Rent Made Me Not Quit Secular Music - Amani

Kenya gospel artist Amani. Photo/Instagram

By Kinyua Mwangi

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Kenyan music fans were surprised by a welcome announcement from beloved singer Cecilia Wairimu, better known by her stage name Amani, in late 2019 on her shift from secular to gospel music.

Not many people understood why she took this shift with over a decade of pure success in Kenya’s music industry. Her career began with a bang. Signing a record deal fresh out of high school with her catchy tunes and vibrant stage presence making her a household name in Kenya.

Songs such as ‘Bad Boy’ featuring Nyashinski, ‘Missing My Baby’ among others were big hits 15 years ago. But amid the glamour of being a star, she battled mental health illness and fought so hard to come out of depression.

Amani narrated to Lynn Ngugi that decided to drop secular music as soon as she turned 32, but there were still a lot of unanswered questions about her plans for the future following the change.

So, she kept pushing it and this thrust her into depression.

"My biggest dilemma for me was that music was my bread and butter. For me I knew the music I changed I would not hit the stage again and no more stage, how am I gonna pay rent, what am I going to eat?” she posed.

The confusion got worse when she rejected a white collar job just for music and it ended in frustration. Her mother always asked her to focus on gospel music and take it seriously which she felt was too heavy a load to carry.

What held her back was how she would pay her rent and all other bills if she switched to gospel music. But, the final nail in the coffin came when she was performing at a concert in Nakuru.

For the first time, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes irritated her so much that she decided to put an end to a nearly two-decade career and start afresh.

Since then, Amani has embraced her newfound path.  She released a gospel track, "My God," in 2020, ‘Wewe ni Mungu’ ft Pitson in 2023 and more music is coming.