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Artist
Eric Wainaina
12+ albums
kenyaafricansinger-songwriterHip-Hopafrica
about
Eric Wainaina (born 28 August 1973) is a Kenyan Kora Award-winning singer-songwriter whose career was launched with his debut album, Sawa Sawa, in 2001. Wainaina's music is a blend of Kenyan Benga rhythm and East African guitars, with some modern harmony. Wainaina first stepped into the world of music with Five Alive, a gospel a cappella group. Five Alive consisted of Victor Seii, Bob Kioko, Chris Kamau, and David Mageria, who was replaced by Joe Kiragu. They drew their musical influence from Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Take 6. Dominating Kenya's airwaves in 1995, Five Alive released their debut album ‘Five Alive’ in 1996, and even went on to tour Europe the same year. His experience with the group convinced Wainaina to pursue a professional career in music. In 1996 he performed and appeared in the video for Get in the Driver’s Seat, a song commissioned by the United Nations Drug Control Programme for a highly successful anti-drug campaign spanning 20 countries. This not only set the stage for his eventual emergence as a solo artist, but also got him into the social concern and activism that characterizes much of his music When the group disbanded in 1997, Wainaina went on to join the Berklee College of Music in Boston—USA, from which he graduated with a degree in Music, majoring in Songwriting and Record Engineering. He graduated with honours. During his years at Berklee, Wainaina and his band traveled to different parts of the country to perform, as well as holding regul
