From streets to stardom

Eric Babu&searchbutton=SEARCH'> Eric Babu. He first released ‘Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe’ in Bungoma in 2008. [Photo: Nanjinia Wamuswa/Standard]

By Nanjinia Wamuswa

Singer and motivational speaker PhiMiracles exist and Eric Babu&searchbutton=SEARCH'> Eric Babu knows about them. A former street boy, Babu is now a gospel artiste whose star is shining brightly.

His debut single, Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe, sang in praise of God for rescuing him from the streets, has thrust him into limelight.

“Music is my greatest achievement bearing in mind I once lived on the streets with no hope for the future,” he starts.

He first released Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe in Bungoma in 2008. It failed spectacularly on the market because, he reckons, it was recorded in a substandard studio. So the song, though loaded with powerful message, failed to sparkle.

“The quality was very wanting. I blame it on the poor recording equipment which was used to produce it,” says Babu.

It was only until early this year, after he relocated to Nairobi, that he found a professional studio and recorded again.

The song is now receiving the attention Babu always imagined it would get. Most radio and television stations are playing and they are inviting him for interviews.

Other songs are Nakupenda Mungu, Ahsante and You are Holy, all worship songs that largely reflect his relationship with God who lifted him from his dark past.

Babu says he was raised by his grandmother and has never known his father. “My mother declined to tell me who my father despite me asking her countless times.”

At seven, he deserted his poor grandmother for life in the streets. “I had high hopes of finding a good life in the streets, but it was not to be,” says Babu. “We had to beg or scavenge for food.”

One day he approached a car parked in Bungoma town and begged for money from the owner. The car owner was generous and gave him a lot of money. He took a mental note of the car so he could ask for more help from the owner in future. A week later while they were walking around the town with a group of street boys, he spotted the same car parked in a residential area.