By Prudence Minayo
Muthoni Ndonga, popularly known as Muthoni Drummer Queen is a talented Kenyan musician, song writer and entrepreneur. Many nicknamed her the Lady Gaga of Kenya due to her unconventional fashion sense and vibrant hair colors. The musician has been making waves in the industry for a long time and has a massive international following. An article on Vogue, a prestigious international magazine, featured her.
Early life and Education
The multi-talented artist was born in Dagoretti Corner, Nairobi county. She then went to Lavington Primary before joining Moi Girls’, Nairobi. MDQ did her International Baccalaureate (IB) at St Mary’s then joined USIU.
Family
In an illuminating interview with Betty Kyallo, the singer reveals to having 2 siblings. Her father is deceased. She has been in a relationship for 7 years and managed to keep it private.
Career
The boss lady loved singing from an early age and was part of the church choir at age 10. While doing IB in 2004, she decided to turn her passion into a career. A lot of studios didn’t want to record her at the time but she persisted.
In 2007, she was in Tusker Project Fame for 3 weeks. This was followed by an international tour whose purpose was to find and nurture raw talent.
On returning to Kenya, the idea of Blankets and wines was born. This was an event to bring together upcoming artists and find raw talent. The event, hosted in Nairobi, has expanded to Kampala, Kigali and Arusha. It also features both local and international artists.
Having a company didn’t stop Muthoni from continuing her music career. Using her knowledge of English, Swahili and Kikuyu, she created ‘fusion soul’, an African inspired sound. The soulful sound explains the challenges youths face in Urban Africa. Her music is entertaining, inspiration, emotive and feminist.
Songs/Albums
The musician has released 4 albums since 2011:
Welcome to the Disco in 2011
MDQ (Swiss Edition) in 2014
MDQ upgraded in 2015
She in 2018
‘Power’, a feminist single released recently by the singer talks about the role of women in our country’s history.
Awards
The eccentric musician has recently won the Swizz Music award and took to social media to thank everyone who supported her.
