World Radio Day: My millennial perspective on the time of Zilizopendwa
Mechanics follow the State of the Nation address from a radio at their car shop in Nakuru city on November 9, 2023.
Growing up in the 90s, radios were the one common thing you would never miss in any Kenyan household. As you walked in, you would see a boom box in the corner and of course it would be covered with a fabric embroidery.
There was also a shelf with cassettes of Tupac, Whitney Houston, Mbilia Bel, Bob Marley and many of the great artists of the day.
It went without saying that Dad was the only one to operate the radio and you would listen to whatever they were listening to and the fear of messing up the settings also kept you away from the radio.
There were many radio shows when I was growing up, but in our household none came close to Sundowner.
The hour before 7pm was therapeutic, so much so that if there was interference on the network, you were told to hold the aerial to get a good reception.
As we got older, we were allowed to listen to cassettes, and apart from the numerous radio stations, these provided great entertainment, as it was through the radio that we were introduced to legendary artists such as Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and many more who have shaped my musical tastes to this day.
Also, for the many die-hard fans, the radio was the place to listen to their favourite football commentators give a vivid description of the game in progress.
Nowadays, times have changed and the heavy boom box radios that used to sit in a corner somewhere have been reduced to a simple application on your mobile phone.
But regardless of this radio remains an important mass medium.