On this mid January Monday in 2009-a day celebrated across the Atlantic as Marin Luther King Day in memory of the slain Nobel Prize winning African- American civil rights icon- on this day I am comfortably ensconced upstairs at the Kenya National Theatre enjoying the creative ambience of Wasanii- the sassy, jazzy, artsy crafty restaurant/pub doubling as an artists’ hang out located around the corner from the main campus of Nairobi University, across the street from the Norfolk Hotel and adjacent to the studios of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.
The weather has been in a cranky mood over the last few days. Just last Friday, it was raining monkeys and donkeys with the heavy downpour leading to a split decision among the city’s dwellers- those with their roots still firmly planted firmly on rural soil blessing the ancestors for the watery gift while urban bred hipsters seeing the rain as a curse, out to drench their hip freshly pressed clothes.
Iddi Achieng’ has just arrived and here she is, in all her bubbly, courteous Kenyan splendour, resplendent in her familiar African attire and accessories. I later learn that the huge rectangular copper (or is it brass) ring she wears together with others on one of her fingers is a keepsake she picked up in Gabon.
The chemistry and authentic camaraderie that Iddi Achieng’ generates is immediate.
She has that unique magnetic charisma that I have encountered in musicians like Senegal’s Baaba Maal and Benin’s Angelique Kidjo that I have had the honour of interviewing over the years.
Even though I am sitting down with her for the very first time, I feel as if I have known Iddi for ages.
Way back in 2002, when I was still residing in the Notre de Grace neighbourhood of Montreal in Quebec, a Kenyan friend who had just come back to Canada after visiting home passed by my place and gifted me two CDs for Xmas. One was by Kayamba-before it split into its many offshoots.
The other one was Kaboom Boom by the Nairobi City Ensemble.
I enjoyed both recordings but was simply captivated by the lead female vocalist on Kaboom Boom.
Listening to tracks like Tony- an endearing tale of woe in which the singer adopts the persona of a mother lamenting how her son went to America never to return; or the Jakongo track castigating an irresponsible drunkard who left his wife and children to starve while frittered away all his income in bars, I was quite impressed with how the vocalist (who was Iddi Achieng’) and of course the Nairobi City Ensemble as a whole were able to fuse rhythm and blues inflections with benga and come up socially conscious compositions backed by superb instrumentalists like Mobb Otieno.
Surely, I thought, this was the new Kenyan contemporary pop sound and it was exciting to me over there in the North American diaspora.
After Kaboom boom, Iddi Achieng’s talents were further showcased in another Tabu Osusa produced Nairobi City Ensemble offering, Kalapapla which made it to Number 14 on the UK world music charts soon after its release in early 2004. Again you find Iddi shining through on tracks like Adhiambo Lady and Nyar Gombe.
Outside music and theatre circles, few of Iddi’s admirers know that she actually first her mark on the stage as an actor and director. She started early- as the chairperson of her drama club when she was still a secondary school student at Asumbi Girls and as an active member of her church choir. She was later to form her own theatre company, Culture Spill Productions. Her most recent stint in mainstream plays was playing one of the leads in the West African classic Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again. Iddi is also a playwright who has worked in conjunction with NGOs to develop skits which educate and sensitize. Iddi Achieng’ used to be a radio host with Ramogi FM hosting a development issues talk show in Dholuo called Piny Masani (meaning “The World Today”).
But it is her music that I came to talk to her about.
Thim Lich her first full length solo effort was a major breakthrough. It has 14 tracks including: Thim Lich,Aloo ,Switina,Jakong'o (Remix),Wololoi,Dodo,Hera Mudho,Kamfube (Feat. Ambassada), Born To Be, Garang (a tribute done in the Dinka language and featuring the Sudanese artiste JKP), Rieko En Ngima ,Wiwa Wil ,Nyar Dande and Hera (done in the South African Kwaito genre) Thim Lich has received considerable air time on television across the various channels. As a direct result of the CD’s popularity Iddi was invited to perform in Norway, Sweden, Zanzibar and other places.
As we were sitting down with her at Wasanii on that Martin Luther King Monday, a courier walked in and handed her an invitation from the US embassy to attend an Obama Inauguration party at the residence of the American ambassador.
She leads her own full band which includes back up singers like Jackie Nyaminde (a television actor who is well known for her hilarious role in the popular Papa Shirandula) and Lydia Dola (familiar in social justice circles as part of the 5Cs Theatre group) as well as accomplished instrumentalists and dancers.
Iddi Achieng’ sings from the heart in Dholuo, Kiswahili and English. Her song Dala Gunda (deserted or empty home) chronicles the tale of a rural homestead so devastated by AIDS that it is only the houses of its former occupants which remain, with the homestead itself with graves and while Wololo, makes the case that the face of HIV in Africa is that of a woman.
Achieng’ is passionate about development and empowering women and girl children. She is even contemplating forming a foundation or trust where she can devote her energies on matters dear to her. At the height of the post election violent crisis in 2008, Iddi teamed up with fellow artists like Kanda King, Ken wa Maria and others in the Wakenya Wote initiative, using their songs and music to preach national harmony, peace and diversity.
Her fans can look forward to another CD from her by the end of this year. She is going to the Sauti ya Busara music festival in Zanzibar in February which will feature among others the legendary octogenarian taarab legend Bi Kidude.
Iddi drops me a hint that she is involved in a television family drama series that will hit our screens very soon.
Contractual obligations have legally gagged her from revealing more.
“Just look out for it,” is all she can say.
Technologically savvy, Iddi is riding the crest of the digital revolution. You will find her on Facebook and My Space- that is not when you are not surfing her own website www.iddiachieng.net.
What advice does she have for other upcoming artists and musicians, especially young women who want to emulate Iddi Achieng’?
“Go for it. Follow your heart. Know that it is not for the faint hearted. There will be many challenges ahead, but do not give up, “she says.
Iddi is currently pursuing a degree course in sociology saying that her life experiences and interests makes it the discipline she most wants to pursue academically. In the future, Iddi hopes that she will continue using her musical talents and achievements to become one of the voices of reason in the larger Kenyan and African society.
“Music is a serious tool of consciousness, a mirror held up to society which can be utilized for social change” she observes as our interview draws to a close.
