Muthaka's viral tribute: How a song for her grandfather became a protest anthem

You called your song ‘June 10th’ and released it on June 10th this year. What is the song about?

The song is about my guka, who passed away on June 10, 2017. I wrote it a year after his passing. I was in Sauti Academy at the time and had to write two original songs, and found myself gravitating towards it because it was a very significant loss in my life, and the emotions were still very real. Our family is so close, and we were so used to being around each other. Him being the patriarch and the person who held us together, it hit really hard. It also happened in my late teens, and now I realise that death means that you’re no longer there, and that’s it!

At the time, I didn’t have as much of a relationship as I would have wanted to, so I asked one of my cousins how she felt during that period and before his passing, just to tap into that emotion. I remember her sending me a long text as I was heading into class, and basically that song is an interpretation of that text, almost word for word in some parts. There were some things she said that were very personal, and that’s why the song is in first person.

In the song, you say you wish he could hear you sing. Does that mean he never heard you sing?

My guka was a church person. Since I was still in school at the time, it would have meant having him come out to a karaoke or open night, which could have been awkward. I’ve had other cousins, like Aliye, who sang a lot in church, but I wasn’t part of it as much.  It wasn’t until later, after I had established myself in the industry, that I started having more performances that were outside of a club setting.

The song as it is right now, was it what you had come up with then? Or did you have to pick a few things before you put it out this time?

In terms of like how it sounds and the arrangement? Yeah, it's pretty much exactly how I did it. I even have a video of when I first performed it in 2018. The only difference being, of course, now I've added like live strings; we have a cello and a violin. The progression is the same. The quality of delivery has improved because ofcourse my vocals have improved. The lyrics haven't changed except for just one section of the bridge.

As part of your promo for the song, you had a few friends come over to talk about their experiences with loss, and you also had your cousin, in there. Was this intentional on your part, or was it something that you picked up just as you put out the song?

Yeah, it's something I had been wanting to do. I wanted to put the song out a long time ago, but then it just never was the right time. But I always knew it wouldn't make sense for me to ever tell the story of the song without the person for whom I wrote it, which is my cousin. So, at least with her, I always knew I wanted her to be part of the creation in some way or another. Initially, a bunch of my cousins were supposed to come and do some vocals, but that didn't really work out. And then I wanted them to come and do a performance video, but that also didn't work out. So as time went on, the most meaningful thing I could do was just have me and her kind of talk about our experience and our relationship with Guka. I had also invited a couple of my other cousins. But I think on that specific day, it was just by chance that two of my other friends were also present. Death is such a universal thing; everyone feels it and everyone has experienced it, so I just asked them if there's something that they would like to say. It just so happens one of my really close friends had also passed about two months prior. It ended up being a much longer conversation than I thought, but I think it just adds to that universal feeling of death not just being something someone experiences in a vacuum; it's everyone experiencing the same thing in different ways.

At what point did you think about doing this tribute to those who had been killed on June 25, 2024?

Honestly, I put out a lyric video. I told myself that I would put out the main lyric video, being a compilation of my grandparents and other family members, friends, just people who've passed. And then I wanted to put out another video on the 25th with everyone who also passed last year because of the protests. But somewhere in between, I wasn't really able to get it done in time. And because I knew this was an intention I had, I just had one of my editors just create a simple reel because I figured if I can't do the full version, the least I could do is just have them compiled somewhere and just share.

I still might do the long-form YouTube one, now that it’s gone all over the place. But because I really couldn't get all the details, plus I figured I probably would need consent of all family members, and I also didn't want to be disrespectful and just put people's names online, I was like, “Let me just do it on Instagram. Maybe that would still be something.”

So with 29.7K likes, 26.K shares and 3.9M views in under a week, at what point did you notice that you’re going viral?

Can we be really honest? When I posted it, because it been it in my drafts for a while, wondering if I should wait and post on 25th, and going back and forth on which section of the song I should use, I just decided, because it's Monday and it's the week of the protests, if I hold on to this much longer it may not post it. I just put a caption, put a song and uploaded it.  I even forgot about it and took a nap. At 6 pm, I was just scrolling (Instagram) and then I saw someone had shared it, then I saw another person had shared it; people I don't even know. When I go to the actual video, at that point it had like 20,000 views. In my mind, I thought maybe someone important had reposted it. I checked my story reshares, and I saw a couple of verified accounts had shared it. By 9 pm, it was already close to 1 million. I don’t know exactly at what point it was caught on, I just started seeing reposts on Twitter and on TikTok, with guys using other audios (that was a bit annoying).

Tuesday, though, it dawned on me that maybe guys hadn't actually had a place where they could see the people. I got the images and the information from a link (june25kenya.org) that was uploaded last year on Twitter. I was trying to get guys to go there and see these are the profiles that I got this information from. Till now, I'm really not sure why that is the one that got all the shares. But I think it has more to do with the people, not even much to do with the song itself. I think Kenyans just needed to see the humanisation of the actual people who lost their lives, and not just a name or a statistic.

What are some of the messages or comments you have received that may give a feel of where people's headspace or emotions are when it comes to the song?

I think one of Denzel's nieces or something reached out to me and told me the experience of how she found out about him, and what having his image there meant to her. That was very striking because I didn't think it would go so far as to reach these people's family members. Even the comments, people are just telling stories of the deceased and what they meant to them, what they did for them. It's just a lot. It's also very heavy. I sometimes feel like that post is very loaded because there are a lot of comments where people are really hurting and really sad, disappointed, angry and in pieces. These are their people.

