They were known as the kings and queens of the gospel music and touched the hearts of Kenyans with their melodious voices.
Such artist brought Kenyans what was referred to as anthems but after their peak years, they went underground, keeping a low profileÂ
Here are five of the pioneers of gospel music in Kenya who quit gospel music and some delved into other things.
- Jimmy Gait
The artist was once a household name with hits such as Wakati, Huratititi, Muhadhara among others that mostly excited youths. He joined the gospel music industry in 2009.
At some point, he gave his songs titles of things that were trending and that made him be subjected to cyberbullying such that he shed tears on a live TV show when he was being interviewed by Anita Nderu.
This was back in 2017. Jimmy Gait had released a song titled Sponsor ni Yesu and Kenyans could not keep calm about that.Â
“My music is about real life as a Christian. That is what I portray, how do you live, how do you respond to situations, that is what I try to bring out in myself. That is exactly what I did and unfortunately when I did that I was mistaken, I woke up in the morning and I was trending like never seen before.
“It was so difficult for me because I remember I have been singing for 9 years, I have done so many good songs for people and people just forgot all that and they were insulting me and saying all sorts of things,” the gospel artist said as he broke down in tears.
Jimmy however quit music in 2019 and announced that he was taking a new career path. He shot his last music video in India where he had gone for treatment.
Since then, he has kept a low profile and mentors young artists. Aside from that, he runs an advertising firm and he is also a sales and marketing person.
2.Jemimah Thiong’o
The gospel artist is famous for songs such as Pendo la ajabu and akisema atakubariki. Her songs were loved by children, youths and the elderly as they were very motivational.
The mother of three had a passion for singing since her school days but her father was not supportive of that.
“My mum nicknamed me a bird or a small radio. My father, however, thought I was making noise. He did not like the way my singing was affecting my performance in school. My father would time and again discourage me from singing. Sometimes I wish God had given him more years of life to see what music has done for me today,” she said in a past interview
She however recorded her first album titled Hallelujah in January 2003.Â
Jemimah, who is in her 50s, took a break in music a few years ago to focus on her personal businesses. She also runs several charities.
“I have to keep farming. I want that woman in the village who’s faithfully looking after her cow and depending on it for sustenance to know that it works. To be encouraged to hold on…I believe God had me go and live in the village for most of my life so that I could identify with that village woman…identify with her problems, her concerns, and be able to talk about His faithfulness,” she said.
3.Mary Atieno Ominde
She is famous for her record breaking gospel hits such as Adam and Eva and Sodom and Gomora.
Mary, who is visually impaired, dominated the gospel scenes for about three decades and when she stopped releasing songs, her fans were left wondering where she had disappeared to.
She however retired from music and continued with her ministerial work in different forms. Atieno engages in evangelism, runs foundations and charities.
Together with her husband, they run a worship center known as Sanctuary of Hope that is based in Kayole.
“On the other hand, my husband and I have been busy touring local towns including other countries to evangelise, sing and preach the gospel,” she said in an interview with The Standard.
- Esher Wahome
The celebrated gospel music star touched hearts with songs like Kuna dawa, Asali, Kenya back in 2004/2005.
Esther was the queen of gospel music until 2014. She also released a number of songs in her local dialect, Kikuyu.
The singer was however forced to take a break from music to look after her family, especially her son who had autism.
In 2019, she made a comeback with tracks such as yahweh, Shakinah and minyororo but covid-19 pandemic came and it hit her hard.
She had a lot of tours lined up for her in 2020 but she had to cancel that because of the pandemic.
- MOG
The Men Of God gave Kenyans bangers such as Papa God and Tosheka. The group of three men however disbanded about 7 years ago saying that they had achieved their agenda with each of them embarking on solo projects.
Later on however, Boss revealed that they had to separate because one of the members was not singing yet the money was divided equally among the crew members
The group consisted of Tony, Boss and Kenti.Â
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