Away from the mic

Nyamari Ongegu (Nyashinksi) -artiste

We are meeting in a nondescript restaurant, the sort of place where I assume celebrities can go about their business uninterrupted by fans. While the faceless strip in a faceless building doesn’t look like much of a place for a heart-to-heart, Nyamari Ongegu popularly known as Nyashinski, looks right at home when I walk in.

Slumped in a wide wicker seat, he paints a picture of nonchalance. Across him is a man stretched out and dozing off in an identical chair. The singer looks up at me warily, and I introduce myself. There is an awkward moment when I wonder where I am going to sit before he asks me to pull a nearby chair. He isn’t quite what you would expect. He is much leaner in person, and seemingly introverted. So much so that drawing him out was a little like pulling teeth, but once the scene is set, he slowly warms up and sometimes bursts into full blown cackle.