Kenyan born artist 'J. S. Ondara' Earns a Grammy Nomination
21 November 2019
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by Kabura Ng'ang'a
The Grammy conversation continues and more so about the nomination list. What many from Kenya might recognize is that a 27 year old Kenyan born artist has been nominated for a Grammy in the category ‘Americana Album of the Year’.
S Ondara, the nominated artist was born in Kenya and now based in Minneapolis. He moved to the USA in 2013 after winning a Green card. He taught himself how to play the guitar while there and he was performing in small bars and open mics. He got his break after a Minneapolis radio station played one of his songs off his YouTube.
In February of 2019, Ondara released his debut album, ‘Tales of America’ that did well on the Americana/Folk charts. This album is about the struggles of adjusting to life in America; probably based on his experiences.
Tales of America is heavily influenced by the sounds of jazz and Folk music. Ondara has a voice fitting for this kind of music. He actually barely uses any back-up vocals/harmonies in the album because his voice covers it pretty much. It is an album you want to play unwinding as you make your tea because it feels exactly as that.
This is Ondara’s first album and he is still touring. Well, in the meantime we are congratulating him for this Grammy nom and continue bopping to this album.
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