by Attia Taylor Photo courtesy of the artist
DRUMMING COMES FROM HER HOME, CHURCH, AND POLICE CAMP WHERE NAIROBINATIVE MARCY KIMANZI WAS RAISED.
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t 7 a.m. in Nairobi, Kenya, Marcy Kimanzi regularly awoke to the sounds of gunshots from the nearby shooting range and her father's huge military band practicing. Marcy was a punctual and orderly child. Maybe that’s because growing up in a Kenyan police camp means order: frequent home inspections and experiencing childhood in a fenced area for security. Her mother is a civilian but works for the policeunit. Marcy comes from a family who appreciates pattern and procedure. Music also runs through the 24-year-old’s bloodstream, was in her growing bones, and followed her from the police camp to school and into her life now as an adult. Her mother was the choir mistress, teaching her and her siblings how to sing and harmonize in every vocal range. Their father taught himself how to play guitar and a host of musical instruments at a young age. After joining the military band inside their encampment, he eventually became the band leader. They grew to be musical just like their parents. Her brother Simon is a drummer and DJ, her sister Faith, a pianist, and the youngest, Becky, a singer, drummer, and dancer. Marcy’s second home very quickly became the Christian church. It was then and is now a place of spiritual nourishment, worship, and joy. Outside of the police camp, it is the sanctuary where her sister Faith watched and learned how to play the piano and where she one day asked Marcy to the pulpit to take the drums for the first time. Faith demonstrated how to play a common Kapuka beat (played in many Kenyan churches) and Marcy picked it up right away. Drumming became Marcy’s passion and the church a vessel for that passion. She’s the only female drummer there.
By day, Marcy is an online researcher and data entry clerk for companies in Nairobi. She takes classes after work in the evenings, then drives through a mess of traffic on Mombasa Road home. She arrives and sets up the snare and cymbal that her dad gave her. First, she practices rudiments to tighten her technique and proficiencies. She focuses and plays alone to improve on speed, power, and touch. Then comes extensive drum research. Home practice sessions help to create a rhythm for her sets as she settles in for a healing, concentrated drill. Marcy learns Sebene and kwasa kwasa, Congolese grooves. Sheila E. can be heard blaring from her player. The American female drummer’s story is one of triumph and is a constant source of inspiration for Marcy. Her performances serve as a motivator and, at times, a source of financial support. There have been notable shows drumming for musicians like Dennis Wampayo, a Kenyan gospel singer, and Toto Kabeya from South Africa. The city of Nairobi has a rich and vibrant music scene that boasts pockets of hip-hop, jazz, rhumba, benga, soul, and Afro-fusion. The east African hub draws musical influence from foreign countries and all over Africa. Marcy exists within this hub. The life she has created for herself is of purpose. There are still very clear patterns and the designs have been crafted just so. The orderliness of her youth and the rhythm in her roots has produced a devout drummer and the passion in the drummer has created an artist who drives her music toward diversity. Marcy learns, practices, and creates in her very own world. Still very young, she works to one day become an entrepreneur in the music scene and continues to focus on her faith, her rudiments, and a desire to one day create a musical family of her own. ISSUE 26: THE ROOTS ISSUE
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