A greeting that flips authority into equality, though locals can always tell when the warmth is real versus strategically deployed.
In Nairobi, calling someone "boss" has nothing to do with employment. It's a greeting that creates instant familiarity — the verbal equivalent of a handshake between equals. Matatu conductors scatter it through the streets like confetti, turning strangers into temporary companions during the morning commute.
The word emerged in the 1990s as part of Sheng, the street slang that remixes Swahili and English into something entirely Nairobi. Taking the English term for an authority figure and flipping it into peer-level address was classic Sheng wit — power dynamics inverted through a single word. What started in street corners became the soundtrack of public transport, where every passenger might hear it a dozen times before reaching their destination.
But here's where it gets interesting: Nairobians can read the difference between genuine warmth and strategic manipulation. The same word from the same conductor means two different things depending on whether he's greeting you or trying to squeeze one more passenger into an already-packed van. That duality — authentic connection versus transactional pressure — captures something essential about navigating urban life, where trust and commerce occupy the same space.