Don’t allow what people say about you to define you

Avril is a Kenyan musician, signed to Kaka Empire label

There is a shift in your music from the light girly songs that you started with to the now heavy themes such as women empowerment in your recent songs such as 'YULE DAME' and 'NINAWEZA'. What is motivating the shift?

I wouldn’t call it a shift, rather, exploring different themes. As an artiste, I have grown and learnt along the way. My career is growing and so I am learning and exploring.

What are the main influences in your musical creativity? Why?

My music is influenced by where I am emotionally, spiritually, or basically just what I want to hear. That’s just how music speaks to me. The influence comes anywhere and anytime. There is no certain put down specific time.

We hear things, people say things…there are rumours about you that are cringe-worthy but you sail through all of them. What is your advice regarding surviving the limelight with all the negative jibes especially for musicians just starting out?

What people say about you doesn’t define you until you allow it, so for me, it’s all about knowing who I am and what I stand for. Other people’s definition of who you are should not really bother you when you know who you are. The strength to brush off bad rumours came gradually, and I welcomed it with open arms.

What is more important to you: music delivery or message delivery? What are your reasons?

Both. However decorated the message could be, without the music, the message disappears, and vice versa. It is not every time a person listening to music wants to be encouraged, sometimes they just want to feel good, every lyrical content in every a song should serve its purpose.

Beyond the role of entertainment, how can young people move past the surface to capture the essence of the message a song intends to put across?

That really depends on how a person listens to music. Some people meditate on a song and listen to it word for word, others listen to the beat and the punch lines and that’s what drives them. A song can be really slow and soothing, but it’s only the person who connects with it on another level who will dig into the message the creator intended to be dug into.

Let’s talk about talent and education. How important is higher education for a young musician whose talent is quite solid, whose talent can take them places?

I that higher education is very important. Exposure is vital; the more you learn, the more you know and the more you can interact. Needless to say, life is all about interaction. If your talent is meant to grow into a career, then you need to learn about all the aspects to make a business and a career. I have a degree is design, and I use it every day in my career.

There is an outcry about Kenyans not supporting their own musicians and looking up, instead, to international artists. Do you think that is a valid concern? What, in your opinion, is the root?

I think this is not really the case. I have people who love my music, and know a multitude of people who appreciate good Kenyan music, then again there are people who can’t be bothered; that is the situation in every society. Those who love, love. That is what is important.

In an article in The Standard, Prof Rose Ongati argues the existence of bodies such as the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP), the Performance Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), and mass media, have made it difficult to identify just which body, if any, really has the interests of musicians at heart. Do you think that the music sector in the country is properly represented?

Different rights holders are represented by the different bodies in the music industry; some people can sing, but cannot write music, others can produce but cannot sing, another can play instruments that create the bed of a song but cannot arrange the song - does that mean that the only people who should be called talented and worth recognition are only the people performing the song? No.

The different bodies came to be because a song has many creators in it, and every one of them needs a share of the collection of royalties that the song generates.

What has been your learning curve in music – what did you not know when you were starting out in your practice that you wish you knew?

Mostly about royalties and the different incomes that an artist is entitled to as a content creator. Every artiste is entitled to earn from their work and at each stage; whether writing or directing you can still earn royalties.

In retrospect, what do you think is the greatest mistake that you made in your early 20s?

I got into music when I was in university. I was very fortunate to be guided through the music sector by pioneers, and my willingness to be a sponge, picking knowledge everywhere I went, ensured my success, so truthfully, I have no regrets. Everything happened as it should have.

What is the worst thing that you have read about yourself on tabloids? How did you deal with this?

I lost track. I really do not pay attention because my mental health is important to me.

What is your most-prized possession? (could be in monetary terms or even in emotional terms)

I can’t really call it possession, but the unity of my family, the cohesion and love we have for one another.