- Kelsy Kerubo is a prominent member of popular choir, Msanii Music Group besides being a solo artist.
- Her sharp vocals have propelled her music and endeared her to a larger fanbase. She won the female musician of the year at the inaugural Kibali Awards in 2023.
Just three years into her music career, Kelsy Kerubo’s has taken a meteoric rise to become one of the top gospel artistes in Kenya. The bubbly songbird was recently feted at the inaugural Kibali Awards as the female musician of the year.
Here is her story as told by WoK.
Kelsy Kerubo Humble Family: Sitting for KCPE exams twice
The 24 year old hails from a humble family. She was born in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, being the first born in a family of five.
She began her education at Jobenpha Primary School (Nairobi) and later transferred to Tonga Omonuri Primary School in Nyamira County.
Unfortunately, by the time she was sitting her KCPE exams, her mother had fallen sick and her father had traveled to South Africa to look for a job.
She was forced to take care of her siblings and would wake up as early as 4 a.m to buy fresh groceries and sell them in order to fend for her family. This ate into her study time and she didn’t perform well in the national examination.
“I used to go to the market as early as 4 a.m. I sat my KCPE and failed because I was really multitasking,” she told Radio Citizen’s Selly Amutabi.
The ‘Nimeshinda Vita‘ hitmaker transferred to Nyamecheo Primary School where she was told to go back to class 7. Fortunately, this decision was rescinded and she was allowed to sit for KCPE albeit registering late.
Kerubo passed and joined Matuu HGM Memorial Girls (Machakos County) and later Nyakoiba Secondary School where she sat for KCSE.
She joined Kenyatta University to pursue Pyschology and Sociology.
Kelsy Kerubo Illustrious Music Career
Kerubo’s decision to join Msanii Music Group just as it was starting in 2020 provided a perfect opportunity for her to sharpen her vocals. Alongside other founding members under the leadership of Joash Nyamongo, Msanii Music Group grew in leaps and bounds.
According to Kerubo, she was able to build on her confidence by being part of the popular choir.
“It builds your confidence which I lacked prior to joining,” she says.
Solo Career
Despite being a member of Msanii Group, Kerubo has also directed her energies in building her solo career. She broke the ice with releasing ‘Huru Kwa Pendo‘ in March, 2021 and ‘Asante‘ a month later.
Her most popular hit is ‘Nasonga Mbele’ which she featured Rose Muhando. The song has so far accumulated 1.9 million views on YouTube. Other songs by Kerubo are ‘Nina Haja Na Wewe‘ (1.1 million views), ‘Amenichekesha (529K views) and ‘Haujachelewa’ (525K views).
