ART
From Rap to Spoken Word
More attention to Content
ART
SPOKEN WORD ARTISTRY: Wordplay and Punch lines with Content
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Viruses propagate exponentially, given adequate material with which to work.” Peter Waweru also known as VirusiMbaya, 25, talks to Maureen Njeri about his journey of thriving from Africa’ s largest urban slum, Kibera, to a highly ranked Rapper and Spoken Word Artist. His hair is knotted in strands and the strands dangle from the back as he mostly wears caps. The hairstyle knows as‘ dreads’ others refer to them as‘ rasta’. Most men with dreads are referred to as‘ ras’ and that is how people nick named Peter. From the lyrical prowess he demonstrated on stage, they told him,‘ rasume-vai- where vai is a reverse of Iva which means being dope.
From that, the name vai-ras came to birth and to spice it up and give it a meaning he got his stage name, Virusi,“ viruses propagate exponentially, given adequate material with which to work, therefore I added Mbaya to put emphasis on his style,” he explained when we sought to understand the artistry behind his name.
On a rather calm mid-morning as we strolled with him on the streets on Kibera’ sLaini Saba area, he explained how much his surrounding has infl uenced his art.“ I startedout 10 years ago as a rapper and was in the Young Gifted and Black( YGB) group where I worked with people like Octoppizo but later each of us decided to pursue solo careers.”
From Rap to Spoken Word
“ Why did you make that transition from a rapper to a spoken word artist?” I ask.
“ I realized people can relate more to spoken word which is diverse and you can use sheng’ in your pieces. Not many people will pay as much attention to rap as they do to spoken word.”
We make few stops as he meets people who stop him to say hello and you can tell how much backing he gets from his people. He also attributes his success to his parents who never deterred him from doing artistic work. VirusiMbayais a generally calm person but the lines he drops on stage make the‘ noise’.
More attention to Content
Spoken word being an oral art which centers it beauty on word play and intonation, VirusiMbaya says he pays more attention to Content but he undoubtedly uses great wordplay, punch lines and intonation to put the message across. Through his art he has performed in big stages and one that he considers the biggest is performing during the Mashujaa Day celebrations at Machakos People’ s Park. He has been hosted in TV Interviews and is now being featured in Life Today Magazine.
“ There is a lot of talent in most urban slums but the support is rare,” he explains. The decorations of his house catch my eye. He tells us that he doubles up as an artist who draws and does bead works whenever he is not on stage.
That artistry is his side hustle and works well for him as his popularity is a marketing strategy. He gives his phone to his adorable 2 year old son Azzam Bittner who takes a selfi e to keep himself busy as we chat with his dad. VirusiMbaya lives with his son whose name is non-tribal and he emphasized that he is part of the team that fi ghts tribalism around Kibera.
Virusi Mbaya is part of a team Street Theatre Family over 40 people that creates events to bring together young people in the art scene. The virtue Peter AKA VirusiMbaya lives by is,“ I’ ll never give up because of the youth in my hood.” VirusiMbaya has become a role model to many young people around his home area that have now embraced art and detached themselves from crime. He says“ self-management is key” and is yet to release his documentary and an album by April.
Virusi Mbaya is part of a team Street Theatre Family over 40 people that creates events to bring together young people in the art scene
LIFE TODAY MAGAZINE Issue 2, No. 003 / 17 / March 2017 17