 3,293,495 people, have an alcohol abuse problem. Of these, 10.4 per cent (2,807,569) are aged 15 to 65.
Additionally, the number of bars in Kenya where alcohol and music flow freely is ever increasing, with a survey in 2016 showing that there were 12,500 bars. This translates to just about 284 bars for every 100,000 people—a very high figure for a developing country.
These establishments have invested in sound equipment and deejays to play this type of music to entertain patrons imbibing their favourite alcoholic beverages.
It is due to the foregoing factors that I have come to the conclusion that music in fact has a bearing on alcohol consumption in that it increases its uptake.
And as the New Year slowly takes shape, I foresee that the most liked songs of the year shall be about the goodness of alcohol uptake regardless of the risk it poses on its consumers.
A happy New Year to all alcohol lovers everywhere.
MA Counselling Psychology student at Kenyatta University
