In the ever-evolving music scene, N’Jiru is an artist making waves by defying conventional boundaries. As a Kenyan musician with a growing and eclectic discography, N’Jiru effortlessly blends genres like African folk, Hip Hop, Gengetone, Jazz, R&B, and Soul to tell her story and connect with listeners. Her sound is a testament to artistic evolution, using music as a platform to express individuality while offering solace to fans experiencing life’s ups and downs.
From stirring lyrics to new-age instrumentation, N’Jiru’s sonic journey makes her an artist to watch out for. In this exclusive interview, we dive into her inspirations, her creative process, and how she continues to push musical boundaries in the global and Kenyan music space.
Can you tell us more about who N’Jiru is and what inspired you to embark on your musical journey?
If I’m keeping it real N’Jiru started as my alter ego, a version of me that didn’t care how the world perceived me and just sang whatever I liked and what I felt. At the beginning of my career, I was tormented by the question, “What type of music should I do, that people will like?” When it comes to what inspired my musical journey though, I always say it as a joke that I started singing when the doctor first spanked me after I was born because I can’t give you a definite spark that threw me into my musical journey, music has just always been a part of who I am.
How do you choose the genres you work with, and how do they reflect your individuality and life experiences?
I’m honestly so impulsive and it shows in my music, I never think too deeply about what music genre I do. It’s honestly about what resonates with me at the moment. The stories in my music however are very much real especially with my recent releases I’m learning how to be a whole lot more honest. My music gives me a platform to express my individuality. I’m literally learning who I am and expressing that through my songs.
What have been some of your proudest achievements as an artist so far?
This definitely has to be all the messages I get from random people whom I never met, letting me know how my music has impacted them, there was a time I didn’t have the courage to be myself. Now I do, and people resonate. This fuels me so much!! It’s a great reminder to me of what music is in my life, a source of connection.
What challenges have you faced while exploring and blending such diverse musical styles?
In all honesty this would be the lack of an ‘identity’ it was hard people to place me, I’ve been faced with many questions and statements like ‘what is she about’ ‘her music isn’t going to attract attention’ ‘she’s all over the place’ ‘How does one market this?’
Congratulations on your album Hizi Strtz! How did the collaboration with Chevy Kev come about, and what was it like working together?
Chevy and I are actually childhood friends we went to high school together and we first performed together at one random assembly, I think that’s when we first felt our musical connection. We lost touch for a while out of school, didn’t have each other’s contacts, and then one day met randomly in the streets of Nairobi, literally. At the time I was working on a song with my producer Kivuki and we were looking for a rapper, after the encounter I thought Chevy would be a great fit, the song ended up being the last song of the album ‘Tonight’ and we just went into it and came out with an entire album.
It was so easy working with Chevy. Although his style was different, we just found a way to make music together without losing our individuality.
Could you take us through the creative process behind Hizi Strtz?
As I mentioned earlier, doing an album was never the intention initially, but after ‘Tonight’ I guess we both knew that we just had to keep going. Chevy at the time worked a lot with production faction from ‘Xprso’ and and other similar producers who had this Nu Nairobi sound and I kind of just got sucked in, it was new, it was fresh and expressed my reality really well so we just dived into a lot of projects with this feel and I was able to greatly incorporate this with who I was as an artist at the time as well. It was a true labor of love taking us three years to complete. A true collaborative project, it featured so many great producers, Lukorito, Mars Maasai, Yah Listen, Kimina, Afamefuna and Kivuki. Not forgetting our visual team from The PH Nala and Kimani.
Many fans describe the album as GengeSoul, especially with the success of E-Love. What do you think of this description, and what inspired the unique sound of the album?
Haha, I think it’s a great description. It incorporates the marrying of the styles both Chevy and I came with. No one thought as we were making the album that we were making a new sound, we were all just having fun with it.
Your latest single, 4 a.m., has garnered significant attention. What’s the story behind this track, and how was the experience of breaking it down on Podvise?
4 AM true to its name was just an expression of an inner battle I was facing like many other 20-somethings, and beyond really that kept me up at night pondering how to move forward. I was at a dead-end job that I wasn’t passionate about and I wanted to follow my dreams of being an artist but given the systems aren’t the best I was in conflict with how then to follow my passions and still make a living.
I appreciated breaking it down on the Podvise, because I realized how much people resonated with the challenges we face in our 20s and it helped me take my struggles too seriously and just enjoy the journey instead.
The ongoing Sofa Set Project with M.rumbi is intriguing. How did the concept for this collaboration come to life, and what can fans expect next?
It started so impromptu, we jammed out once when we initially met, wrote a song on the go, and thought this was such a great idea before we knew it we had started this mini-writing camp and invited other artists to join us on the initiative and here we are now with this great concept. My favorite aspect of SOAS has to be the community it is bringing out, some of the artists who’ve come on and worked together you would never have imagined together on a track. Also, the concept of writing together in community, we always hear of artists abroad having a team of writers but many artists here are writing alone in their own spaces. This is a great way to help us get out of our heads, lean on each other, and help each other grow! We’re looking to soon to make it more visible to audiences the writing processes of their favorite local artists.
How would you describe 2024 as a year for you both personally and artistically?
2024 has been my year of abundance! I’ve been able to take many strides forward in my music career than I had since I began. Full of collaboration and experimentation, I feel this year I truly came into myself and my artistry. I could say I am finally starting to understand who I am as an artist.
What are your hopes and goals as an artist moving into the future?
I intend to spread my reach internationally, becoming one of Africa’s top Vocalists and performers. N’Jiru will become a name that carries heavy weight in the music industry.
Are there any new genres or projects you’re excited to explore in your next chapter?
I definitely am exploring new genres in this chapter, and I’m excited for all them!
What is one thing you’d like your fans to take away from your music?
That you can do anything you set your mind to, it’s not your business to figure out how things will align, just keep moving ahead to your dreams, desires and the rest will just unfold.
Are there any upcoming performances, releases, or collaborations your fans should look forward to?
My scheduled releases for 2025 are different from anything else I have released so far, so I’m especially excited for the possibilities that will bring. My intention for this coming year is to do a lot more solo projects focusing my collaborations mainly with different producers.