Kenyan rapper, singer and producer Nyathigi Gatere, better known as tg.blk, has been named Spotify’s EQUAL Africa artist for July. The Mombasa born musician has spent the past few years carving out a name in Kenya’s alternative hip hop scene, blending raw emotion with total creative independence.
From Bedroom Beats to a Continental Stage
Gatere started making music alone, teaching herself to rap and produce using GarageBand. She sharpened those skills further while studying in the United States, then carried them home to Kenya, where she has grown into one of the country’s most distinctive alternative voices.
Her 2021 single Love Being Used introduced her to listeners across the region and pulled in millions of streams. tg.blk has kept building since then. Her 2024 EP ITS NOT THAT DEEP, along with tracks like gin and wine, fuses rap, lo fi production, R&B and soul into a sound that belongs entirely to her. Identity, honesty and self expression run through nearly everything she releases, themes that reflect how young people actually live and feel today.
What the EQUAL Africa Recognition Means
Spotify’s EQUAL Africa programme spotlights women artists reshaping African music and connects them with new audiences across the continent and beyond. Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s Head of Music for Sub Saharan Africa, said tg.blk captures the energy pushing East Africa’s alternative scene forward. Okumu praised her artistic perspective, her technical independence as a producer and her willingness to stay vulnerable in her work.
A Sound Shaped by Instinct
Ask tg.blk to describe her own music and she keeps it simple. “I’d describe my music as a blend of rap, R&B and soul,” she says. “It’s really chill and textured, and I love experimenting with my voice. It’s the kind of music you listen to on a drive when the weather is beautiful and there’s no need to rush.” That instinct runs through her influences too, a mix that spans Oliver Mtukudzi, Joseph Kamaru, Brenda Fassie and old Ogopa DJs mixes, artists she grew up on long before she picked up a mic herself.
She still is not sure where the path leads, and she has made peace with that. “I’m still figuring out the destiny part, but I know it makes me incredibly happy whenever I make a song I’m proud of, and that’s why I keep doing it,” she says. “I’m following my heart, and this is where it has led me.” That same trust in her own judgement shapes how she works. “I work with people I trust and respect, and I always trust my gut,” she says. “As a woman, I’m blessed with amazing intuition. Because I believe in myself and what I know, that confidence comes through in my music. It’s where I become the most confident version of myself.”
Building a Career Online, on Her Own Terms
tg.blk built most of her following without the backing of a major label, working instead through streaming platforms and social media. That history makes the EQUAL Africa recognition land differently for her. “Now is the time for women musicians,” she says. “The power is in your hands, and people want to hear from you. The internet has opened up so many opportunities for us. Being part of the EQUAL programme means so much to me because I built so much of my journey online, and I often feel disconnected from opportunities like this. It’s incredibly affirming, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
For anyone hesitating to chase something similar, her advice is direct. “Give it a chance,” she says. “You’ll be much happier knowing you tried. You never know what could happen.” And for fans who think they know her, one detail still tends to surprise people: before she was writing songs, tg.blk was writing fan fiction.
A Sound Built on Her Own Terms
tg.blk built her entire career from a bedroom in Mombasa, one self produced track at a time. Spotify has now put a continental spotlight on that work, and by her own account, she is only getting started.
