feature perfect: Earthly Angel by Mercy Kamau 08-1306

Earthly Angel

“Only a woman can make miracles out of empty pockets, nothingness and lean times,” these are words of wisdom from Duchess, to inspire women.

Duchess, Single Unsingle, SpokenWordDiva and Koki all refer to the same person. It really depends on which side of her you know. African Duchess (Duchess in short) is the singer/rapper, Single Unsingle is the blogger, Duchess is the Spoken word, poetry and Facebook side whereas Koki is her without the other stuff. Recently she got on youtube because she wanted to expand her reach on people through the arts. Koki is many things and she loves it because there is never a dull moment in her life.

“I enjoy my company,” she jokes.

Koki in one of her performances

Koki first noticed her love for music and songwriting when she was eight. Her greatest inspirations were Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, who sang amazing songs that had a way of moving her to tears. She remembers saying, "I want to do that too," she wished. Her aim was to write music that moved people to tears because of how it applies to their life situations or because it is beautifully written. The ambitious Duchess has succeeded in doing so. According to Skillz (a close friend) he said, “Duchess is not afraid to put emotions in her writing or music. I like her thinking, she is realistic yet artistic at the same time.”

Like many artistes start out, she began singing in church and later went solo. “In primary school, I would help lead the school in morning praises during assemblies and in Kenya High School, I was in the choir and leader of the praise and worship team. Some of my best memories are in those years,” she reminisces.

Amidst her singing, her love for poetry surfaced. It stemmed from her appreciation for rap music and soft rock. In high school, she would write poems and she was so proud of herself. Reading them now makes her laugh at herself. She said it was part of the growth process. Sentimental Duchess loves poetry because it's truth.

“A true poet bares their soul and speaks truth. They have a hunger for wisdom. To me, that's the mark of a poet,” Duchess said.

On coming to Daystar, she started blogging. The Life and Times of Single Unsingle is the blog’s name. What started out as a forum for her poetry ended up as a place for her to give her opinions on everyday issues affecting 18-25year olds such as relationships, wisdom bites, celebrity information among others.

Addvoket (Koki’s friend) and Koki spent most of their August 2009 semester on their music. Koki always went to Addvoket to practice together. “Suddenly, she went underground,” Addvoket recalls. When she came back, she was amazing. Her vocals had changed and her music was different, she had grown,” he farther explained.

Spending time with seasoned artists such as Pepe Haze, Blackskillz and The Addvoket (Chisomo/ Chiso), has made her grow farther. Blackskillz and Pepe are the reason she performs spoken word to date. She explains how hard it was making a transition from poetry to spoken word because it took a while for her mind to register that spoken word is just spoken word.

“It’s a piece of writing spoken with the right amount of pauses and intonation to share wisdom,” SpokenWord Diva clarified.

This year, Duchess has been spending some time with Pepe, Chiso and other artists from the Amplified studios who brought out the rapper in her, something that she always wanted to do. She never had the guts at first. However, she knew that she had it in her and so when Chiso asked her to help them work on a song, Juice, she accepted. “She got on it and she killed it,” Addvoket admitted. They kept encouraging her and together they have made amazing songs.

Koki also loves taking photos and her camera is a must carry. She can take up to 300 pictures of herself in a week. “No exaggeration,” she confesses. When she started taking photos, they helped her be confident of herself but today it's all about appreciating herself.

Koki’s driving force is her unborn children. She always wants to make them proud of her by achieving her dreams, so that they don't grow up with the fear that they can't achieve theirs. She says that sometimes her blog would be her favorite bedtime story for her children one day. “Maybe when they're eight, they will want me to share more than Cinderella with them,” she fantasizes.

God is her true source of inspiration. He's the one who blessed her with so many talents and a brain that is always at work. The lyrics to most of her songs and words in her spoken word pieces just play in her head and she writes them. “Most times, it all comes to me without me having to write. It's like angels are whispering lyrics in my ears as I walk.”

A nurturer by nature

Being a first born in a family of two makes her a nurturer by nature. Consequently, she even has a list of pseudo-sons and daughters out there that she mentors. Koki has a lovely family that supports whatever she does. Her mum is her number one fan. Always finding out of any new pieces she has written for poetry or spoken word or any upcoming events. Every time they have a visitor in the house, her mum plays one of her songs or spoken word pieces. “It's so sweet of her, she always makes me blush,” Koki smiles shyly.

On the other hand, her brother is her number two fan. She actually motivated him to start rapping. Her father also loves the fact that she sings. Koki remembers how one random afternoon her dad suggested that he, Koki, her bro and their mum should form a band. She kept thinking how hilarious the idea was.

Her family wants her to do whatever she likes and be successful in it. However, to them, Koki’s music, poetry and the rest is just a side hobby. However, Koki does not think of employment. They are yet to discuss this but she is afraid they will not support her as much as they do now.

By now you’d probably be thinking that she never has time for studies. On the contrary, Koki is a focused student with her priority being education. Despite the other things being a great part of her, they're secondary. Her grades are excellent and she has been blessed to make appearances on the dean's list a few times. School can get boring sometimes though. Therefore, the other interests are a way for her to unwind from the monotony of school life.

She has learnt the art of balancing. She has enough time to spend with her friends, record music, film clips for youtube, attend her classes and work on assignments. The amazing thing is that even with all those responsibilities she still wonders what to do when it's all done.

“She earthly angel, is strong, in body, mind and soul, she is strong,” words by Duchess that keep her strong and going.