Hope/Currency by rPH and Kins of Spade

“Hope/Currency” is a collaboration between rPH, electronic music producer/Dj and poet/spoken word artist Kins of Spade, both from Nairobi, Kenya. The project is a comment on Kenya’s evangelical Christian culture, a force that exerts immense influence on the society and one that they have both experienced quite intimately, having grown up in religious families. Sampling publicly available utterances by popular evangelical figures as well as some bizarre but increasingly outspoken characters from the more extreme fringes of the church, the duo add critical, forthright words by Kins and gritty, off-beat production by rPh to make their statement.

The result is a 5-track compilation covering the subjects of personality cults, sexual and financial exploitation, political ambition and power. It is set for digital-only release in May 2023 by the Berlin-based independent label Noland (noland.fm). The team has released two previous works by rPH under his original moniker Dj Raph https://djraph.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-groves, his full-length debut album (digital, CD and vinyl) and Citysynthesis https://citysynthesis.bandcamp.com/album/citysynthesis
(digital only), an experimental project in collaboration with sound artist Sophia Bauer.

Kins of Spade is a poet, entrepreneur and activist based in Nairobi. She is active in grassroots media production and is a prominent cultural events organizer in the city.

rPH is an electronic musician and Dj based in Nairobi. He is a co-founder and resident at the Mist, the first venue in Nairobi dedicated to experimental and underground music. He previously worked as Dj Raph.