US Rapper Tyga Drawn By Matatu With Graffiti Bearing His Image
From the details engraved on the registration plates, it was easy for users to determine that the vehicle was operating in Kenya.
Marvin Chege 
American rapper Micheal Ray Stevenson, known professionally as Tyga, on Thursday, July 6 reacted to photos of a matatu with graffiti bearing images looking just like him.
The Rack City hitmaker took to social media to share the images of the matatu that had his face drawn on the front and rear sides.
From the details engraved on the registration plates, it was easy for users to determine that the vehicle was operating in Kenya.
“Where in the world is this..and what are they on?!” he wrote.
A matatu bearing Tyga's image as photographed on July 6, 2023. /TYGA
Kenyans soon flooded the comments and quoted replies with many trying to guess which route the matatu plies on, with others asserting that the grafitti was a vivid description of the thriving matatu culture in Kenya.
Viral Tea established that the heavily-pimped matatu with bigger back tyres than the front, operated in Mombasa, along a route that could not be independently established.
"You have never seen other celebrities posting these?" Beth Kasinga responded to him.
Kasinga is right. On January 30, 2021, Tyga's counterpart, Grammy Award-winning rapper and songwriter Balcalis Almanzar alias Cardi B, joined a list of international celebrities to have reacted to images of themselves painted as graffiti art on matatus.
"Wow. I love you sooo much. America is boring, they need buses like this," she stated.
This was not the first time Cardi B heaped praise on the graffiti-style artwork. In 2017, she hailed a 14-seater matatu named C'zer as her image was expertly crafted and painted on the matatu.
During his visit to Kenya in 2016, Trey Songz posted a couple of photos on his Instagram account while seated in a Matatu called the Catalyst which plied the Rongai route, part of his love for Kenyan matatus.
Other celebrities to have appreciated special matatu features include Rick Ross and Robert Knepper (Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell), known for his feature in the Prison Break series.
The term matatu refers to privately owned public service vehicles that serve as the primary mode of transportation for many Kenyans, especially in the capital city, Nairobi. According to reports, almost 85% of Nairobi’s population relies on public transportation.
Because of its heavy usage, the matatu culture emerged and manifested into a staple among the youths who prefer the unique culture, a vibrant and unique phenomenon that has been growing since the 1960s and which has become a source of pride for Kenyans.
Graffiti artists have been driving this industry by creating unique designs that reflect pop culture, including musicians, footballers, slogans, and sayings.
The matatu culture embraces different types of graffiti, and young people in Kenya are increasingly preferring these pimped-out buses over traditional ones, even though they charge more fares than the old buses.
The graffiti culture in Matatus has become so popular that it has spurred local art and has become a way for artists to showcase their work.
The PSVs are also modified with other elements such as sound systems, free WiFi, comfortable seats, loud music, CCTV fitted inside, and flat-screen televisions as well as other interior fabrication, all of which could cost as much as Ksh300,000 depending on the modifications.
This in turn creates employment for young people who work on the interior & exterior fabrications as well as the graffiti.
However, the customised matatus are known for vices such as touts seen hanging dangerously on the door of the moving vehicle as they pick up passengers during rush hour, overlapping in traffic and breaking traffic rules to beat the competition, resulting in criticism towards the matatu sector due to its unconventional and rowdy nature.
A past photo of youth hanging on a moving matatu. /FILE
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