Kelsy Kerubo, Artist’s Journey from Mukuru Kwa Njenga Slums To Success in Gospel Music

Kelsy Kerubo is a Kenyan gospel musician, a singer and songwriter who ros eto stardom after her hitsong ‘Nasonga Mbele’ went viral.

Kelsy Kerubo’s career has taken a meteoric rise to become one of the top gospel artistes in Kenya just after 3 years of venturing into music.

The sparkling songbird was recently feted at the inaugural Kibali Awards as the female musician of the year.

Kelsy Kerubo Background

Kerubo comes from a humble background. She was born in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, being the first born in a family of five. She is 24 years old as of the time of this publication.

Education

She started out her education at Jobenpha Primary School in Nairobi. Afterwards, she transferred to Tonga Omonuri Primary School in Nyamira County.

However, her education journey was not a walk in the part as she faced various challenges. Towards her KCPE exam, her mother had fallen ill and her father had traveled to South Africa to look for a job. Therefore she had to balance between school and taking care of her younger ones.

She resulted to selling groceries to earn a living. She would wake up as early as 4 a.m to buy fresh groceries and sell at a profit.

This way, she was able to fend for her family. On the flip side, this ate into her study time and she ended up failing in the national examination.

“I used to go to the market as early as 4 a.m. I sat my KCPE and failed because I was really multitasking,” she told Radio Citizen’s Selly Amutabi.

When she went to Nyamecheo Primary School, she was directed to go back to class 7. Fortunately, the decision was rescinded and she was allowed to sit for KCPE despite her Kate registration.

She Excelled in the national examination and joined Matuu HGM Memorial Girls in Machakos County. She later joined Nyakoiba Secondary School where she sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)

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After high school, she enrolled for a bachelor of Pyschology and Sociology at Kenyatta University.

Kelsy Kerubo’s Music Career

Kelsy Kerubo
Photo/Courtesy

In 2020, Kerubo decided to join Msanii Music Group just as it was starting. This happened to be a perfect opportunity to sharpen her vocals.

Under the leadership of Joash Nyamongo, Msanii Music Group grew in leaps and bounds.

Kerubo was able to perfect herself in music and to build on her confidence by being part of the popular band.