Six things to know about Chris Kantai

Veteran rapper Chris Kantai died on Wednesday morning at St Francis Hospital. He had been admitted with breathing complications.

He honed his craft as a teen and came into the limelight in early 2000 to become one of Kenya’s pioneers in hip-hop scene.

But who was Kantai and how will he be remembered? Here are a six things you need to know about the late Kantai.

FAMILY

He died at 42. He leaves behind a wife, one child and his mother. His other siblings died a decade ago.

GROWING UP

He was born in Kenya but grew up in the United States before he returned to Kenya in the early 2000.  before launching his career.

JUST LIKE WARREN G

Pundits compare his music style to that of American hip-hop rapper Warren G or Kurupt because of the way he delivers his flow effortlessly.

HITS

In his heydays, he gave Kenyans some of the biggest hits by fusing sheng’ in his lyrics. Some of his biggest hits include Kantadda, Huu Ni Nani G, Lifestyle, Issues among others.

LINK WITH STL

He is credited for introducing Norway-based Kenyan artists Stella Kimani aka STL to the industry with their first collabo Happy.

ALCOHOLISM

He took a break from music to “deal with domestic life and personal issues”. He had always shied away from speaking or acknowledging the issue of alcoholism.

In 2016, the rapper rubbished rumours that he had hit rock bottom and lost control over his life due to alcoholism.