Eric Wainaina

BIO

Eric Wainaina is a singer and songwriter from Nairobi, Kenya.

Wainaina attended Berklee College of Music in Boston where he graduated with an honours in music, majoring in songwriting and engineering.

He joined the music industry in the mid-1990s as a member of a male a capella band Five Alive. His song ‘Daima Kenya’ is widely considered Kenya’s second national anthem and was recorded while he was a student at Berklee.

He released his debut album ‘Sawa Sawa’ in 2001, which is still to tis day one of the highest selling solo albums in Kenya. The song 'Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo', meaning 'the land of petty corruption' in Swahili, made Wainaina even more popular with the Kenyan public. "People don't call me Eric any more, they call me Kitu Kidogo when I'm walking through the streets," he told the BBC in 2001.

The success of 'Sawa Sawa' was followed with the release of ‘Twende Twende’ (2006) and ‘Love and Protest’ (2011).

Wainaina also wrote and starred in 'Mo Faya', a musical that was staged for eight weeks at the GoDown Arts Centre in Nairobi. The show went national with 52 shows in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Wainaina was selected for perform at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. In 2010, Wainaina wrote and produced music for 'Tinga Tinga Tales' – a British-Kenyan children’s TV series comprising 52 episodes based on African folk tales. Commissioned by the BBC and Disney Channel, the series were later adapted into a musical that was presented at the New Victory Theatre on Broadway in October 2018.

Wainaina has worked as a music director for M-Net East Africa’s 'Maisha Superstar', a reality TV series designed to discover new musical talent from East Africa. He has participated in numerous projects including 8 Goals for Africa – a 2010 MDG campaign for the UN featuring Hugh Masekela, HHP, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Oliver Mtukudzi and the Soweto Gospel Choir. He has been brand ambassador for Transparency International, MS Kenya, Nederburg and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

He has won a number of accolades including Favourite Male Vocalist at the M-Net Awards , a KORA Award for Best East African Artist (2002), and Kisima awards for Best Afro-Fusion Artist, Best Song and Best video (2007). In 2018 Wainaina was honoured with the Music In Africa Honorary Award during the opening of the Music In Africa Conference for Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES). The award is presented by the Music In Africa Foundation to recognise the achievements made by African musicians in their home countries and the continent as a whole.

Wainaina has performed at Festival Mundial (Netherlands), the North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Zimbabwe), Arts Alive International Festival (Swaziland), Umoja Flying Carpet Festival (South Africa), Sauti Za Busara (Zanzibar) and ACCES (Kenya).

He has collaborated with artists such as Emmanuel Jal and P-Unit’s Frasha. In 2010, Wainaina co-wrote and recorded one of the official 2010 World Cup songs. In 2013, he performed at the Africa Cup of Nations opening ceremony in South Africa.