Targeting Urbanites: Nairobi-bred audio-visual narratives in Sheng

In this article I analyse three cases of media production in Nairobi that target teenage and young adult audiences in the Sheng language. Despite large differences in terms of scale, style, financial strength and audience reach, my cases have a number of common characteristics, traits which I theorize by using elements of subcultural theory. The cases also show how the role and position of Sheng, an urban vernacular closely associated with youth and city life, is changing.