Ready or not here, here comes Njeri

Buzz: How long have you been in the music industry?

Njeri: Two weeks. 

Then why is everyone comparing you with a seasoned artiste like STL, who has won numerous awards and has several hits to her name.

Music is a product and when you bring in a new product people will always compare it with a pre-existing product of equal quality. Maybe it’s because STL was the first chick to rap in Kikuyu and no one else has done it since. All the same, if I am being compared with the best I must be doing something right. 

What inspired your new jam ‘Nduta’?

I wanted to address this socialite issue, there are way too many girls who feel like they have to post nude pictures of themselves to be popular. The song urges them to put their pants back on. 

What kind of reactions has your video elicited?

Some people have questioned my decision to wear a bikini and booty shorts in my video. I’ve even been accused of objectifying women. I honestly do not think my video is explicit, I have seen worse on our TV stations.

Kenyans are very hypocritical, we accept explicit videos from Sean Paul, but when Sauti Sol does it, we ban it from our TVs. I have seen stations edit international video so they are fit to play but they won’t do the same for a local artiste. I don’t understand why stations are asking me to edit my songs, yet they are playing Sauti Sol’s  'Nishike' which is worse. I am in the music industry and there are certain expectations that are placed on me.

Just because I am talking about a serious issue doesn’t mean I should dress in a boring way. My target audience is the youth; I was not targeting Akorinos or Church people. I may rap in vernacular but my music is still urban, so I have to brand myself for the urban space. 

Why did you take that approach to your video?

Unlike Nigerians who shoot their movies and videos in palatial homes and exotic locations, Kenyan videos are becoming too monotonous. I am sure people expected me to shoot a video at a mama mboga kiosk because I’m Njeri from Kiambu. I was trying to change the perception of Kiambu people, I may be from Kiambu but I have swag. It is about time we exposed the world to the other side of Kenya, we have many beautiful, luxurious spots in Kenya.  

So is your message reaching its intended target audience?

Yes… clearly people are beginning to take notice, my YouTube views are growing every day, I have been booked for interviews back to back and I have received a lot of positive feedback. 

Most kids your age do not speak vernacular, how do you expect to get through to them?

Music is a universal language; you do not have to understand the words to enjoy the song. Like I do not know what Kona means but I love that Mafikizolo jam. Young guys need to embrace their culture, we can’t copy everything from the West. I grew up listening to my grandmother sing, and my first experience with music was in Kikuyu so I have that attachment. My Kikuyu is good so I can express myself in my mother tongue; that makes me original and unique even to an international audience. 

You seem to have blown up from nowhere, how did you pull this off?

I have an effective team; they do all the heavy lifting. I don’t even know how they do it, but they are really good at what they do so I just follow their lead. Artistes are not very good managers, our work is to create music, record and perform; that’s why you need a solid team to push you. But I must say, the attention is crazy, as a female artiste people like you because you are hot and they all want a piece of you. Some people even get mad when you do not give them your number, it’s just weird. 

You are still new to the industry what fresh thing are you bringing to the table?

I may be new to music but I have a lot of showbiz experience. I did two years of theatre with a company called Liquid Entertainment where I acted in several productions. I learnt a lot about performance, stage presence, and project management. However, I couldn’t make a living acting, the most I was paid was Sh500 for a show. I then ventured into photography and movie production which I am still heavily engaged in. I have packaged myself for the regional market, my aim is to put together content that can be played on MTV. Other African artistes like Mafikizolo, Diamond and D’banj are thinking outside the box, they are growing their careers beyond the borders of their mother land. Unfortunately, Kenyans seem to be comfortable playing the home ground advantage.  

The market right now is flooded with rappers how do you stand out in the crowd?

We do not have enough female MC’s, and even far less doing Kikuyu rap. Ladies shy away from music because of the hustle involved. We do not really have structures; artistes have to do everything on their own. Artistes in the region are living large, buying big cars, islands... while in Kenya we do not appreciate our artistes. We will even bring international acts and pay them five times what we pay our own for a show. 

Are Kenyan artistes paid less because they are Kenyans or because they have sub-standard products?  

We have a couple of artistes who are doing great stuff, I’ve listened to Sage’s album and it’s Beyonce standard, unfortunately her music doesn’t get that much airplay. 

So what’s next for Njeri?

Bigger, better, more music.