As Kenya wakes up to the sad news of celebrated Kikuyu secular artist Joseph Kamaru whose music career spanned for over four decades, many cannot help but just remember what he left behind.
By the time of his death at MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi on Wednesday evening, Kamaru had released over 1000 different songs most of which remain all-time hits.
The songs that will remain engraved in many of his fans' hearts features various thematic issues like love, Gikuyu culture, politics, patriotism, promiscuity just to name but a few.
Below are some of Kamaru's favourite hits which despite the fact that they were released several years back, still remain as sweet as honey and as relevant as today. Kikuyus will call them 'ngogoyo'.
1. Caaria Ungi (Look for Another One): The song is about a cheating lover who has a habit of lying to her partner despite him forgiving her several times.
However, after she lies again that she is going home for Christmas holidays only for the male lover to learn later that she actually went to Mombasa with her lover, he decides to dump her telling her to look for another 'beetle' to be lying to.
2. Wendo Wa Cebecebe (Measured Love): The song basically talks about a lover who gives love to her partner in 'measured' quantities. Kamaru tired of this kind of love says he will not remain in 'remand' of love forever where love is being measured like tobacco (mbaki).
3. Ndari Ya Mwarimu (The teacher's darling): The song is a reflection of relationships between wayward teachers and students in schools. The teacher helps his student lover to pass school-based exams mindless that he won't help her during the national exams.
4. Tiga Kuhenia Igoti (Stop lying to the Court): It is a story about sexual harassment and rape. Recorded over 30 years ago, not many people living in that generation knew that this would come to be a subject of public debate as it is the case today.
5. Kenya Ya Ngai (Kenya of God): This is a patriotic song where Kamaru praises the rights and freedoms that came with independence. He adds that he can take a 'bullet' to defend the motherland.
#hivisasaoriginal