Young Njoroge captures hearts with ‘Handu Hau’

When I first listened to Charles Njoroge’s hit Handu Hau playing in a matatu, I formed a mental impression of a grumbling, proverbs-and-riddles-spewing old man. From the song’s haunting tone, I thought the singer was a pensioner who had squandered all his loot on women and beer.

This is due to his mastery of the Kikuyu language as he describes how people stiffen in fright when reminded of Handu Hau, those unfortunate experiences that we have all gone through. Indeed, Njoroge renders the personal tragedies that come back to haunt us so artistically that the song invites listeners to search their souls and substitute the visuals with their own handu hau.

Therefore, I was pleasantly shocked when I met this self-effacing 28-year-old artist in downtown Nairobi. Unlike many young artists, the fame that Handu Hau has brought him over the last few months has not entered into his head. Indeed, the sensation of Handu Handu in the Kikuyu language broadcast media and entertainment joints rivals the razzmatazz of the late Murimi wa Kahalf’s Momo song a few years ago. Every DJ and One-Man Guitarist in central Kenya must have Handu Hau in their playlist, or risk losing clients.

So poignant is the message that Njoroge is increasingly singing this secular number at church and funeral services, due to public demand.

“I have attended several church functions and burials in central Kenya where the organisers demanded that I first render Handu Hau on the spot.” He adds that there are calls from his non-Kikuyu speaking fans to translate the song to Kiswahili.

Born in 1989 at Wamagana location in Tetu sub-county, Nyeri County, Njoroge’s love for music began when he was in Standard Five. “I and my brother would tune in to Radio Citizen and dance to the Lingala tunes of veteran DJ Fred Obachi Machoka’s Roga Roga music show,” he says.

Njoroge admires the musical skills of Kikuyu benga maestro Sammy Muraya, now deceased, and Congolese singer Kofi Olomide. He composed his first song in 2005 while in Form One at Karangia Secondary School. He later abandoned the pursuit. “I knew I had to balance between books and music,” he says. The books won.

Like most young men out of school, the city beckoned Njoroge and he came to hustle in Nairobi in 2010. “I worked many jobs before starting my own small business in 2013,” he says.

While hustling in Nairobi, the inspiration for Handu Hau would come in a most unexpected way. He had an impatient friend who would land in trouble many times. “Every few days, he would come seeking advice on how to get out of trouble in which his hot temper had landed him,” says Njoroge.  “I would tell him to take care of handu hau, that situation,” adds Njoroge.

Handu Hau, as this singer is popularly called, would take several months perfecting the lyrics of the song, recording it in late 2013.  “I wanted to give a message that is suitable to all listeners regardless of their age or social backgrounds,” he says.

The number did not sell well.

“In 2016, I revised the quality of the song’s vocals while retaining the lyrics and re-issued it in CD format and also in MP3 for online sale,” he says. The rest, as they say, is history.

Njoroge, who is single, says that gaining a foothold in the music industry is tough. He advises upcoming artists to research the market well before composing anything. “Take care of the lyrics and make your message as appealing to a wide audience as possible. Use artistic language that children and adults, deeply religious and liberal minded people, can all listen to without any group taking unwarranted offence,” he says.

This artist, who leads a band, Tetu Amazing Sound, says character and discipline are everything in the music industry.  He decries the habit of some musicians who report to functions late or drunk and generally misbehave on stage. This, he warns, is the musicians’ ultimate Handu Hau. He appeals to upcoming musicians to treat the art as a serious job.