ERIC Wainaina is one of Kenya’s best known, loved, accomplished, respected – and controversial – artists, with a string of major hit tracks at home.

The messages in his songs are often controversial and pull no punches, highlighting corruption and the despotic regime in his land. He has been banned from airwaves and in hot water with those in authority many times over.

His tracks have often been adopted as ‘National Anthems’ (unofficially, of course) with the messages and music touching so many hearts and minds that radio exposure was not even necessary.

This honesty and integrity, coupled with an amazing musicianship, has earned this performer his present position as United Nations Ambassador against Drugs and Crime.

Wainaina’s music is beautifully crafted and diverse, with tracks of a haunting nature as well as tracks to make one dance and laugh. The versatile award-winner’s live performances should not be missed.

His album Twende Twedne (Forward Forward in Swahili), recently released in South Africa, is packed with songs that span his career and includes the powerful duet with Oliver Mtukudzi, also entitled Twende Twende.

Music often speaks louder than words, so do yourself a favour and give this release a listen – you will be converted to the fact that Mother Africa indeed does have an extreme abundance of talent and that not all of it is “undiscovered”, “under-produced” or “unrefined” – Wainaina is a shining example of this.

The Eric Wainaina Story

Baby Steps:
He grew up saying that he was going to be a doctor, but his love for music reigned supreme. Shocked at first by his career choice, Eric’s family supported his decision to venture in to music from the very beginning. His fondest childhood memory is playing at the Bacchus club at the tender age of four.

Whilst growing up, a student at St Mary’s School, he was influenced musically by artists such as, Papa Wemba, Youssou N'Dour, Lokua Kanza and Paul Simon.

Eric first stepped into the world of music with Five Alive, originally an a cappella group that performed in churches, functions and clubs.  Eric was a founder member of this popular group in 1992. Even then his flair for writing was evident. He is credited as songwriter on eight of the 12 songs on the record.

Dominating Kenya's airwaves in 1995, Five Alive produced a CD and even went on to tour Europe the same year. This experience convinced Eric of pursuing a professional career in music. When the group disbanded in 1997, Eric went on to join the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston-USA, where he majored in Songwriting and Record Engineering.

Berklee Experience
During his years at Berklee, where his degree equipped him fully in the area of writing, arranging and production, Eric worked to produce a sound that would be distinctively Kenyan both in the music and the content of the lyrics.

Making sure that he released a new track every time he returned home for vacation, Eric Wainaina was always assured of a place on Kenya's music charts. The sound he created is a blend of Kenyan Benga rhythm and East African guitars, with some modern harmony. He describes Berklee as a musically charged atmosphere, which challenged him to invest in his ‘Kenyaness’.

Kenya’s Robin Hood
His notable releases include 'Kenya Only', a song that instantly made him Kenya's favourite modern musician.

After the 1998 terrorist bomb blast in Nairobi where over 200 Kenyans lost their lives, 'Kenya Only', originally written as a call to national unity in the wake of the divisive politics of the Moi regime, was adopted as the unofficial song of mourning, receiving extensive radio and TV airplay nation-wide. The song brought solace and hope to millions of Kenyans affected by the incident. Its themes of unity, patriotism and courage were a source of strength for a nation in mourning. Many have written into local newspapers requesting that this heart stirring song be adopted as a national anthem. In a 1999 TV interview, Eric said. “It’s humbling to see one of my songs being used as a source of hope for so many Kenyans.”

Eric returned to the top of Kenya's musical agenda after he released 'Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo' in 2000, a song that launched his crusade against corruption in the country. With the chart success of 'Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo' and his noble message sinking into every segment of Kenyan society, Eric received accolades internationally.

Transparency International supported him as an artist who would help educate people on the negativity of corruption.

In 2001, Africa Almanac.com listed him amongst the top 100 Africans of the year 2001, which included high profile names such as Nelson Mandela, Joseph Kabila, Yash Pal Ghai, Baaba Maal and Ousmane Sembene.
 
This anti-corruption anthem became a runaway hit in Kenya, getting heavy national airplay per day as a response to numerous requests. The Moi government quietly banned it on the government-run national broadcaster, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. However, other privately-owned media were achieving national listenership. The song and its music video propelled Eric to countrywide fame. You will be hard pressed to find a Kenyan who does not know the song or recognise Eric. The song earned him a prestigious KORA nomination for Best East African Artist, which he won. The pan-African Awards endeavour to honour African musicians for excellence in music and to expose them to a worldwide television audience of 550 million viewers.

