Hubert Mbuku Nakitare (born 2 October 1982), commonly known by his stage name Nonini, is a
Kenyan
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hip hop recording artiste, entertainer, radio presenter, businessman and philanthropist. He is often referred to as the Godfather because he is very well known.
Education
Hubert Nakitare, alias Nonini, attended Kawethei Secondary School in
Machakos County
Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being because of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The country's first administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is ...
.
Personal life
Nonini (Hubert Nakitare) was born in October 1982 in California Estate in the Kamukunji
constituency of
Nairobi
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 prope ...
,
Kenya
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, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
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. He is of
luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to:
* Luhya people
The Luhya (also known as ''Abaluyia'' or Luyia) comprise a number of Bantu ethnic groups native to western Kenya. They are divided into 20 culturally and linguistically related tribes.
''Luhya'' ref ...
origin. Nonini became a dad to a baby boy in late 2012.
Biography
Nonini was originally signed 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 ...
, but later joined
Homeboyz Productions. He was introduced to the Kenyan
urban music
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
scene through his debut single "Nonini ni Nani?" He achieved national and regional recognition with his 2002 track "Manzi wa Nairobi," a song which praised the beauty of Kenyan women and a follow-up single "Weh Kamu". He went on to release his debut album ''Hanyaring Game'' in late 2004, which included the hit "Keroro," a Kenyan slang (sheng) term for alcohol. Nonini is famed for releasing the first
Genge hits early in his career.
He runs a video production company named "Pro Habo" which successfully gave rise to P Unit. He is also a radio presenter.
Collaborations and affiliated acts
Later, ''Nani Mwenza'', his collaboration track with Tanzanian musician
Juma Nature, became a regional hit. In addition, he has collaborated with local artiste
Nameless to create a Friday anthem appropriately titled "furahi-day". Both songs are on his second album ''Mwisho Ya Mawazo'', released in 2007. The album features several guest musicians, including
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 ...
,
Mercy Myra,
Professor Jay and
Q-Chief.
[Mwisho ya Mawazo liner notes]
P-Unit
He is the founder of
P-Unit (Pro-Habo Unit), which consists of rappers Bonnie, Frasha, Gabu and himself. The crew has produced several songs, most notably "Si Lazima", a
Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa
* Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of ...
phrase which literally translates to "It's not a must." The song talks of times in a relationship when a couple does not need to have sex – they can just go home and relax. People have found the song quite contradictory to the messages he communicated in previous songs. At the
2007 Kisima Music Awards,
P-Unit won the
Boomba
The bladder fiddle was a folk instrument used throughout Europe and in the Americas. The instrument was originally a simple large stringed fiddle (a musical bow) made with a long stick, one or more thick gut strings, and a pig's-bladder resona ...
Group category.
It was the first time Nonini won a
Kisima Award. Their second single is known as "Kushoto-Kulia"; meaning "Left-Right". Both songs are on Nonini's "Mwisho ya Mawazo" album.
Recognition and awards
In August 2007, Nonini was selected as one of the 100 most influential Kenyans by ''
The Standard
The Standard may refer to:
Entertainment
* The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon
* ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia
* ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980
* ...
'' newspaper.
In 2009 he was named ''International Lifestyle Ambassador'' by the
Limkokwing University in Malaysia.
Noni was honored with the MCSK 2012 Cross Over Artiste Award and won Best Hip-Hop Song and Best Director of a Music Video, both for Colour Kwa Face, at the 2012 Kisima Awards.
Nonini has been a two-time Top Earner MCSK Royalties Artiste.
In 2013 Nonini was elected as a director representing the Audio Visual Sector at the Performance Rights Society of Kenya (PRSK), where he expects to help in consolidating efforts towards royalties' collections and represents the plight of artistes in the entertainment industry.
Discography
Albums:
*Hanyaring Game (2004)
*Mwisho ya Mawazo (2007)
*Godfather (2009)
Awards
Won:
* 2004
Chaguo La Teeniez Awards – Best Male Artist
[Nonini – Biography](_blank)
/ref>
* 2007 Chaguo La Teeniez Awards – Best Song ("Si Lazima") & Best Collaboration ("Si Lazima") & Best Group (P-Unit)[The Standard, Pulse Magazine, 20 June 2008]
"Chaguo La Teeniez" awards
/ref>
* 2007 Kisima Music Awards Boomba Group (P-Unit).Kisima Music Awards
The Kisima Music Awards is an annual awards program that recognises musical talent in East Africa. Despite being Kenyan-based the scheme awards artists from a variety of countries, predominantly Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and incorporates a ran ...
Boomba Group (P-Unit), Best Collaboration (P-Unit & DNA – "Una").
* 2009 Named the International Lifestyle Ambassador by Limkokwing University.Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Botswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004; after te ...
(President Of Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
), Prime Minister of Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The award is in line with the University's of building the skills of their young citizens, particularly in the area of new technology, of Sound and Music, Film and Television and other creative courses.
* 2012 Award for the highest played Artists Across all media stations in the Music Copyright Society of Kenya Awards 2012
Nominated:
* 2008 MTV Africa Music Awards – Listener's Choice (P-Unit & DNA – "Una").
* 2008 Pearl of Africa Music Awards
The Pearl of Africa Music Awards (also known as the PAM Awards) was an annual national music award event held in Uganda. The inaugural event was held in 2003. In 2006, categories for musicians from other East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Afr ...
– Best Male (Kenya)
* Nominated for the Best International Afrobeats Act in the Black Entertainment, Film, Fashion, Television and Arts (BEFTA) Awards UK.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1982 births
Living people
Musicians from Nairobi
Kenyan rappers