context: Kalamashaka (by another name K-Shaka) is a hip hop group based in Dandora Street, a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. It comprises three artists: Oteraw, Kama and Johny. This group was formed in the mid-1990s. They became famous for their hit song This Translation That Made Strong in 1997. The group opened the curtain for several international artists including Coolio and Lost Boyz and have sung with Dead Prez and other international artists. They have performed in several countries such as Nigeria, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Africa, Norway, among others. Kalamakaka opened the way to hip hop in Swahili and became dominant in Kenya. The group is famous for its fans for its hardcore rap music and social and political messages. Their debut album Time Is Released in 2001 was highly acclaimed by South African Channel O playing the video "Do Things" from this album. The album focused on street crime, ethnicity, politics and African conflicts. Their popularity began to decline as the Gang and Kapuka styles emerged that could be easily playable and sophisticated which a large percentage of young people prefer to listen to rather than philosophical music. FM radio stations are reluctant to play music with a social plague such as Kalamashaka and lead to a decline in their popularity. However, the group has continued to work and refuse to change fashion based on the times and to carry on the music business. The group pushed other groups like Shifta, Gid Gidi Water, K-South, Necessary Noize and many other artists.
question: What year did the Kalamashaka group start?
answers.text: the mid-1990s