Budding gospel talent from the great valley

NIKKO TANUI

When Kenyans in the US first heard her music on Kass FM international, little did Lillian Rotich know that her talent would take her to places she had never imagined.

Members of Gotab Gaa, a Kalenjin social and economic organisation based in the US, were mesmerised by her spiritually uplifting songs and the melodious voice. The organisation then invited her to Atlanta, Georgia, to perform during their annual meeting in 2006.

And at the land of opportunity, Lilian set her audience dancing and stamping their feet to every number she sang from her debut 2004 album, Achicha Maimugaskei (It Is Not Possible).

In the song, the artiste, who is considered one of the few queens of Kalenjin gospel music, sings about the impracticability of serving two masters at the same time.

Among her newfound fans was a Kenyan pastor based in Maryland, USA, who could not let the charming artiste come back to Kenya without performing in his church.

At Tumaini Church in Maryland, Lilian moved the hearts of the congregation, which saw them offer to sponsor the production of her second album.

"Never in my wildest dreams had I thought God would line up so many people to assist me exploit my talent as a gospel artiste. That reaffirmed my faith in him," says Lilian, a mother of three.

New dawn

The artiste, whose songs are among the most downloaded for mobile phone ring tones by members of the Kalenjin community, was invited back to Maryland at the end of 2006 to launch the album Kenyit Ne Lel (A New Year).

Come February 2007, Lillian officially launched the much-anticipated second album in Kenya at Kaplong Deliverance Church in Bureti District to a warm reception by music lovers in the Rift Valley.

"I now know that God opens the doors that ordinary people would think are permanently locked," says the singer who began singing while at Getarwet Secondary School and later in her church choir.

Though she loved music since childhood, she never imagined it would become her full time career. After clearing Form Four in 1996, Lilian was in a dilemma of whether to put food on the table or chase a dream. She opted to take a job as a clerk at Brooke Bond (now Unilever-Kenya).

Soon, a man she says was irresistible, Richard Rotich, crossed her path with a marriage proposal. As she accepted to join him in matrimony, little did she know he would reignite her talent.

"I was just singing songs in the kitchen as I went about my chores unaware that my husband was taking note. One day, he confessed that he loved hearing my sweet voice and thought it was a good idea I record my music. But I thought he was just flattering me," Lilian fondly reminisces. At the time, she did not know any music producer or a recording studio. Luckily, in 2004, a member Kayole PEFA church choir, where Lillian had joined after relocating to Nairobi, was looking for backup singers for her album and she readily took the chance.

"That is how my eyes were opened to the fact that recording an album was not rocket science as I had thought," says the singer who is also a successful farmer.

After that first-hand experience in the studio, Lilian was soon back there to record her debut album, which to her wildest expectations flew off the shelves and literally took her to many places.

In 2009, Lillian released her third album Momee Ngunon (My Time To Die Has Not Come) at Kericho Primary School grounds. The event was a crowd puller and was graced by over 40 musicians, a clear demonstration of her growing influence.