James "Jim" Wathigo Mburu, (born May 21, 1985), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

s Jimwat (stylized Jimw@t) and Jimweezy, is a Kenyan

genge Genge music, or genge, is a genre of hip hop music with additional influences from dancehall music that has its beginnings in Nairobi, Kenya. The name was coined by the producer Clemo and popularized by Kenyan rappers Jua Cali and Nonini, wh ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Personal life

The name Jimwat is coined from his names, James Wathigo. He was brought up in Kabete,

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had ...

and went to Musa Gitau Primary School and Kikuyu day secondary School, Thogoto. After his O levels he took a computer course and later studied graphic design. He started rapping while he was in Class 7.

Music career

While still in

Form 4 {{about, the SEC filing, the US ATF Form 4, Form 4 (ATF) Form 4 is a United States SEC filing that relates to insider trading. Every director, officer and owner of more than 10 percent of a class of a particular company's equity securities register ...

, Jimwat went to

Calif Records Calif Records is a Kenyan record label based in Nairobi's California estate, known for the Genge genre of music. It was founded in 2000 by record executive & producer Clement "Clemo" Rapudo, together with Juacali and Nonini. It is among two ...

and recorded his first song, ''Sema Nami Sweetie'' (

Sheng Sheng may refer to: * Sheng (instrument) (笙), a Chinese wind instrument * Sheng (surname) (盛), a Chinese surname * Sheng (Chinese opera), a major role in Chinese opera * Sheng (升), ancient Chinese unit of volume, approximately 1 liter * S ...

for ''talk to me sweetie''). It was not released until he completed his O levels. On clearing high school, Jimwat released it and he was shocked to hear it on

98.4 Capital FM 98.4 Capital FM (other variations of the name include Capital FM and Capital FM Kenya) is a Kenyan urban music radio station. Location Its offices are situated on the 19th floor of ''Lonrho House'', along Standard Street in the central busin ...

a few days after its release. Later, other stations followed suit. The same year, he was featured by Rhaptaz, (a group composed of Gabu of P-Unit) in ''Paulina'' which became a club hit and was used in the

Close-Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long ...

''Dance-o-Mania'' competition. He also did videos for the songs that same year. Later on, he was featured in the song ''Adila'' by Pararo and Riziki. He was also featured in

Jua Cali Paul Julius Nunda (born 12 September 1979), better known by his stage name Jua Cali, is a Kenyan hip hop artist. In 2000, together with record producer Clemo, he founded Calif Records where he has been ever since. Jua Cali performs in Swahili ...

’s ''Kwa Album Yangu'' (

for ''In My Album'') and ''Wanakimbia'' (

Kiswahili Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili h ...

for ''They're Running''), which are in ''Juacalisekta'', a

mini album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

by Jua Cali. He then went on to pursue a solo career. In the same year, he released his most popular

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to date, ''Under 18'', in which he featured Meg C in the video. Other songs he has worked on are ''Mpaka Che'' with

Pilipili Peter Gatonye (born November 1982), known better for his stage name Pilipili is a musician/singer from Kenya. At the beginning of his career, he collaborated with another musician, Gun B. Their best known song was "Nampenda".Daily Nation, October 2 ...

, ''Tunakatika'' (

for ''We're Dancing'') with Wambo-E and ''Chakula Kinywaji'' (

for ''Food Drink'') with

, which was featured in his album ''Ngeli ya Genge''. Jua Cali's single, ''Sitoi Kitu Kidogo''(

for ''I am not bribing''), also featuring Jimwat, addresses the issue of

corruption in Kenya Corruption in the government of Kenya has a history which spans the era of the founding president Jomo Kenyatta, to Daniel arap Moi's KANU, Mwai Kibaki's PNU government and the current Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party government. In the Corrupt ...

and was included in the National Anti-Corruption Steering Campaign in 2008. In 2009, he was involved in a UN peace campaign where he collaborated in a peace song with artists Jua Cali, Mejja,

Nyota Ndogo Nyota Ndogo (real name Mwanaisha Abdalla, born c. 1981) is a musician from Kenya who performs taarab-influenced pop music. Ndogo is from the coastal city of Mombasa. She was a school drop-out who worked as a house maid. Her father Abdala Atib was ...

Mr Lenny ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

among other top artists in Kenya. He also worked on an anti-corruption song, ''Simama'', (

for ''Stand Up'') with top Kenya artists. He later released a mellow jam, ''Fall in Love''. His latest release, entitled ''Fan Wangu'' (

for ''My Fan''), is a dedication to his loyal fans. Jimwat is set to release an album entitled ''Genge Nijenge!'' (

for ''Build Me Genge!''). Jimwat is working with artists such as ''Das Walanguzi'' , ''Jedidah'' and

Pace Kenya Pace Kenya ,(Ian Gituku) is a melodious rapper, singer, audio engineer from Kenya. He started music at a very early age of 14 years playing the piano in his primary school, ''Gilgil Hills'' and proceeded to better his musical career onto his secon ...

among others as he betters his musical career. Jimwat took a hiatus from Music scene but got back as of 2019 he has new Genge #EduTainment Songs.

Awards

References

External links

* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA6BcDDqT14PUokn7v1soKA * https://www.reverbnation.com/jimwat * https://dailyactive.info/2019/05/04/why-rapper-jimwat-is-an-inspiration-to-young-artistes {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimwat 1985 births Living people Kenyan rappers Kenyan musicians