How Nairobi’s rare Vinyl haven is preserving African history

In the bustling Kenyatta Market of Nairobi, Kenya, one small record shop has become a sanctuary for African music lovers and historians alike. For more than three decades, James Rugami, better known as Jimmy, has curated one of the region’s rarest vinyl collections — safeguarding sounds that might otherwise have been lost to time.

Rugami opened his store in 1989 as piracy swept through the music industry. He resisted cassettes and CDs, choosing instead to remain loyal to vinyl. “See when cassettes came and manufacturers started manufacturing cassette decks with two decks so that you can dub the cassette, that is what started killing musicians,” Rugami says. “With vinyl records you are sure to be dealing with the real thing… I did not move to cassettes, I did not move to CDs and I am still doing vinyl even today.”

The Nairobi store attracts collectors from around the world in search of Kenyan benga, Congolese rumba, Swahili pop, and Afro-Cuban classics — much of it unavailable elsewhere after decades of economic turmoil and conflict wiped out recording archives across Africa.

For Rugami, vinyl is more than just a medium; it is a vessel of history. “Very few people know that there was music even in time immemorial which was sung in funerals and weddings most of which was not recorded. Now, if you don’t have history, well, you are a loser,” he reflects.

Global vinyl sales have surged in recent years, reaching $1.8 billion in 2023 and projected to hit $3.4 billion by 2032. The renaissance has vindicated Rugami’s devotion to records, bringing new life to his shop.

For enthusiasts like UK collector Ben McCabe, the vinyl experience is unmatched: “If you are finding a record, you are going to the old days of listening to an album… you’re not skipping tracks, you’re listening to what the artist intended to be the full piece, and I really enjoy that.”

What started as one man’s fight against piracy has grown into a cultural archive, preserving the rhythms, stories, and pride of Africa’s musical past — one vinyl at a time.