Henrie Mutuku


Henrie Mutuku is a Kenyan Gospel Singer.

Early life

Mutuku was born in Nairobi in 1978, the firstborn with three brothers to Mr. and Mrs. Mutuku. She grew up in the Eastlands, a densely populated area in Nairobi inhabited by generally low income residents, and from a very young age was exposed to a diverse range of music styles including R&B, Reggae, Rap, Benga, Lingala and other African blends of music.
Henrie Mutuku's love affair with music was evident quite early in life when at the age of 5 she would sing in family gatherings, church, and nursery school. Later, when she was slightly older, it was the church choir where her talents for music were obvious and enhanced.
Her Christian upbringing in the Eastlands suburb of Nairobi has influenced her style of music as she uses Swahili, English, her mother tongue Kamba and Sheng to express herself and communicate to her audience.  Since then, she has grown to use basic Amharic and French, mainly due to the influence of Ethiopian and Congolese refugees living in her environs.
In upper primary school she toyed with the idea of making music her career choice and as an active member of the Drama Club and Choir mistress in Loreto Limuru High School, her love and interest in music was solidified.
She is fluent in Swahili, English, Kamba and Sheng.

Music career

Henrie started working in music with local Christian artists like Izzo and Pete Odera as a background vocalist. She later featured predominantly in a 2002 compilation album ‘Rebirth’ produced by Soul Child Inc. Her career was catapulted after dual winning the KORA 2002 Best Artiste East Africa.
Henrie Mutuku's debut album was “Simama” which has gone on to contribute hit songs like “Usichoke” and “Manzi wa Maana". She has also featured prominently in popular music countdown radio shows like Kiss 100's “Smirnoff Top 7 songs in Nairobi”, East Africa FM Radio's ‘Link’ and Kampala FM as voted by listeners. 'Manzi wa Maana' especially captured the hearts of young ladies, swiftly becoming an anthem of chastity and virtue, all the while redefining the true essence of a beautiful African woman. She has since recorded another music video for the song 'Amini', taken off her album 'Simama'.
Henrie Mutuku has curtain raised for Bebo Norman at two concerts, allowing her to make her first music video, “Nakuhitaji”, created by the local Family T.V. for the promotion of the Bebo Norman Tour. She then recorded yet another music video for the song “Amini”, a feature in her album ‘Simama’.
In 2003 she won 2 Kisima Awards for Best Female Artiste and Best Contemporary Gospel Artiste. She was also nominated for a KORA Award in 2003.
Henrie Mutuku, after being away from the music scene for almost 10 years, came back in 2014 with a new track by the name "Langu" off the album “Tena”. In February 2017, Henrie officially launched the "Tena" album, a continuation of her first "Simama" album, for which she was reported to indicate that it is "different because she did not limit herself and tried new sounds and worked with a different producer, one David Higham."

Inspiration

She draws her inspiration from the Word of God, testimonies of believers around her and other prominent Gospel musicians like Mary Atieno, female hymnwriters like Fanny J. Crosby and hymn translator Catherine Winkworth. She is greatly inspired by the hymn books, ‘Hymns of Faith’ by Scripture Union, ‘Tenzi za Rohoni’ by Lifeway for Baptist Convention of Kenya, Buruburu Baptist Church Songbook, ‘Baptist Hymnal’ by the Convention Press, an outfit of the Southern Baptist Convention in the US and ‘Mbathi sya Kumutaia Ngai’ by Ukambani Christian Literature. She is learning hymns in Kikuyu and open to learning from other ethnicities as well.
She testifies of God's faithfulness in Jesus Christ who has enabled her to grow in song writing, piano playing, strong vocals, faithfulness in service and fulfilled her lifelong dream to be a hymnwriter, albeit an amateur hymnwriter. Most of all, He has sustained and preserved her faith in Jesus Christ. To God be all the glory.

Songs

Songs written by Henrie Mutuku include:
The following is a list by year of albums done by Henrie Mutuku.
YearFeatured onNotes
2002Simama First solo studio album release
2014Tena Second solo studio album release

Literary Work

Henrie Mutuku has also written articles on the blog discussing Christian approaches to life issues and current events, and insights in gospel music ministry. The articles include:
She also completed her manuscript for her book "God of Woman" in 2019.

