Slejj: I am my own man

Growing up in a family full of talented siblings can be intimidating, but for gospel artist Larry Mwatia, aka Slejj, brother of Daddy Owen and Rufftone, it is an opportunity to forge his own path without riding on their backs. PHOTO| FILE

What you need to know:

  • It’s a funny story actually. It was during an Agriculture lesson and I used to sit at the back, so this day I fell asleep with my eyes open.

  • Apparently the teacher was cracking jokes but I wasn’t laughing, I was just ‘looking’ at her. She said, ‘Larry, I would like you to give me an answer to this’.

BUZZ: You sound a lot like Daddy Owen…

I was talking to someone on the phone the other day and he told me that too.

 

You could play tricks on people if you wanted to…

Yes, people think our voices are similar.

 

What does Slejj mean?

It’s a funny story actually. It was during an Agriculture lesson and I used to sit at the back, so this day I fell asleep with my eyes open.

Apparently the teacher was cracking jokes but I wasn’t laughing, I was just ‘looking’ at her. She said, ‘Larry, I would like you to give me an answer to this’.

My deskmate nudged me and told me to say sledge hammer, and it wasn’t even closely related to what he had asked, but I said it anyway, the whole class erupted in laughter. From there the name stuck.

 

Do you feel like you have really big shoes to fill because of how talented your brothers are?

Yes, it’s very challenging. Sometimes I ask myself why I was born into this family. (Laughs). It’s a lot of pressure especially when I take my songs to a DJ and they judge it based on my kinship, even if the song is really good it will still be compared to say Mungu Baba, it is unfair to me. Another artiste might take something similar and it might do well because they have no one to compare them to. So whenever I take a song to a DJ I don’t tell them I’m Owen’s or Ruff’s brother.

 

So you don’t take advantage of it at all?

I don’t. I always work hard and the expectations are high, the Mwatia brothers is a big name, they have won so many awards between them, I think the only award Owen hasn’t won is best female artist (laughs). The only way I can get to that level is by being myself because that’s how they did it.

 

Who do you lean on the most for advice between Daddy Owen and Rufftone?

Most people don’t know how these two are so different, the knowledge I get from Owen is different from what I get from Ruff. I would say both

  

Did Daddy Owen help you with the video for the single Toboa?

Of course, he partly supported me financially, but the idea behind it and everything else was by me.

 

Did you jump into music straight from high school?

When I finished high school in 2011, I joined Shang Tao college to do animation, video editing, script writing and music production. I got into music last year.

 

Have you produced music for anyone?

Not yet. Initially I didn’t like the track for Toboa, so one day while I was making the beat I listened to the chords and started adding my own stuff here and there. I did half of the production work.

 

Daddy Owen says you are one to watch out for, do you think you can live up to the expectations?

Yes, I believe in myself a lot. Everybody in our family has their own strengths, Rufftone never writes songs, he just gets in the studio and if he likes a beat he does his thing. Owen writes songs without a track, the only thing he writes is the verse, the chorus always comes to him.

 

In what genre do you classify your music?

I do Kapuka, because it is the only sound I feel has remained constant. May be one day I will fuse it with some other style.

 

What do you have lined for your next project?

I’m working on a big project with a children’s home, but we haven’t finalised details yet. But the next song I do has to cross musical borders.

 

You have been in a couple of collaborations

There is one with Simbo, another with Ole Willy and Fidel, but the next two songs will not be collaborations. I’m hoping to release another song next month then do a video later on. I want to be an artiste who does albums, not one with a song a year.

 

Are there any awards you are coveting?

Of course. It will be a blessing from God, it is motivating and something to work towards to. But anyone who does anything in life and wants to be the best at it should pray, practice and be patient.