World Language Communications Blog

The Many Meanings of Chips Funga

BY ANDERS KELTO

It’s 2 a.m. in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. Wendy Kimani is doing what a lot of young people here do around this time: standing outside a night club, holding a bag of French fries. You can see the grease soaking through.

“It tastes like heaven,” says Wendy. “Greasy as hell. And we like it that way.”

French fries to go — or chips funga as they’re called here — are the late-night snack of choice in Nairobi. But recently, chips funga has taken on a whole new meaning.

“It’s basically taking a lady home who you don’t know,” says singer Anto Neosoul. “You met her for the first time, and you take her home for a one-night stand.”

Neosoul is a rising star on the Kenyan music scene. His song, ‘Chips Funga,’ has been riding high on the airwaves here for more than a year.

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