Spotify on Wednesday announced that Kenyan rapper, drummer and cultural entrepreneur Muthoni Drummer Queen joined its Equal Music Programme as December’s Artist of the Month.

Spotify Equal says it seeks to foster gender equality in music and provide a platform to highlight influential female creators, touting itself as a deserved platform for innovative Kenyan artistes.

Muthoni Drummer Queen (MDQ) developed her passion for music in school choirs and has been acclaimed for her own music and also for her wider work in the Kenyan music industry.

For example, on graduating from university, MDQ organised the Blankets and Wine music festival, which provided a platform for alternative musicians in the region since 2008.

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Muthoni Drummer Queen. PHOTO/COURTESY

The festival started with music to promote independent acts but now incorporates fashion, art and literature and has hosted a number of internationally-acclaimed acts from across Africa.

In 2019, she also founded perFORM which is a music business and artistic development incubator to enable music industry practitioners to filter, order, refine, and master the business and artistic skills required to build a sustainable music career.

On 19 November 2021, MDQ released a new album called River and the track, 'African Fever' will be featured in the EQUAL Africa and EQUAL Global playlists.

River is Muthoni’s fourth studio album and the third made in collaboration with Swiss production duo GR and Hook.

Muthoni Drummer Queen. PHOTO/COURTESY

The album features a number of global Afro-diasporic sounds, blended with hip-hop, reggae dancehall, R&B, and traditional drumbeats from various ethnic communities around Kenya.

The album’s genesis came during a Nairobi creative residency in 2019 and was further developed during a 50-plus date touring season that same year.

Muthoni welcomed the global acknowledgement and encouraged other female artists in the continent to be loud and make space for themselves in the music industry.

Muthoni Drummer Queen. PHOTO/COURTESY

“When they don’t give you a seat at the table, make your own with and for the people that love and celebrate you as you are,” Muthoni said.

Other African artistes to have been featured on Equal include Kenya’s Ssaru, Nigeria’s Ayra Starr and South Africa’s DBN Gogo.