How Benga musician DeMathew Rose From Hawking Tomatoes to King of Kikuyu Music
Kenyans, on Monday, woke up to tragic news that renown Kikuyu Benga musician, John De’ Mathew alias John Ng’ang’a had passed on.
De’Mathew, died inย a road crashย along the Thika Superhighway onย Sunday evening, August 18, 2019, after his car rammed into a lorry near Blue Post Hotel.
He is reported to have released 50 albums during his lifetime most of which centred on love, cultural, political and social messages that resonated well with his huge audience.
According to enthusiasts of the genre, the musician’s illustrious career is only comparable to that of the late John Kamaru.
Unknown to many, the late musician’s story was that fromย ashes to glory.
Before his songs started enjoying massive airplay on local radio stations,ย De’Mathew used to hawk tomatoes at the Nairobi’s Korogocho market in the early 1980s.
The late musician attributedย his success to his fellow legendary artistsย Timona Mburuย andย Joseph Wamumbeย whom he laudedย for guiding himย in hisย rise to stardom.
Renowned scholarย Kanyi Thiong’o‘s thesis for his Master of Arts in Literature at the University of Nairobi was reportedly on De’Mathew songs.
Thiong’o revealed thatย he picked on the popular musician due to the quality composition, poetic message and manner of rendition in his songs.
Prior to his death, he was the chairperson of the newly launched Tamco Sacco that aims to uplift the welfare of musicians.
“We want to come together andย join a Sacco to pool resources together so that when we die, our families do not resort to harambees to give us a decent send-off,” he stated early this year at Thika Greens during the launch.
Among De’Mathew’s hits that have enjoyed massive airplay include Property,ย Ni Wathire Ukindiga, Mene Mene Tekelย andย Njata Yakwaย in which heย featured Murang’a County Women Representative Sabina Wanjiru Chege.
Byย
Source-kenyans.co.ke
How Benga musician DeMathew Rose From Hawking Tomatoes to King of Kikuyu Music
