Reborn Musical Sensation Size 8’s Humble Beginnings & Life’s Turning Point

The petite Size 8’s musical club bangers portrayed a larger than life celebrity who commanded the Kenyan airwaves. When the now 27 year-old songbird decided to change course last year, ditch secular music and revert to her Christian upbringing of gospel music, many thought it was the last they would be hearing from her. They were wrong.

She re-emerged and came out even stronger in the gospel genre. Soon came Mateke, a song she considers her best performing single ever. Size 8 recently had a candid interview with Judith Mwobobia of True Love Magazine.

Did she ever get used to all the attention?
“I don’t mind it now. I have to do my daily chores. Sometimes I wish they would treat me as they treat the next person,” she says, “because I’m often left wondering if all the kindness is really genuine.”
Size 8’s Growing Up

Honest about her humble upbringing, Size 8 details her growing up as the second-last born in a family of seven siblings in Nairobi’s Eastlands area:  “I went to Dr. Livingstone Primary School, and managed to pass well enough to go to State House Girls’ School, one of the best schools in the country. Things at home were difficult, and after my first term, my folks couldn’t raise my fee.

So I had to stay at home for three weeks. Fortunately the school called me back after and I was financed by the Constituency Development Fund. I worked really hard and also got immersed in the world of drama and music…”

Her performance in the arts caught the attention of a teacher from Hillcrest Secondary School and together with two other girls they were offered scholarships at the elite school. And coming from a humble background, the culture shock that met her at the new school was too much to bear.

“It gave me serious self-esteem issues,” she recalls. “I would go to school in a matatu and some of the other students would be brought in by helicopters and or posh cars…”

Working on her self-esteem after a talk with one of her teachers, a Mr. Walker, she took an active role in music with her rock song winning an inter-house competition and that gave her an esteem boost and popularity too. However, she still had to fight peer pressure and stay true to her religious upbringing.

Later on she was offered a partial scholarship at Manchester University to study Law but lack of fees killed this opportunity.

Fame Beckons At Her
Armed with the belief she could sing, she took on the Tusker Project Fame Auditions in 2008 though she was just 20 while the minimum age for participation was 21.

The judge in charge of the auditions, then producer Clemo (real name Clement Rapudo) pointed out that she was underage but let her sing. Impressed, he gave her his contacts. She later rejoined the producer and musician Jua Cali to record the song Size 8, a big hit which also made her name stick.

As her star rose, so did she depart from her religious upbringing, a fact that not only broke her mother’s heart but brought her inner despair. Even though 2011 saw her single, Fire, record phenomenal success, she admits that spiritually, it was the worst year ever. By 2012 she was a brand but the pressure that came with success and fame wore her down to the point she turned to alcohol.

Her Life’s Turning Point
Unknown to Size 8, her about-turn season was close by. She quit living a double life and turned to gospel music. The transition was costly as she stayed without a show for three months, effectively cutting off her main source of income. Shortly thereafter she released Mateke.

Incidentally it turned out to be her biggest ever performance which she released after the March 4th General Elections. “It was the greatest I ever had. I got numerous shows; it was the most downloaded song at the time. And blessings started pouring down. I even got a call from a fan who wanted to fund my next video,” she says.

Speaking of her marriage to gospel DJ Mo (real name Samuel Muraya) that also took many of her fans and critics by surprise last year, Size 8 was candid enough to dig deeper into where her seemingly surprise marriage came from:

“We met in 2010 during an event but all we had was a simple conversation. But in 2013 I reached out to him as a friend and things took their natural course…he is a big gospel star, I was a secular star and that he would be judged harshly, I thought. However, he didn’t care about that. He knew I was saved and what everyone else thought was irrelevant to him. So how could I resist?” says Size 8.

Her tough background also motivated her into starting an organization, Kasichana Kang’ae, which aims at providing disadvantaged girls with basic needs.

Now Size 8 is onto her latest song Yuko na Wewe and still upbeat about her present and future. “My mission is to convert three million souls to Christianity. And to grow my organization, help the girl child as much as I can.”

[Courtesy: True Love Magazine]

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