Emerging Kenya: Karun

The seven-track release shows the 27 year old’s incredible growth as a songwriter and producer. She masterfully fuses alternative R&B, Afrobeats and drill with notable production from MOMBRU and Nigeria’s Le Mav and Higo. It includes an exciting array of features from Mpho Sebina, Xenia Manasseh, Kahu$h and Chase Aaron.

Karun, whose real name is Karungari Mungai, was a member of the BET-nominated group Camp Mulla, which took the industry by storm from 2009 until 2013, when they split up. The following year, she launched a solo career and went on to enrol at Berklee College of Music in the US, where she majored in electronic music production and design. Upon her return to Kenya in 2018, she released a few singles, including ‘Glow Up’, which was sponsored by Mr Eazi’s emPawa Africa project in 2019.

Music In Africa spoke with Karun as part of the Emerging series of interviews, which shine a spotlight on promising African talent.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: Congratulations on the new EP. Did anything shift your perspective as an artist and producer during its production process?

KARUN: Absolutely. All the artists I worked with are geniuses in their own right, and it was interesting to see how each one arrived at their end product. I can be a perfectionist sometimes, so the process reminded me to relax, let the magic happen organically and trust the process because the result was always something special.

What was it like working with Nigerian producer Higo?

We would facetime now and then to get on the same page and write and produce together online. He was very accommodating of my vision and said that whatever I wanted was okay with him. I think he was pleasantly surprised with how ‘Here With Me’ sounded. He told me that he’s never had an artist put such a spin on one of his tracks before.

In ‘I Know’ you sing, ’Sometimes letting go propels you forward.‘ What have you had to let go of to grow your career over the years?

It is an ongoing process. I let go of some music that I felt held me back and kept me in unhealthy cycles. I also cut off a couple of toxic people that I was working with. I realised that I was a ‘people pleaser’, so I am now on a path to learning how to be more authentic when interacting with people.

‘Grind’ encourages the listener to adopt a hustler’s mentality. For artists, how does this go-getter mindset come into play?

I sing, ‘No one ever taught me how to grind.’ I say this because the older I get, the better understanding I have of what success looks like. I acknowledge that it takes hard work to succeed, but I also know that hard work is pointless if you’re mentally and physically unhealthy. So artists must learn how to get that balance right and set healthy boundaries. These are things we’re neither taught in school nor as we’re growing up.

Most of your listeners on Spotify were previously from the UK and US. How do you feel now that Kenyans are your top listeners?

I feel encouraged to keep being authentic. I am constantly being asked why I don’t change my sound to cater to what Kenyan masses listen to. But the streaming numbers show that there are Kenyans who like this sound and need to be catered to. There are adequate streaming platforms that enable independent artists like me to earn from our work without record labels and lots of traditional radio play.

Would you like to sign to a record label?

Yes. I am now in a suitable space to do so – as long as I own the master rights. It would be nice to have the many aspects of my career handled at a higher level.

What are your takeaways from the emPawa Africa mentorship project?

The project allowed me the opportunity to direct my narrative on a pan-African and global platform. I wouldn’t have had the incredible opportunity to work with Platoon, my current distributor, had I not been selected. It was enlightening to see how Mr Eazi could be so selfless and unlock the road to so many young artists’ success.

What plans do you have for the rest of the year?

Honestly, my goal for this year is to live a balanced life. I am working on new music, writing for other artists and producing here and there, but my priority is to give this EP a good push and spend quality time with my son.