Spotify’s Karibu Night Brings Kenyan Music and Fashion Together in Nairobi

Spotify’s Greasy Tunes programme continued in Nairobi with Karibu Night, an event that brought Kenyan music and fashion together at Heltz House.

Hosted by Studio 18, the second night of the programme featured a fashion showcase inspired by Spotify’s Made In Kenya playlist, alongside live performances from ten rising and established Kenyan artists.

The fashion presentation was built around two official Greasy Tunes merchandise pieces designed by Studio 18: a jersey and a scarf. Designers within the Studio 18 community used the two pieces as the foundation for a series of looks inspired by the sound, colour and cultural energy represented on the Made In Kenya playlist.

“Made In Kenya is not just a playlist, it is a reflection of how Kenyan youth are shaping culture in real time,” said Bea Theron, Spotify’s Experiential Marketing Lead for Africa.

“For Greasy Tunes, we wanted to take that energy beyond streaming and create moments where music could meet the other creative worlds it naturally lives alongside, including fashion. Karibu Night showed how strongly music, style and youth culture are connected in Nairobi.”

Gen Z Driving Nairobi’s Listening Culture

Afropop remains central to the Made In Kenya playlist, which Spotify says offers a snapshot of the music currently shaping Kenya’s cultural landscape.

According to Spotify data, Afropop listening among Kenyan users aged between 18 and 24 grew by 21 per cent year on year. The same age group accounts for 40 per cent of listeners on the Made In Kenya playlist, making it one of Spotify’s most Gen Z-focused editorial playlists in Kenya.

Spotify’s June 2026 listening data also shows that listeners aged between 18 and 24 generated 53.7 per cent of all streams in Nairobi. This was the highest share of Gen Z listening recorded across Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg.

As part of the Greasy Tunes programme, Spotify is changing the Made In Kenya playlist cover daily to feature artists connected to each event. On the second day, the cover featured BURUKLYN BOYZ, who also performed during Karibu Night.

Ten Artists Take the Stage

The event featured performances from BURUKLYN BOYZ, Sukuma, Afrikun, Solo, Angelo, Coco Kahi, Dauudi O., Love, Mani, Nig.Wav and Ojizzo.

BURUKLYN BOYZ, one of Nairobi’s most recognised drill groups, headlined the night, leading a lineup that reflected the range of sounds emerging from Kenya’s current music scene.

The mix of established and emerging performers also highlighted the role that editorial playlists and live cultural events are playing in introducing listeners to new Kenyan artists.

Turning a Playlist Into Fashion

The Karibu Night fashion showcase was developed by Spotify in response to the Made In Kenya playlist.

Rather than presenting a separate Studio 18 collection, participating designers styled and reworked the official Greasy Tunes jersey and scarf into different outfits. Each designer brought an individual interpretation to the pieces while drawing from the music, imagery and cultural references associated with the playlist.

“The jersey and scarf were designed as pieces that could live beyond a single event,” said Brandon Zamani, Studio 18 co-founder.

“For Karibu Night, it was exciting to see different designers within Studio 18 take those pieces and reinterpret them through their own creative language. The showcase became a way of showing how Kenyan music can influence fashion, and how fashion can carry the same energy people hear in the Made In Kenya playlist.”

With young listeners driving both music consumption and emerging cultural trends in Nairobi, Karibu Night sought to make the relationship between sound and style visible.

The event showed how the same generation influencing Nairobi’s listening habits is also shaping the city’s visual identity, fashion choices and wider creative culture.