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THIS week, The Sunday Mail Society correspondent Moses Magadza (MM) interviews the renowned Tee Ngugi (TN) on his life, writings and music. Read on . . .
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MM: Many say Tee Ngugi is a great Kenyan writer, musician and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s son. What is it that you want to say about yourself which you think many people do not know?
TN: Obviously, being Ngugi’s son, his reputation always precedes me. In a good way. However, there is also a tendency for people not to see you as an individual with your own personality and, more importantly, as a person with your own ideas, and your own way of seeing and interpreting the world.
MM: Many people indicate that you often do not give much about your personal life besides staying with your artistic family in the United States. Do you mind sharing more about your personal life?
TN: I have two children. Now grown up. My daughter, June, is here with me in Kenya. My son, Chris, stays with his mother in the United Kingdom.
MM: What does the Tee in your name stand for?
TN: Tee is actually a short form of Thiong’o, just as Chinua or Wole are short forms of much longer names. Over the years, it has stuck, and hardly anyone remembers the original name.
MM: Your essay “We are Orphans of our Dreams” is the most popular. What is it about?
TN: The essay is half memoir, half meditation and part tribute. It is also a mourning for Africa’s lost promise. Finally, it is a remembrance of heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, a man who moved from history into folklore and in so doing, expanded our conception of the possible.
MM: What do you think are your major highlights as a literary artiste?
TN: I do not think I can talk of highlights yet. I am at the start of the journey, despairing at its challenges and, once in a while, enjoying moments of exhilaration the journey brings me. It is going to be a long journey. Like Mandela said in “Long Walk to Freedom”, “After climbing a hill, one only finds there are many more hills to climb.”
MM: In the song “Utuka Muraya”, we hear that while the song is all yours, it was partly a family collaboration, including Ngugi wa Thiong’o himself. Can you tell us more?
TN: Ngugi wa Thiong’o challenged me to sing in Kikuyu and I accepted the challenge. Many people do not know this, but, unlike his mother, my grandmother, who was tone deaf, and sang off key, he has a good ear for music.
My sisters and brothers play various kinds of instruments to various degrees of proficiency. They also sing, though not professionally yet. So, whenever I am working on a song, I send them snippets of it for comments. Of course, finally, just like when you ask someone to look over a story you are working on, I decide which of their views to take on board.
MM: In the video of the song “Hopeless Hope”, which is trending on YouTube currently, you sing about a man begging a woman to reconsider taking him in. What inspired this song?
TN: Every story or song has bits of biography in them. That does not mean the song or story is wholly from your own experience. The song or story borrows from many experiences and not necessarily your own.
MM: “Hopeless Hope” appears to bring together various musical forms — pop, jazz, rock, etcetera. What influenced that fusion and what did you want to achieve?
TN: I grew up listening to people like Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and other singers. Then I listened to Malian blues and folk music from different parts of the world. And other artistes and forms of music. So, it is a fusion of different styles. Soft rock, soul and blues, with a strong element of, I hope, African melodic tradition.
MM: In “Hopeless Hope”, you rope in Joanne Akio on background vocals. The arrangement is done by Issa Mwajeka and Kafel Maina, on bass guitar is Silaha Moise and on lead guitar is Jack Gacheru. Tell me, who are each of these people and how much is each of these bringing to this song?
TN: Issa Mwajeka is a Tanzanian keyboard player and a good personal friend. Moise is an excellent Congolese bass player. Gacheru is a young Kenyan guitarist. He plays a mean distorted lead in that song. Kafel Maina was a guitarist and singer. Sadly, he passed away last year from cancer. Joanne Akio is a young Kenyan singer.
MM: What other songs have you done in the past and what has been their thrust?
TN: I have many songs that I have never recorded. What I want to do is more experimental sound . . . I am, for example, fascinated by Maasai traditional songs. I want to see how I can fuse these traditional melodies and rhythms with modern interpretations of soul and soft rock.
◆ Next week, Tee Ngugi talks about his siblings, father Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who are all published authors. He also touches on his father’s exile status and future plans for his artistic career.
Online Reporter