10 Things You Never Knew about TPF Music Director

With just a week to go to the culmination of Tusker Project Fame 6, last Sunday contestants mashed up two songs to produce one different song thanks to Kenya’s Afro-soul diva, Atemi Oyungu. This was a great success as contestants got to show their prowess in different genres of music and won Atemi admiration.

But how well do you know this songbird? Here’s something I bet you never knew about her;

1. Atemi has been described as Kenya’s Miriam Makeba her stage presence during her live shows fills up and brightens up even the darkest and coldest of spaces

2. Atemi began singing at a very early age out of constant encouragement from her family to take part in a number of musical projects

3. At the end of her secondary education, she and a group of friends formed an accapella gospel group called Thrown Together by Christ (TTBC) and were sponsored by Youth for Christ to go on a musical tour of Zimbabwe.

4. She joined USIU in 1996 and formed the singing and dance group Karisma.

5. At her post-Christmas 2009 show, where tickets were sold out weeks before the actual performance- an anomaly for concerts in Nairobi.

6. Atemi’s first collaboration was with Nyatichi Nyasani and Ugandan sensation Kawesa on the song ‘I need to Know’ for a UNFPA project supporting sex education for children in schools. Her next was with Nikki, aka Sheila Mwanyigha, called ‘Earth Song’. This song was for a UNDP project focused on cleaning up the Nairobi River.

7. She joined Eric Wainana’s band in 2003.

8. Her work experience include Events Manager for Kahama Group Hotels, Events Director for PHAT Music & Entertainment, client service executive at Face to Face Experiential Marketing Platforms and studio manager for Kijiji Records.

9. In 2009, Atemi was cast as one of the main characters in Kenya’s biggest theatre production yet, Mo Faya.

10. She wowed Kenya with her extraordinary knowledge of music alongside Ian Mbugua and Joey Muthengi as judges on Tusker All Stars reality show.