Elisha Toto Biography, Early Life, Parents and Music career

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Writer: Branice Nafula

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Elisha Toto, real name Elisha Outa, is a popular Kenyan musician who sings in Dholuo. His song, Paroga Nyasuba, produced late last year became an anthem of sorts. There was a Tik Tok dance challenge of the hit on Tik Tok. His other songs ‘Adhiambo’, Nyar Mwalimu has also been well received. Here is what WoK was able to gather about this great artist. 

Early Life

Elo Toto hails from Suba. He loved traditional Luo music from a young age.  While in primary school, he was part of Ramogi dancers, and they would perform in music and drama festivals. He got the name Elisha Mtoto wa Shule when he began doing music in school. He would later shorten this name to Elisha Toto.

Read also: Download Exclusive Playlists of Hits Of Fastest Rising stars including Odongo Swag, Garvey Kabata, Nishell And Lil Frosh

Parents

His father passed away on 11 April 2021. Speaking to Ghetto Radio, the Ohangla artists said they “first took him to Homabay General Hospital where he was admitted for almost two weeks before transferring him to St. Camillus Mission Hospital in Sori where he succumbed.” He was 86 years old. 

How did Eli Toto start his music career?

Upon completing school, his friend- a Keyboard player, absorbed him in his band. They started doing music in a small village named Uriri. He started off playing a bell which is a popular musical instrument in a lot of Luo traditional songs. It was not easy and at times he would only make 15/= a day. The band soon disbanded as members took to fishing to earn a living. They were left with just two members, him and a friend. They too began fishing to make ends meet but did not give up on their musical aspirations.

A while later, a man named Odos and his friends joined them. They formed a band and Odos began singing. Elisha saw this as the breakthrough they’d been waiting for. They began making 50/= a day which was an improvement compared to their earlier earnings.

In 2019, he finally had his own band, which currently has 20 members. He has released a number of songs, most of which have hundreds of thousands of views. He believes that as an artist his songs should be a reflection of society. His song Paroga Nyasuba became very popular, especially after he added the lyrics about Corona. Many Tik Tok users even started a Nyasuba dance challenge.

Download some of his top hits on Mdundo.com.