In Nairobi's nightlife, 'there's no time to stop'
| Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
This post is part of the project chronicling life in Nairobi, Kenya throughout the month of April.
Nairobi鈥檚 character changes after the sun鈥檚 gone down. P.O.P and Richie Rich, hip-hop musicians with the city鈥檚 collective, tell Mike Pflanz how past midnight is not as you might imagine.
It鈥檚 way into tomorrow already, and the DJ at the Skylux club, on the 3rd floor of a nondescript office block, has packed the dance floor.
It filled up late 鈥� the Barcelona versus Real Madrid soccer game kept most of the partygoers in the pub longer than usual. But now the beats deepen, and the dance floor darkens.
RICHIE RICH: Something new鈥檚 coming to Nairobi in the last five years. You know there鈥檚 a lot moving in this city, there鈥檚 construction, there鈥檚 everywhere, guys are feeling that there鈥檚 a hype about the place, it鈥檚 picking up. Money鈥檚 moving around. People have it, or they鈥檙e chasing it.
There鈥檙e people saying this is the New York of Africa, that we鈥檙e all moving so fast, there鈥檚 no time to stop. There鈥檚 two hustles in Nairobi 鈥� the daytime and the .
P.O.P: In the daytime, people are coming in from all around the city, other districts, they are selling things, they are working somewhere, then they go home. In the nighttime, it鈥檚 for people really who live here.
In the day, everyone鈥檚 got their head down, moving fast, somewhere to go. There鈥檚 no time to talk. Maybe you don鈥檛 know anyone you see on the streets. Everyone鈥檚 slick, man. There ain鈥檛 no city with the percentage of slickers we got here.
Nighttime, there are familiar faces everywhere. We go to the same places, we know each other. This place, it鈥檚 more friendly in the night than in the day. I love the night.
RICHIE RICH: Every night, there鈥檚 something. Here you can be at the party from Monday to Monday. Even Monday, there鈥檚 a place that鈥檚 packed, you go in there and you鈥檙e like, damn, who are all these people packing this place on a Monday night?
Tuesday, there鈥檚 so many places. Wednesday, now it鈥檚 kicking. Thursday, man, I don鈥檛 know what happened to Thursday. It came up about a year ago and now it鈥檚 like another weekend day. I鈥檒l be there at a party thinking, 鈥淭here鈥檚 somewhere I gotta be in the morning.鈥� Then you look around and see it鈥檚 going crazy. You can鈥檛 leave that.
Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays. I can鈥檛 keep up. Guys are just throwing it every night here.
P.O.P.: You know this is the only city in Nairobi that鈥檚 got class. Everywhere else, you get a guy he鈥檚 the boss of some company, very rich, but here with everyone else wearing the same clothes, you can鈥檛 tell.
Here even people from the ghetto dress expensive. They are down in the markets buying secondhand Hilfiger, secondhand Nike, secondhand whatever, all the stuff. Girls are spending little money and looking like they鈥檙e worth millions.
Man, people here dress to impress. You can look at her and think, man, is she from the slums or is she from some high-class neighborhood? You can鈥檛 tell. That鈥檚 Nairobi.