Lyrical Genius
His first record, Sawa Sawa, released in 2001 remains one of the highest selling solo albums in the country. In writing the record Eric was making a decided attempt to break away from the all too common American influences in new African music. Challenged to be relevant he dedicated himself to spending 6 hours a day writing for over five months. The result was a record which won critical and popular acclaim. His adaptation of a Kikuyu folk tune 'Ritwa Riaku' was added to the playlist of every radio station in the nation, as was the eponymous track Sawa Sawa, which, six years down the line, still receives regular airplay.
 
Eric returned home from Berklee in August 2002 after his graduation with two degrees in Songwriting and in Music Production. He received numerous awards in recognition for outstanding musicianship including the Jack Maher Award for songwriting and the Yo Team scholarship for his exceptional songwriting. The latter award is given to students who have been recognised for their potential to become leaders in the international music industry.

Eric's music receives considerable international appeal. In addition to his 2001 KORA Award for Best East African Artist, he was further nominated for the Artist of the Decade Award in 2005, alongside African greats such as Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Youssou N’Dour, among others.  He is also the only Kenyan artist to have performed live at the KORA Awards ceremony.  He has been acclaimed for his outstanding skill and dynamism as a live performer in both his tours and festival performances.  He has toured in Switzerland for four consecutive years and has performed at Holland’s Festival Mundial (2003) as well as Harare’s International Festival of the Arts (2003) receiving outstanding reviews for both performances.   

More than music
In 2004 Eric Wainaina made another milestone on the Kenyan music scene when he premiered a 21- song musical theatre piece “Lwanda, Man of Stone”, 19 of which he wrote, based on a local folk story. He successfully married traditional instruments and styles of the Luo people of Western Kenya with contemporary urban Kenyan sound. The harmony is rich with modal colours and rhythmically enticing with ethnic groove.  One of the first of its kind in Kenya, the show ran for a hugely successful theatre season and a concert version of the same show continues to be performed at major cultural events. The concert versions feature 10 of the songs from the work strung together with narration and punctuated by world-class choreography and acrobatics. Lwanda in Concert has been performed for the British Council’s reception for Minister Baroness Helena Kennedy and at the Eve Magazine’s Woman of the Year awards ceremony to rave reviews on both occasions.

In 2006, Eric wrote the musical score for a documentary based on the New York Times best-selling children’s book, ‘Owen & Mzee’, which is based on the true story of an unusual friendship between a young hippo, Owen, who was swept away from his family during the 2003 tsunami and marooned on the Kenyan Coast, and a centenarian tortoise, Mzee, who lives at Bamburi’s Haller Park. The book was written by Craig Hatkoff, his 5 year-old daughter Isabella, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. Eric attended and performed at the premiere of ‘Owen & Mzee’ at the renowned Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April 2006.

A modern rendition of Lwanda Man of Stone called Lwanda, A Ghetto Story was staged at the GoDown Arts Centre on 7th -16th December 2006. This production featured an array of well-known Kenyan Thespians such as Mumbi Kaigwa, Gowi Odera and Jacquey Nyaminde as well as new and promising artists such as Ruth Rimbui and Sam Kihiu.

Set in the modern slum of Kwa Maji, the play tackles issues of good governance, democracy, nation building, constitutionalism and human rights.
 
The production was a huge success with all six shows being completely sold out. Plans are underway to stage the musical again in 2007 as well as a possible national tour as a civic education program. It is also being performed for the European Union in March 2007.

Lwanda promises to be part of Kenya’s Cultural Landscape, and is soon to take its place among great theatre productions of the world.

Eric’s second solo album, Twende Twende, has just been released and has been received remarkably by the public, and is fling off the shelves in all music stores. The official launch held at Alliance Françoise, Nairobi was an amazing success and went down in the Alliance Françoise history books as the best attended performance by a local act.

The album title track is a duet with Zimbabwean legend Oliver Mtukudzi, and it features other notable guest artistes such as Kanji Mbugua and MC Kah of Ukoo Fulani Mau Mau. It aptly reflects Eric’s growing maturity as an artist, and promises to live up to and even exceed the high standards set by his previous work.

In January 2007, Eric served as an active member of the Cultural Organising Committee at the World Social Forum and was also a key performer at the event.

