Wide-leg jeans, tiny skirts, small tops and deliberately put together party looks were style favourites at the Haus of Kühl event over the weekend, which ran from 6 pm to 4 am.
Making its debut at Diamond Plaza’s Sk8City, the party found its rhythm at 10 pm just as DJ Lyta began his set, which included Kenyan old-school favourites such as E-Sir and Beenie Man in the Dancehall segment.
This is not to say the early birds didn’t also enjoy a great performance by Singer Iyanah, who opened the night on the main stage, while dancers Ian Tico and Thee Iconic added movement to a programme featuring more than 30 Kenyan DJs and performers.
Away from the main stage, Calvin The Curator drew cheers from a young, excited audience on the Dance Stage while DJ Rayma brought bass-laden hits that currently define the Kenyan oontz crowd.
Taking directions from the MCs of the night Mariah and Sameer Bry, the official line-up included Basthma, Burugu, Coco Kahi, DJ Mani, Hiribae, Jayeda, JM1, Kamz, Kaneda, Kiptala, Kurtiss E, Love, Mani, Monzo, Mura, Mtu Solo, Mr. Arkitech, N!k, Njeri wa Baaba and Santa Currie, Safari Oontz Collective, Selekta V, Selo, Shi, Sir M and Mista C, Suraj, The Vibe Initiator, Tinashe The DJ, Wembe Waves and Zhai.
However, the night was not without its interruptions. A technical glitch briefly stopped DJ Lyta’s set, but the interruption barely dented the mood as the audience cheered and oooh’ed as Sameer and Mariah continued to hype the crowd through the disruption.
As promised by organisers, the event was about more than the music, and the large Sk8City venue helped make that possible.
The venue accommodated the large audience while dividing the experience into distinct spaces. Those who needed a break from the music could retreat to a quieter area and recharge their phones at a charging dock, while those looking for a different music experience moved to the silent disco. The Game Zone accommodated those looking for a little bit of physical fun with their friends or partners.
Fashion collectives including Pesos and Nyumbani displayed and sold their work at the fashion bay, adding a touch of Kenya’s evolving style to the event – from graphics to upcycled fashion from the Makasi brand.
The Nairobi edition marks an expansion of Haus of Kühl, which was launched in South Africa in 2023 by Jägermeister as a platform bringing together music, fashion, art and nightlife.
The concept has since been staged in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, with its events combining multiple music stages with fashion activations, art and other experiences.
Its arrival in Nairobi introduces the concept to a different creative market, one with its own rapidly changing music, fashion and nightlife scenes. As Haus of Kuhl finds its footing, Nairobi represents a new chapter, and potentially a test of how that identity translates outside its original market.
“Nairobi is a city with such a powerful and constantly evolving creative pulse. We wanted to create an experience that goes beyond music and brings together the many different worlds that make culture what it is,” Ephraim Manana Snr, Culture & Experiential Marketing Manager, Jägermeister, said about the event’s curation.
Nairobi’s cultural identity has never been static.
Its music scene continues to shift between gengetone, hip-hop, electronic music, Afro-house, dancehall and Zilizopendwa. Fashion is similarly fluid, with young Kenyans moving between thrifted streetwear, local designers, international trends and deliberately individual combinations.
That makes the Nairobi Haus of Kühl experience less about importing a finished South African party format and more about seeing what happens when the concept meets a different generation of partygoers.
By the time the event was winding down at 4 am, the experiment had brought together the sounds, clothes, performances and social spaces that increasingly define Nairobi’s youth culture.
For a night, Haus of Kühl was a party; however, its long-term identity will depend on what organisers do with Nairobi’s youth culture.
