“Nina Siri” hitmaker Israel Mbonyi shared his first experience in Nairobi, Kenya, from nine years ago.
In an August 9 interview, Mbonyi recalled his first time in the country noting that it was lowkey.
“I came here in 2015/2016 in December, I came here and gathered with my community back home, the Rwandan community, it wasn’t like announced everywhere and there was also a producer that I had come to meet,” he recalled.
The Rwandan-born musician revealed that his initial impression of Kenya was shaped by an area called Kasarani.
At the same time, Mbonyi fondly recalled his first boda boda ride, saying he loved it because it made him feel truly himself.
“I thought Kenya is Kasarani and I was on a motorbike (boda-boda) also. I loved it. I enjoyed bodaboda and guess what? I also had another person behind me also, we were three on one boda boda,” he narrated.
“It was the real life; I was enjoying being me and being just normal.”
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Israel Mbonyi to Perform at Africa Worship Concert
Mbonyi arrived in Kenya on August 8, for the much-anticipated concert named the Africa Worship Experience.
He will be performing alongside other renowned gospel artists including Karura voices, Pitson and the Adonage band.
The Africa Worship Experience is a vibrant Christian society dedicated to fostering a culture of worship, unity, and spiritual growth among believers across the continent
It brings together a one-of-a-kind gospel extravaganza aimed at reaching thousands of audiences towards a transformative cause in the biggest gospel concerts in Africa.
Inspiration behind Nina Siri
Israel shared that the inspiration behind the hit song was a moment in his life where he needed God to do something new in his life and the need to reestablish himself as a global artist to reach a bigger audience.
“I reached a point where I wanted God to do something new in my life, and I was already an artist back home, singing in my mother tongue Kinyarwanda, and you know in Kinyarwanda you can only be heard by Burundians, Rwandans and Banyamulenge, Bantu in that side,” he stated.
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He went on to state that while recording his fifth album, he had a dream in which someone sang a song in Kiswahili to him on two consecutive nights.
This experience, he said, inspired him to sing in Kiswahili. He recalled asking God for guidance, and after hearing “Nina Siri Naye Yesu” in the dream, he quickly recorded the song.
The lyrics flowed naturally the next morning as he sat at his keyboard, leading to the creation of “Nina Siri.”
“I recorded the song at night cause I couldn’t remember any words, in the morning when I sat on the keyboard, all the words just came and then I started writing. That is how I wrote Nina Siri,” he said.
Additionally, Mbonyi also mentioned that he listens to Kenyan artists like Mercy Masika, Willy Paul, Moji Short Baba, and Bahati.
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