Personal life

Henrie Mutuku, is certainly more serious about her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ than anything else, including her music, a decision she made while still a child.  This was clearly highlighted during her acceptance speech at the Kora Award 2002 where she credited God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit for the Kora Award before going on to recognise other colleagues who helped her along the way.
She believed in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour, The Friend that sticks closer than a brother, The Author and Perfector of her faith at the age of six years during a school holiday at her parents’ home. She was baptised at 17 by immersion. She is a registered member of Buruburu Baptist Church.
Henrie Mutuku married her fiancé, Pastor Charles Maina Njau, on 21 April 2014.

Achievements

The following is a list by year of Mutuku's achievements:
YearActivityNote
1998Malibu Sponsored Star SearchThe Only Female Top 5 Finalist
1999Ukumbi Awards 'Best Female Vocalist
1999University Arts Achievement Award in Music 'Winner
2000Benny Hinn ChoirFeatured as an Alto
2001‘Rebirth’ Gospel Artistes compilation CDFeatured with her popular single ‘Nakuhitaji’
2001Bebo Norman Kenyan TourCurtain-raised
2001Kool and the Gang concert in NairobiCurtain-raised
20012002 KORA All Africa Music Awards Nominee, Best Artiste East Africa
20022002 KORA All Africa Music AwardsBest Artiste East Africa
2003Kisima Music Awards Best Female Artiste
2003Kisima Music AwardsBest Contemporary Gospel Artiste
2003Released her debut album ‘Simama’ Album went on to contribute hit songs like “Usichoke” and “Manzi wa Maana” and have featured prominently in popular music countdown radio shows.  “Manzi wa Maana” has especially captured the hearts of young ladies and become an anthem of chastity, virtue and redefining the true essence of a beautiful African woman.  “Kunaye Mungu” another title from this Album managed a similar fete.
20032003 KORA All Africa Music AwardsNominee, Best Artiste East Africa
2004UNICEF Reception for Harry Belafonte in NairobiPerformance
2004Released single ‘Chafua’A single that can be termed as her ‘hip hop social responsibility attempt’. It received good airplay from Christian and secular stations.  The song went on to be voted “Song of the Year” on “Activate” a leading Christian radio show.
2004Co-wrote “Nisaidie” performed by DavieSingle became the song of the year on Hope FM.
2004American Gospel Music AwardsNominated in the International Category
2004Began work on her now released album ‘Tena’ with David Higham, a UK producerWhile in the UK, she was interviewed by Debbie Massey of Christian Voice broadcast to Africa radio show ‘Friend to Friend’. Her songs ‘Songa Mbele’ and ‘Usichoke’ proved popular chart-busters in Christian Voice Africa Broadcasts.
2004Wrote, recorded and later made a video ‘Amani ya Watoto’Song funded by Amani ya Juu, an NGO that helps displaced mothers.
2009Released the single ‘ Aiyoh’A collaboration with musicians from Uganda and Congo, dedicated to the evangelism of the gospel of Jesus Christ in Africa.
2013Began writing her first hymn ‘The Cross’Hymn writing efforts began
2014Released the single ‘Langu’ from the album ‘Tena’On the show ‘The Trend’ with Larry Madowo
2015Released the single ‘Naomba’ from the album ‘Tena’On the 7 pm news programme on KTN with Mary Kilobi.
2016Released the full album ‘Tena’ to Kenyan Radio StationsMade it available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon and later Mdundo.
2017Released her album ‘Christmas Hymns’ on 24 December 2017Available on Mookh and YouTube.
2018Finished writing 5 hymns inspired by the Easter seasonHymns include ‘The Cross’, ‘Secure’, ‘He’ll wipe our tears’ and ‘Your Sacrifice is Complete’. Some are currently undergoing assessment by The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
2018Released the song ‘Harusi’ in August 2018A collaboration with Kenyan Christian musician Reuben Kigame, a song dedicated to point marriages to God's design as illustrated in Genesis 2 and John 2 as an antidote to the onslaught on the traditional family in Kenya and beyond. With Shekinah Kigame, John Isaya and Reuben Kigame, she also did a cover of the hymn "My Jesus I love Thee" written by William Ralph Featherston.
2019Completed manuscript of her book 'God of Woman'Book on Biblical Womanhood

Other Activities

She has been involved in Christian values campaigns like ‘Protecting life Movement’ movement and abstinence campaigns which in turn supports the war against HIV/AIDS, performing in events that highlight these pertinent issues.  She loves to evangelise to all that she meets because she sees music as her tool of opening doors to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. She enjoys music that is rich in God's Word and is a strong proponent of Colossians 3:16 KJV.
Her talent has also come in handy in promotion of Bible Translation Literacy and Bible League work, two organisations involved in advancement of Bible literacy in Kenya and surrounding regions.