Hakuna Pesa

Hakuna Pesa are an eye-opener, a collective who major in party music marinated in passion and lyrical grit. Imagine a mutant 200mph collision of The Maytals, Gogol Bordello, Sublime and The Clash and you’re a quarter of the way there.



Hakuna Pesa are kings of a good night out, but they’re also a band fired with musical ideas and lyrical attitude. With a devoted and ever-increasing following capable of selling out mid-capacity venues, they’re a hard working band who are ready to take on the world.



The music all gels into a colourful riot of sound with Tom “MC Msungu” Bentley leading the show, a tattooed dervish emanating from his righteous attitude, as able to croon sweet reggae as he is to roar polemic. Whether on a hardcore battling rap vibe or kicking off a barroom knees-up, this is dancing music, joyous and upbeat, deeply imbued with ska, but also the boozy fervour of Balkan beats, a twist of African guitar and a wonderful flash of Dixieland jazz in the brass section, every bit of it warped into a dynamic, engaging whole.



Hakuna Pesa are hot, they’re ones to watch, a people’s band fired up with a passion to succeed, even more so than the average bunch of indie upstarts because they’ve a hungry Kenyan orphanage on the payroll. There’s no reason they shouldn’t go the distance either, for Hakuna Pesa’s ebullient crowd-slaying music is inclusive, fully formed pop, ripe and ready for wild dancing wherever it may be heard.



Thomas H. Green (Mixmag, Q, Daily Telegraph, etc.)