A dedication to the African daughter pushed one Sankale to the spotlight. The reggae infused single backed by his rich vocals has captured the attention of many across the divide. While largely well received, a part of the Christian fraternity was not too pleased by the ‘path’ chosen by this young man. According to them, they couldn’t quite understand why a self-confessed gospel artist had gone out to release a love song.
But sultry voiced Sankale who prefers to be called Sanka is not fazed and says that this is only the beginning. The versatile artist has managed to straddle different music genres and with perfection; rapping like he was born to do it and leading worship in his church.
The tall, dark and handsome Sanka, born Sankale Meringo, stopped by the SDE offices and honoured us with a look into his journey of music, with surprising twists.
SDE: Tell us about Sanka
Sanka: I hate my first name, so I don’t use it at all. I am an artist, creative and I sell ideas. I am a born again Christian and a praise and worship leader in my church.
SDE: When did you start doing music
Sanka: I was raised in a church. I was a rapper first and I did ‘One Way’ and ‘Fly Away’ which are both gospel rap songs. I stop doing rap because I don’t think Rap as a genre is something that you can grow with. Plus Rap was disappointment in this field. But I have observed most of the Kenyan music and I believe there is room for me.
Watch ‘One Way’ and ‘Fly Away’
SDE: The reception of your latest single has elicited loads of mixed reactions. Why is that?
Sanka: To be honest it was surprising that some people thought I has sinned by releasing a love song. This wasn’t a song that was degrading women or promoting immorality. This song appreciated the gift that is the African woman. What is wrong with a gospel artist singing a love song? It is disheartening that we are dealing with a society that wants you to be instead of a society taking you as you are.
Nonetheless, the song has had a great reception overall and I have been getting good support with over 27,000 hits on youtube. Not bad for a first serious track and in such a short time.
SDE: Did you have a lucky lady in mind when creating African Daughter?
Sanka: *Laughs* No, not at the moment. I am single but I am hoping that in time I will find the one.
SDE: Why did you choose reggae for your latest track, African Daughter?
Sanka: Reggae appealed to me because of its roots to the African culture. But I am not closing myself to the reggae genre. I plan to do different things. The current situation in the music market is if you are too commercialized you lack content and if you are too deep you lack the mass appeal. I want to find a balance between being commercialized and having content.
SDE: What challenges have you faced in the journey to getting your music out there?
Sanka: I have had to make a couple of sacrifices in this journey. I sold my first business to fund my music. I had a creatives firm a couple of years back but I sold it. It was mostly to finance music but also I felt like the reason that I was keeping it at that point was to impress my peers and family.
I have however had to go back to doing business to sustain myself. I am a creative and run a firm that sells ideas. This has enabled me to delve into my music.
SDE: What next from Sanka?
Sanka: I have an album coming up. The second release is called Apana Changanya and should be coming out soon.
