AMANI: THE KENYAN DAUGHTER NAMED PEACE

Her voice is unmistakable, and her style distinct, her videos have conquered the airwaves and her music has taken her around the world. Amani sings and you listen, belting out from a frame so diminutive, it’s hard to imagine, but she knows the secret every diva has uncovered, size never got in the way of a diaphragm well utilized. She is Cecilia Wairimu Ngwaro, riveting to say the least, her stage performances always leave revelers gasping for breath albeit wanting more. Her dream was to achieve world wide recognition, and she may well be on her way if her achievements are anything to go by. Her voice has been described as hauntingly soulful and her performance polished to a fault, so its small wonder that her career has grown in leaps and bounds since the days when she recorded the techno debut ‘Tahidi.’

Turn on the TV and view one of the myriad music programmes aired every evening and you are assured that one of her videos will be played. Her style is distinctive, as she fuses Swahili, English and sometimes her native Kikuyu when writing her songs to produce singles that are done justice when Ogopa Deejays finally put a beat. Then they become alive, her voice reverberating, and before you know it you are either dancing up a storm, or singing along at the top of your voice. So who is this artist who has the pulse of Kenyan musical needs down to an art?

Born on November 28th 1980, Amani grew up in Buruburu estate before her family packed their bags and headed for Thika, a bustling town in the outskirts of Nairobi. After completing her primary schooling, she then joined Bishop Gatimu Ngandu Girls for her high school education. It is here that she first fell in love with music, taking it as a subject. Together with her friends, she formed the girl group dubbed Sobriety, and sang all the way through school mostly in school functions among others. Upon completion however, the group disbanded due to other commitments, especially as the others wanted to pursue further studies. When Amani told her parents she wanted to pursue music, her dad had no objection, maybe because he himself was a musician in the seventies. It was her mum however, who had misgivings and rather that blatantly refusing to support her, Amani’s mum asked her to go school and study as a plan b.

This she did, joining United Stated International University in 2000, to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business Relations, specializing in Marketing. She graduated in 2003, and immediately embarked on job hunting with a fine tooth comb. Armed with her degree, she found work at myjobseye.com, an online job placement company as a marketing executive. But after a brief stint there, she left to join Capital FM as an events organizer, but because her heart was not in it, she unfortunately lost her job. Consequently, things took a down spiral because she became cash-strapped, and sold everything she had to ensure she survived.

Finally Amani swallowed her pride and decided to move back to her parents’ abode, a decision that she says was one of the hardest yet most humbling in her life. Her efforts to get a job she actually liked proved futile and after a lot of soul searching, she decided that music was where her heart was. Amani plucked up the courage to visit producer after producer but faced setbacks all through. As is the case with many singers, the doors didn’t open; she was turned down because she didn’t have an international appeal, as was evident in her accent, termed as very Kenyan. But rather than give up, she pressed on, till one day Redsan, seeing her dejected asked her what was wrong and after she narrated her story to him, the dancehall heart throb advised her to seek out the new kids on the block, Ogopa deejays. She did, and after auditioning, became the first female artist to sign up with label alongside Nameless, Bigpin and later Tatuu and Wahu.

Her debut song Tahidi didn’t cause ripples in the industry maybe owing to the fact that it was techno laced, a genre that only the upwardly mobile section of the populace liked. Rather than let that deter her, she continued to record featuring in three compilations albums, all by the artists in the Ogopa Stable. One of the songs she did was ‘Ninanoki’.

This is the song that introduced made her a recognizable voice in the music industry, serving as a launching pad to her musical career. Amani became a mainstay after singing the hook to Nameless’s ‘Ninanoki’, arguably the biggest song of 2003, thanks to the infectious beat, visible vocal jelling and infusion of Kikuyu into the bridge. The clever use of the ‘aiaiai’ chant at the end of the chorus had Kenya hooked after one listen and its star grew even bigger. The song was so big that it eclipsed Amani’s own debut single in addition to opening up doors hitherto closed to her.

Her subsequent releases ‘Papi’, ‘Missing my baby’, ‘Bad Boy’, and ‘Talk to you’ featuring Patonee were so well received they catapulted her to unprecedented levels of fame, in addition to ensuring that she lives comfortably thanks to music. Her debut album ‘Tamani’, Swahili for long, was titled after the beautiful and mellow track ‘Tamani’ that is so different from her earlier releases.

It has not been all rosy for this vocal powerhouse. Although she is now in love with a mystery man that she described as confident and passionate, she was the subject of media slander a while back. A Tanzanian tabloid reported that Amani was expecting AY’s baby, a rumour she sought to dispel terming as untrue and distasteful. Although she never did deny dating the Tanzanian rapper, she is quoted as saying that he was a rebound as she had just gotten out of a six year relationship. Tabloids also linked her to another Kenyan rapper Jaguar but the diva denied this rumour as well.

Amani is confident; intrepid even so it came as a shock when she confessed that she was recently diagnosed with uterine fibroids that were later removed surgically without the media getting wind of it. She knows too well that not all who smile with you want the best for you, which explains why she became wary of the media choosing to keep them in the dark over this matter. But all of these have done nothing to crumble the resolve of this woman who is still set to conquer with her riveting stage presence and crisp vocals. We wish her well in her endeavours, because she is a part of the Kenyan success story that we strive to tell. Tamani is the first album she released and if she continues with that trend, you are assured Amani will not be fizzle out on her own accord anytime soon.

M. Mwangi

GE reporter