‘Music Wasn’t My Passion’-Fathermoh Narrates His Journey To Gengetone Music

Despite his stage name, Fathermoh revealed on Radio Citizen that he never actually liked the nickname.

Born Moses Otieno and raised in Nairobi’s Komarock estate, Fathermoh is the second-born child of a single father who later remarried. Music wasn’t always his passion. “Surprisingly,” he admits, “I never liked music, even on road trips. People would be singing along, and I’d tell them I didn’t know any lyrics.”

This all changed after high school. The rise of Genge music sparked Fathermoh’s curiosity. “I wondered how these guys were writing songs, performing, and getting paid,” he says. Peer pressure, he laughs, is what pushed him to try his hand at songwriting.

His debut track, “Wagithomo,” drew inspiration from an ex-girlfriend. A year later, another hit followed. While his father initially envisioned a gospel career for his son, Fathermoh disagreed, believing there wasn’t enough financial opportunity in the genre.

Fearful of his father’s disapproval, Fathermoh kept his musical pursuits a secret. However, after the success of “Wagithomo,” a relative discovered the truth and sent a photo to his father. A tense silence followed for a month, broken only when his dad finally asked, “When were you going to tell me you were writing Genge?”