I don’t know if this was meant to happen in terms of the timing of the song. This song was meant to be for my guka. I’m honoured and it’s humbling that people actually use that as an opportunity to remember their loved ones. I don’t know if it feels personal enough to them. I don’t want them to feel like I just put their people’s names and images randomly. But overall, it’s interesting to see that we have the same feeling about it and we’re all going through the same anger and disappointment at our government, the president and our leaders...

How did that sit with you?

I wasn’t intending on promoting it as much because I wanted it to be something I did for my grandparents. It’s one of those things where I don’t want it to look like I’m profiting off of loss. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it for the first day or two, but I think I’ve had to disconnect myself from it, to remind myself that, first of all, it’s not about me, and it’s definitely not even about the song. At least in this scenario, I’m more and more settling with the fact that it’s a much bigger thing, especially with this particular video, because it’s people who lost their lives because they wanted better for themselves. At some point, I even wondered if I’d have put up the video with any other random song, would it have travelled as much? I don’t know. Just removing myself from the equation and looking at myself more as a vessel and less like the initiator, I’ve accepted that it’s something that maybe just had to be put out through me. I feel more grateful and humbled that I did something that meant something to someone.

I remember you were actually one of the first people I saw talk about how not everyone can be out in the streets last year, but everybody has a part to play. And people have now become more accommodating to that notion. How does that make you feel?

It’s not like it was something that I said that changed everyone’s minds, but I think it’s just the general realisation that we’re in this together. I feel like I’m going to go back to this one a lot – the humanity, the human experience. Seeing so much devastation and loss, and people dying, just does something to you, and it makes you more understanding and more empathetic. I do struggle with anxiety, especially having been arrested before and spending a night in a cell, and not knowing what the police were going to do because I was the only girl. And that really messed with my mind for longer than I’m willing to admit. So, even leading to the protests last year, I could already see how the police were moving, and I couldn’t stomach being in that situation again. I think it’s nice if you can see it as less of an excuse and just more of a real thing that people do struggle with. I know that if I’m able to go with a nice group of people, that I can be safe, but it’s just that anxiety of “What if I pass out? What if I then become more of a liability also?” I don’t want people around me worrying, and it’s something bigger we are trying to do. I chose to donate blood because I felt like that was something that I could do. But yeah, I think it’s nice that guys are more empathetic because it takes a different kind of strength to go and be on the front lines and do all the things that we need to do. Collectively, it’s all helpful.

So let me ask, are you now working on your second album?

Yeah. Oh my god. Okay, let me say it’s my first independent album, I’m actually funding and doing it myself. So this is actually one of the songs on the album. Oh my god, exclusive information! It’s coming out in March of 2026. It was supposed to come out in September, but I got into some conflict, and I had to start recording my album all over again three months in. If this song is any indication, I think it’s going to go really well. I’m expecting to release another song in September and February.

How many songs are you working to have on the project?

It was supposed to be 11, and then I rearranged it and now it’s a solid 10, maybe with some acoustic versions.

Tell us how moving from performing in karaoke scenes, open nights, to now being in venues is like in terms of the quality you give for performances.

I’m really glad that I actually got the chance to do all those random gigs at the beginning. I think they definitely enhanced my stage presence and just how I get to engage with people. Also, just knowing which crowd needs what. Right now, I think for about two years, I’ve been putting on my own shows and it’s been so much fun because I think for my style of music, I really struggle to find the right setting that I feel my music is best delivered. And now I’ve realised that it’s even helped me with building a community; just being consistent, knowing that at a certain point in the year, you can expect my own gig and having guys show up, being intentional about listening and participating in the conversation. Whenever I do get to do the gigs in bars and restaurants, I no longer feel that ache or that need to feel heard in a specific way because I know I can always put up my own show and, I can always get what I need.

When I do these other shows, it’s just more fun, more engaging, more songs. I probably wouldn’t need much of a backstory before performing. It’s just having fun with people. I think if I started doing my own shows first, I definitely would have had a certain mindset and expectation of the industry that isn’t realistic. Especially, when you’re doing the kind of music that I do.

So what does a typical Muthaka event look like?

Oh, my gosh. OK, first of all, we go all out with the deco. We give you aesthetic and very nice, intimate sound. The last gig that we did in December was at Baraza Lab. It was a semi-acoustic performance: we had keys, guitar, cello and violin. We have a lot of stories, a lot of backstories to the songs, a lot of unheard and unreleased music. It’s very engaging and interactive. I really like to talk to, we call them my sunshiners, and tell them about the songs. I think I played maybe three or four of the songs that are in the album that no one has had before other than those guys. So it’s beautiful energy – really intentional, holistic energy.

How about Songs In Hermony?

Songs In Hermony is a name that we have just for the four of us: that’s me, Chemutai Sage, Phy, and Ruby Ninah. We had our first event at Louis Leakey in March 2024, women’s month. I initially had this conversation with Sage about how I wanted to put up an all-female lineup, but it’s something I’d done in 2019 that never left my mind. I was just telling her that I really still want to do this thing. Like, “Do you think you can do it with me?” Thankfully, she said yes, recommended Ruby, and we got Phy on board. We did our second one this past April at Braeburn and it was also really successful. I’m also really glad that for both of these editions we’ve had partners and sponsors, which is unheard of. It’s been exciting and it’s also been fun; just taking control of the space that you’re in. Again, with our style of music, it’s very intentional. It’s hard when you’re having guys drinking and making merry. Our music is something you need to sit with. It’s also given me sisterhood and people that I can talk to. I think being an artiste and being a female in the industry, there are so many things that we go through that you don’t realise everyone is going through the same thing. So sometimes, even just talking to each other, interacting with each other, you find that our journeys are just the same in just different ways because we are each in very different stages of life. But it’s been really comforting also just to have people that you can speak to that understand, and you have the same vision and idea. And it makes it so much fun also by the time you’re on stage.