Akoth Jumadi

6+ albums

reggaejazzworldWorld Musicbenga

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about

Akoth Jumadi is an architect of the future who crafts her ethereal, dulcet sound with honeyed vocals and multi-instrumental talent. Her uplifting air will enthrall you as she weaves together Luo folk, afrosoul, tribal fusion, jazz, taraab, benga, reggae, and hiphop. Born and raised in Nairobi of Luo ancestry, Akoth Jumadi started playing at 17 at Maseno University in Kisumu when a friend loaned her an extra guitar. She gained experience from a veteran guitarist and also started teaching herself to play and began to write her own music, practicing and gaining courage to start performing. In 2016, Akoth Jumadi started to perform with a band at different bars, restaurants, weddings, and events. As she began performing more, in 2018, Akoth Jumadi decided to move away from performing gigs based around covers to focus on her own songwriting, something she felt came naturally growing up listening to great songwriters like Nina Simone, India Arie, Suzanna Owiyo, Nyota Ndogo, Lady Jaydee, JustABand. She felt an urge to explore more forms of musicality and taught herself bass guitar to express her love for funk and jazz, inspired by Esperanza Spalding. Akoth Jumadi started listening to more traditional and cultural music and saw a need to reflect her ancestry in her art so she decided to start learning nyatiti, an 8-stringed Luo lute that is traditionally only played by men. She met Ati Sanaa, another female nyatiti player, who agreed to give Akoth Jumadi lessons to learn. Later on