The enduring power of Suzanne Gachukia

Tuesday, March 28 saw a convergence of Kenya’s music aristocracy at Canivore’s Simba Saloon. Eric Wainaina, June Gachui, Hellen Mtawali, Chris Adwar, Abbi, Neema, Wyre, Kaz and Ulopa took to the stage, while many others watched from the audience. Others from varied parts of the creative industry were also in tow: DJs, cartoonists, journalist, civil servants, dancers and TV personalities. Their collective mission? To pay homage to Kenya’s foremost musical queen, Suzanne Gachukia, at the launch of her new album The Zannaziki All Stars.

Known famously as Suzanne Kibukosya in the ‘90s (she had taken her ex-husband Gido Kibukosya’s last name), at 56, Suzanne is one of the few local pop artists of her generation whose love affair with music has endured. One of her most memorable songs from her repertoire was the gender rights campaign song, Send Your Girl Child to School.

Having spent more than 32 years in the industry, Suzanne maintains that the space is better than it has ever been before. “If you compare where we are coming from and where we are right now, I would give Kenya an 8 out of 10 rating. Right now there are radio stations trying to play almost 100 percent Kenyan music; there’s access to training; there are structures in the form of piracy laws, money collection bodies and discussions on putting up quotas for music.”

The large numbers of artists that turned out to welcome Suzanne’s new album was a sign of not just personal support, but acknowledgement of her pivotal role in the development of the sector. Many that took to the stage with her told of how she had inspired and nurtured their own musical dreams when starting out. Having founded Samawati Studio in the 1990s with Gido Kibukosya and now running Sub-Sahara entertainment, Suzanne’s enterprises led to the creation of a new generation of producers who then went on to set up their own production houses.

URBAN SOUND

Some of these include Kevin Provoke, Ulopa, and Tim Rimbui. She also recorded and produced some of the most iconic urban musicians including Mercy Myra, The Longombas, Barbara Guantia, K-South Flava, Jomenes, Yunasi, Abbi, Kanja, Kus ma, and Biko. “I think we’ve done pretty well in terms of nurturing artists, and giving them a safe place where they can come and be creative and not feel like their music will be robbed or that they’ve signed off all their rights or that kind of thing.”

Developing artists aside, Suzanne is also a pioneer in the creation of Kenya’s urban sound. A former member of Musikly Speaking, Kenya’s first all-girl band, the group comprised of Suzanne, Joy Mboya and Susan Matiba. Even as they trotted round the country in the 1980s, performing at parties and concerts, the trio was extremely prescient in its decision to create original music that Kenyans could identify with. Musikly Speaking fused local folk songs with Western harmonies to make what has since been referred to as Afro-pop.

“We grew up listening to KBC general service, which always played soul music. But along the way we were influenced by the Police Band, Fadhili Williams and Daudi Kabaka.”

The band not performing on a full time basis, the musician supported herself by teaching music to kindergarten and primary school students.

As a producer, what Suzanne did that few dared to was believe in Kenyan music when it was a hopeless and maligned art, seen as the preserve for uneducated derelicts. She invested her resources in it, giving it wings to fly. The temerity she had to imagine a life as a full time secular musician was also quite something, indicative of her stubborn commitment to music, the one true love of her life.

But Suzanne’s were no idle dreams; she was making good money. “We put Kenyan music on the shelves at Uchumi in the early 2000s and it used to fly off the shelves. In one month, we made easily what we were making in three months doing commercial jingles for companies like Coke, Pepsi and East African Breweries Limited.”

Music was all she lived and breathed, even finding herself marrying fellow musician Gido Kibukosya, the son of Peter Kibukosya, one of the five composers of the National Anthem, in 1991. Of her four children, only one — Marcus Kibukosya, who produces Camp Mulla — followed her into the music scene.

Performance and supporting artists aside, this Kenyatta University alumnus has also been active in setting up structures to create a better working environment for artists and performers. She partnered with the Permanent Presidential Music Commission to develop a curriculum for short music workshops for secondary school leavers.

Suzanne is the daughter of educationist Eddah Gachukia, the founder of the Riara Group of Schools and Riara University. The musician is considering the possibilities of setting up a performance art degree at Riara University that will give musicians the skills and ability to earn a living. “We have drama festivals every year. What happens to the winners? Why do they go to become lawyers, accountants, doctors and secretaries? I want to see more Aaron Rimbuis, Chris Bittocks, Christine Kamaus and Blinky Bills.”

Suzanne credits the overt support and blessings of her parents in her musical career as the boost that gave her the strength to carry the dreams of many others on her back. Trained in classical music at the Kenya Conservatoire, Suzanne got her first degree in music education at Kenyatta University, going on to Bridgeport in the USA to major in performance and dance.

FROM INSIDE OUT

Currently living in Ireland with her husband, the Kenyan ambassador to Ireland, the March 2017 album was Suzanne’s first in nine years. “One of my current aims is to set up avenues to get Kenyan music into Ireland and the European Union. My interest is more as a cultural ambassador, making the presence of Kenyan music and culture felt and validated. I’ve been working with several other producers around this idea in partnership with the Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts.”

Suzanne has been admirably prolific, releasing hits with Musikly Speaking and five albums with the Zannaziki band. The albums include Nipe Nikupe (1995), Tamu Tamu (1998), Xawadi (2001), Midnight After Dark (2007) and Zanaziki AllStars, which is a three-volume album. The first volume was launched at the March concert, with the second and third volumes coming out in May and September respectively. 

Some of the highs she counts in her musical career include doing the Simba Star Search to bring out new talent, setting up Beats of the Season and performing at the Festival Mundial in Holland. She also counts her involvements leading to the formation of PRISK and KAMP, the work with PPMC and her albums as highs in her musical career life. She describes the death of Achieng Abura as a major low, considering it a tragedy how the diva was unappreciated in Kenya.

Apart from writing, arranging and producing the work of other artists, Suzanne has also co-written musicals, one key one being Aspirations, which was performed at the Phoenix Players.

What does she think she hasn’t done yet that she still wants to do? “I haven’t played to a 30,000 strong audience. That’s on my bucket list.”

What advice would she give to younger musicians starting out? “Enduring music has to start from a place inside of you. It’s not about trends, fashions or beats; it’s about something from your deepest emotions and truth. Once you get that, that’s what you translate to whatever music you want. And this is true of any art.”