A Trip to Nairobi, Kenya Pt. I

A night at Geco Café

A black fedora covers long black braids. The braids drape across long white sleeves before disappearing against a short black skirt, revealing melanin that’s soon lost in long black socks tucked into pointy black boots.

And when she smiles—revealing teeth that look like she’s got grills on—it’s warm, it’s cute, it’s cool.

Now on stage she effortlessly works the crowd, laughing and cracking jokes to either ease us, or maybe herself, into the performance.

Then the mic goes quiet.

But when her voice returns, she has my undivided attention.

Her sound: soulful. Her voice: gentle, yet piercing. With ease it permeates the space. The crowd grows quieter as her voice grows louder, seamlessly she’s hitting all the notes.

Petite as she is, you couldn’t tell from the power her voice now holds over the space.

Zawadi Mukami, is to be experienced in person.

Two weeks ago when I checked into a hotel in Westlands Nairobi, I didn’t know that name. But scrolling through Instagram I came across a post that caught my attention.

Acoustic Brewed Sessions.

Zawadi ft Nuru.

I was captivated. Not by the post itself, but by the voice emanating from my phone’s speakers. I knew then I had to be wherever this was happening—Geco.

So with a cold Manyatta in hand, and a friend keeping me company, we both bask in the awe of Zawadi’s performance. A performance that now echoes through Geco—a new school outdoor bar with colorful rooftops, good vibes, and a sound stage that reminds me of Tiny Desk.

I don’t know most of the songs, but it hardly matters. Soon she gets into a song called Longer, and the riffs and runs she does on this? Bruh, she’s fucking good.

How is she doing this???

I catch myself constantly trying to see if she’s lip-syncing—she’s not, she’s just that good.

Pole.

I mentally apologize and just enjoy the show.

At some point she invites other artists to join her on stage. In one of the collaborations, she raps in Swahili which sounds beautiful. In another, one of the artists—a guy with dreads—goes on this crazy run that sounds Somalian, Ethiopian, or maybe Middle-Eastern? But by god is it a beauty.

Getting closer to the end of her set, she performs the only song I know: V.C.T. Most of it is in Swahili, and so I choose my moments, yelling whenever she gets to the parts I know. “My friend ebu si kiiya”, butchering the Swahili, but having so much fun doing so. She in turn laughs, not at me specifically, but at the crowd, teasing us for only knowing the one song.

She then ends her set with another crowd favourite: Jua Tua. When she’s done, the crowd showers her in applause. Applause she receives gracefully with a wide smile and a cute bow.

After her set, my friend and I catch up over drinks. And as we do, she soon starts pointing excitedly but discreetly behind me, “Isn’t that the guy that sang Morocco?”

I turn around and see a tall black guy in dark shades—no one I recognize. “I just can’t remember his name,” she says gleefully. We eventually walk up to him and I take pictures of them. “Do you want a photo as well?” She asks.

“Yep.” I’ll figure out who he is later.

When we’re done and back to our drinks that’s when it clicks.

That was Joshua Baraka, from Wrong Places.

Zawadi on stage & a cold Manyatta

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Notes

• Zawadi’s instagram.

• Geco café’s instagram.

• Ciano Maimba - organizer of Acoustic Brewed Sessions.

• This is the first post from my Kenyan trip series. And I’ll share a new post every Monday until it’s done.

Song of the day - Jua Tua by Zawadi Mukami