Nyash is a good try but you're right Diamond is the regional star. Nigeria is the undisputed African giant in this.
Yep. Naija owns African pop music arena. I think I know why Kenyan music generally sucks. The artistes that we cherish(promote) are not Kenya's own best. The best are guys who produce Kenyan sounds, Luo, Luhya, Gikuyu etc. But the guys and girls we promote are trying to out-Rihanna the Rihannas. Basically trying to out-Ameircanize the Americans. It will never work.
What's the genre of Kenyan music? Does it have one? When Sauti Sol etc are singing, what is that thing called in musical terms? They all seem to be trying something perfected elsewhere. My real point is that these are not the best Kenyan artistes - they are just the most promoted. They are what the Kenyan intelligentsia(to borrow Omollo's term) see as fit to represent Kenyan music. Otherwise there are way better artistes playing Ohangla to pick a random example, but the intelligentsia is ashamed to hold them up as representing Kenya.
Taarab, benga and genge jump to mind. Ohangla is what they call afro-fusion or sesube. Nyashinki's is home-grown benga. Sauti sol is Afro-pop. Jua Cali is genge. The wandindi and nyatiti players have to learn to promote themselves or languish.
Anything Afro-* is of course a local version of an alien genre. Afro-pop, afro-jazz, etc.