{"id":105653,"date":"2022-04-28T12:32:25","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T10:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=105653"},"modified":"2022-07-27T11:16:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-27T09:16:14","slug":"a-tale-of-two-kamarus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/a-tale-of-two-kamarus\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two Kamarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a tale of two Joseph Kamarus. One a giant of Kenyan folk, history, and politics, outspoken and festive, energetic and upfront. The other, an ambient electronic pioneer, reserved and delicate, modest and thoughtful. The two are bound by name and blood, but separated by two generations, a separation which has brought nuance to each\u2019s sensibility, relationship to the world and use of technology. While Joseph senior worked in Kikuyu proverbs and played from the pulpit of political campaigns, KMRU<\/a> (Joseph the younger\u2019s moniker, which we\u2019ll use for simplicity sake) is deft in the ways of digital audio workstations and sound samples, making quiet headway as a student in Berlin and Ableton workshop teacher in Nairobi.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite differences, the silent hand of destiny joins the two together, each a different octave on the same musical staff. There was an \u201cinherent connection,<\/em>\u201d KMRU recounts, \u201cand I think it\u2019s because I was directly named after him.<\/em>\u201d We spoke with KMRU about his relationship with his late grandfather, trying to find the similarities in the vast differences including how KMRU thinks of his grandfather\u2019s legacy as he works to reissue his music to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gucokia rui mukaro (returning the river back to its course)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was in high school and maybe in primary school when I would mention the name Kamaru people would ask if I was related to \u2018the Kamaru\u2019.<\/em>\u201d KMRU explains via a Zoom call from his Berlin residence. \u201cI didn\u2019t know he was a musician or a famous person. I just knew him as my grandfather. It made me realize that my grandfather was somebody who was important and I should consider talking to him more and getting to know more of his work.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe\u201d Joseph Kamaru, who passed away in 2018, was Kenya\u2019s best known folk singer.\u00a0 Combining benga, jazz, and Congolese soukous music with Kikuyu (one of Kenya\u2019s largest ethnic groups) proverbs, Joseph Kamaru wrote songs that cut through the political elite and mounted a broad social commentary for a post-colonial Kenya. Growing up in a working class family, Kamaru first entered the public zeitgeist with his 1966 single \u201cDarling ya mwarimu\u201d, telling the story of a young girl who was sexually abused by her teacher. After the song’s release, the Kenyan National Union of Teachers (KNUT) called a nationwide strike, sparking parliamentary debate and necessitating the intervention of then President Kenyatta.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover: Ngemi Naai-Hi – Joseph Kamaru<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kamaru\u2019s polemic beginnings continued on for years, attacking taboo subjects like corruption, rape, and later in life, God. \u201cTiga Kuhenia Igoti\u201d (Don\u2019t Lie to the Court), another landmark track from Kamaru\u2019s vast catalog of over 2,000 songs, condemns a man on trial for rape by embodying the voice of the victim. Then there\u2019s \u201cJ.M. Kariuki,\u201d which turned Kamaru\u2019s presidential ally and friend into a political pariah. The song was written when a former Mau Mau detainee and a popular member of parliament, Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, popularly known as JM was found murdered in Ngong Forest with his body mutilated. \u201cJ.M. Kariuki\u201d not only describes the grisly murder, but also asks the government to provide the answers to the death of an innocent man (KMRU<\/a>). Or consider his outburst during the 1992 Madaraka Day celebrations when Joseph took the microphone in front of a stadium of people to address then President Moi directly, \u201cDon\u2019t sit comfortably with your fimbo (club). I know there are people telling you that you are popular, but the truth is that people do not like you.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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