‘Thugs’ ride in gospel music to win youthful souls

The word ‘thug’ is associated with criminal activities.

However, gospel artiste Ray Wasike Murunga and his music associates adopted, sanctified and made it their vehicle for spreading the Gospel.

“True Heroes Under God (THUG) is an idea l got from a movie and realised it was wise to use to take back what the devil has taken from us. We know music is key to young generation. We are, therefore, using THUG as a tool to bring the lost souls to Christ specifically the youth,” says Ray.

The unique title is equated to biblical message from Matthew 11:12, which says that the Kingdom of God has suffered violence and the violent takes it by force.

 Ray, the founder and chairman of THUG group became active in music while at Kolanya High School in Bungoma County in 2002 and later at the Beula Education Centre. He says, “My grandmother, aunt, cousins and others have been and still are very active in music. When l joined primary school and later high school, l had all the basics in music. In fact, l helped a lot in training my colleagues in preparation for music competitions both at primary and secondary levels. Music is a family affair,” he reveals.

He says that on various occasions music has soothed and helped him conquer stress when things went awry. This is just one of many other factors that encouraged him take music seriously and pursue it in 2006.

He says at the beginning it was frustrating.

“There were no good recording and shooting facilities in Bungoma. So I was forced to travel to Nairobi in search of good music production facilities if l wanted good quality music,” he explains.

 While in Nairobi he briefly abandoned music for studies. He joined Institute of Advanced Technology from 2007 to 2009 and graduated with diploma in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

After college, he immediately secured employment opportunity with mobile company, Orange Kenya as customer care.It was while here that he met a musician friend Kevin Okullo and encouraged each other to pursue a career in music.

They rehearsed at their free time and few months later recorded two songs, Badilika and Okijija, in August 2009.

Youths’ advice

Okijija, produced in Dholuo means nothing happens to one who is protected by God. It is a youths’ advice to turn to God’s salvation.  The two songs were received well in the market.

They recorded another song Fly High in 2010 in reggae beats. The song preaches that anyone leading Christ’s life can go far. The song became instant hit attracting attention of both television and radio stations.  Early last year ‘Thugs’ recorded Matsai Ka Yesu (Christ’s blood) in which they featured feted gospel artiste Gloria Muliro. Matsai Ka Yesu is currently riding high.

Okijija, however, has not done well in the market as expected and so the group has decided to redo it. “We rehearsed it for two years before recording it afresh with a professional touch. Now the audience is appreciating.” Another song is Taara Irathimo, ( Count one’s blessings). The Thug group is also involved in mentoring and nurturing talents.

The group members source talented orphans and street children and help them grow spiritually as they discover own talents. The group has two offices in Nairobi and Bungoma involved in nurturing poetry, singing, rap, acting and dances.      

In the past, they had visited schools such as Limuru Girls’, Stephen Joy High, Banana Hill, Matuu High, Kisii High and Kaplong Boys’ School to audition talented youths who they later started mentoring.

 Ray has also featured in two episodes of a local television programme, Nairobi Law as an accused father.   The group performs at weddings and religious functions across the country. It has also staged gospel concerts in Uganda and Tanzania.

Ray has recorded Fly High remix with DJ Ghosty who is based in the UK and they are planning its video shoot. Ray is in the process of constructing state-of-the-art audio and visual studio. He says, “It is very expensive to hire equipment especially when shooting for young and upcoming talents who do not have money.”

The Thug group members include Kevin Okullo, Ray Wasike, Ronald Munara, Kellly Murunga and Erick Babu. Ray also eyes venturing into film industry in future.