He is engaged to Sheba Hirst and they have a daughter, Seben, born in April 2006. He has no regrets thus far and concerning his endeavors and plans to remain in the game till death seals his fate

Discography
2001 Sawa Sawa
2003 Ukweli (single)
2004 Lwanda, Man of Stone
2006 Lwanda, a Ghetto Story
2006 Kigezi Ndoto,
2006 Owen and Mzee
2006 Twende Twende

Other local and international career highlights

•     Commissioned to perform at the Tribeca Film Festival in April/May 2007. He delivered a sterling performance with the Agape Children; a group of orphaned children from Kwa-Zulu Natal.
•     Winner of the Kenya chapter of the British Council-organized International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2006.
•     Received the Head of State Commendation in December 2006. This is an award that recognizes outstanding Kenyans who are concerned with the affairs of the State. “I am honored by the award, but it isn’t the reason why I do what I do and I won’t append it to my name. Hopefully, we can get political support for our artistic endeavors.
•     Commissioned in 2006 to write the music for ‘Owen & Mzee’, a documentary about the touching story of an unusual friendship between a tortoise and a baby hippo at the Kenyan coast. This documentary is based on a children’s book by the same name, which is currently in the top 3 of the New York Time’s Bestseller list for children’s books and top of the list on Amazon.com, the leading online book retailer. The docu-film premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
•     Co-wrote and arranged the music for Kigezi Ndoto ,a Kenyan play written and directed by Mumbi Kaigwa, which went on tour in Europe under the auspices of the World Theatre Music Festival- 2006.
•     Involved in the 2006 launch of Kenya’s National Civic Education Program (NCEP II), Uraia, which aims at fostering a mature political culture in Kenya: a culture in which citizens are able to exercise their rights and responsibilities—and to participate effectively in the broadening of democracy. In this capacity, Eric is taking up his role as an anti-corruption ambassador, a position he has unofficially held since the 2001 release of Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo.
•     Performed at the inaugural Nairobi-hosted North Sea Jazz Festival in February 2006, and at the Holland-based version of the same in July 2006.
•     Nominated for Kora Awards 2005, Artist of the Decade Award, alongside other African musical giants like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Youssou N’Dour.
•     Commissioned to write the Theme Song for the Nairobi International Standard Chartered Marathon, 2004.
•     Performed at the 2004 Sauti za Buzara festival in Zanzibar, a celebration of East African Music.
•     Commissioned to write and produce an AIDS campaign song to be incorporated into the Kenya National Music Festival as an adjudication piece in 2003. Ukimwi Tuvute Chini is about the prevalence of HIV/ AIDS in Kenya, which has a great deal to do with the early onset of sexual activity in Kenyan youth. In attempting to address this issue the Centre for British Teachers initiated a programme in Western Kenya dubbed the Peer Support Education Programme. Eric was provided with a brief including the findings of a research paper and asked to write a song encouraging children to stave off sexual activity. Choosing to arrange the song for voices and percussion only, Eric used the two resources that any group of musically inclined children would have ready access to- voice and percussive surfaces. The song, Ukimwi Tuvute Chini (literally Let’s Pull Aids Down) was a success. The project is set to move into the rest of Kenya soon.
•     Nominated and won at KORA Awards 2002, in the category of Best East African Artist. Aspects of his acceptance speech, where he accused African radio stations of giving too much preference to Western artists, have been quoted all over the continent.
•     Appointed Ambassador for the Kenya Human Rights Commission and by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights for his commitment to fighting the abuses to justice through music.
•     In 2002, he played at the launch of the International Criminal Court at the UN Headquarters in New York, presided over by Kofi Annan.
•     Commissioned by the Mill Hill Fathers in 2002 to write Ukweli meaning ‘Truth’. Eric was asked to write a song remembering the life and struggles of Fr. John Kaiser, a priest who had been murdered for his stand against the government sponsored ethnic clashes in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Ukweli, the resultant song, got Eric a second Kora nomination for Best East African Artist. The song was selected to be the opening song on the Berklee College of Music’s annual Production Department CD. The college uses this CD to cement its position as the foremost music industry institution in the world.
•     Appointed a Transparency International (Kenya) Ambassador for the impact that his music had made on the fight against corruption in the country.
•     Received MNET (South Africa) award for favourite male vocalist in February 2001.
•     He appeared on the front page of Berklee's "Groove" Magazine after performing at the United Nation's Human Rights Day at the Massachusetts State House 2000.
•     His performance at Kenya's 'Beats of the Season’ concert in December 2000 was watched live by 15,000 fans and broadcast nationally.