KULA, Africa’s first virtual cultural ecosystem, is excited to announce its highly anticipated debut inside the VIP experience of Lil Maina’s Sumbua album launch at Aspire Centre in Nairobi.
This exclusive soft launch fuses culinary innovation, music, technology, and community to create an immersive experience that is both a service and a push of creative boundaries.
“Lil Maina represents Nairobi’s cultural heartbeat — young, bold, community-rooted, and creatively authentic. Launching KULA inside his album release event created the perfect showbiz crossover where food, music, and youth culture meet,” says Mbuki Kasema, KULA’s CEO.
“Culture is built where energy peaks. Lil Maina’s album launch is not just a concert, it’s a cultural moment and we really wanted KULA’s launch to be felt and not just seen or heard. The event was pizza in hand, energy flowing, and we were building a story with the audience in real time” she says.
Known as The Biggest Stepper to his dedicated fans, Lil Maina’s ascent in the East African music scene has been nothing short of meteoric. Transitioning successfully from a viral comedy sensation to a chart-topping musician, his tracks like the 2021 breakout hit “Kishash” and his debut album Maisha Ya Stunna (2023), featuring hits like “Alert” and “Ma G Kwenye Klabu,” perfectly capture the dynamic energy of Nairobi’s urban life. This collaboration with KULA shows an innovative side to his artistry, one where he is not afraid to pioneer new ways to how the world consumes art and culture through music, technology and food.
On the back of the album celebration, guests were treated to a first look into the “KULAverse.” The experience featured the first official KULA drop, a co-created pizza with Lil Maina himself, presented within a VIP lounge built to mirror the digital-meets-physical world. Complete with animated avatars integrated into visual displays and content capture zones designed for Gen Z, KULA is reimagining how fans connect with the artists they love and the experiences they create.
KULA isn’t entering the market as a restaurant, it’s anchored on cultural innovation. Unlike traditional food or lifestyle brands, KULA co-creates culinary drops with leading artists, transforming everyday eating into cultural moments. By blending food, music, digital storytelling, and Pan-African creativity, KULA is pioneering a model where fans participate in cultural drops, artists create experiences that transcend music, and food becomes a storytelling medium.
This soft launch signals a new era for artist-led innovation in Kenya. KULA is pioneering a model where communities shape the cultural economy. With upcoming collaborations already in the works and a launch coming soon to all major food delivery platforms across Nairobi, the KULAverse is just beginning
