His flow, ease with which he drops bars accompanied with a spellbinding voice puts him among Kenya’s A-list artists. Trio Mio is the reincarnation of E-sir, a lyrical genius who died in his prime. The youngster rose to fame during the Covid-19 pandemic when the country was on lockdown. His hits were a welcome diversion from the uncertainty of Covid-19. Here is the bio of Trio Mio has told by Prudence Minayo:
Real Name
His real name is Mario TJ Kasela. TJ stands for Thanks Jesus. The superstar’s mother Irma Sakwa had a difficult pregnancy and she promised to give praise to God if her son was born without any complications. She named her son ‘TJ’ to honor her promise to God.
The stage name Trio Mio was given to him by his brother. It is basically made up of letters from his real name.
Age
The talented artist is turning 17 years this year. The lyrical genius was born on October 22, 2004.
Background
He comes from a family of four siblings, two boys and two girls. TJ is the last born in the family. His mother has always guided him and supported him even as he took a plunge into the music industry.
Education
He was a student at Machakos Boys High School in Machakos County. In an interview on the Trend, Trio Mio revealed that he was no longer in the institution and was being homeschooled. The celebrated artist will be sitting for his national exams in 2022. Rumors circulating on social media platforms seemed to suggest that he had scored a D Plain, reports his mother rebuffed.
The Cheza Kama wewe hitmaker grew up in Umoja 1 estate in Nairobi. He was brought up by a single mother. He has an amazing bond with his mother who is also currently serving as his manager. The two are close and his mother is his number one fan. She is determined to support her younger son’s career and guide him through life. His older brother is also a mentor to him. He has always supported and encouraged TJ.
If there’s one sure thing from his background it’s the fact that he has a very strong support system. He has people who are ready to guide and support him as he navigates in the tumultuous music industry.
According to him, growing up, life was not easy. There are times they had to struggle to have their daily bread but he was sure that one day the stars would align and life would get better.
Talking of His Father
In an interview of Light Art Club, Trio Mio talked fondly of his dad saying he inspired him when he was young. He would serenade him with Rhumba songs and he does not rule out a collabo with his old man. His father had a band and has since relocated to Tanzania.
Music Career
When most people are asked about what they want to be growing up, they think of being doctors, pilots, surgeons and lawyers among others. However, this was not the case with TJ. While others would say this, he would simply say he wanted to be like the OG, Kaligraph Jones. He draws a lot of inspiration from Khaligraph and has quoted him as his biggest mentor. He would always rap in front of his classmates and also write lyrics in his free time since he has to balance school and music.
The more he performed the more his confidence grew. By grade 7, he was ready to release his first song but things did not go according to plan and those plans were put on hold.
While he was in form 2, the pandemic hit and schools closed down. This gave him the chance to work on his craft and he finally managed to release a number of songs. His fans were awed with his masterful flow, beats and how he seamlessly managed to rap. Hence, he became a known sensation in the country.
“Watching my brother and his friends rapping to instrumentals on YouTube is what inspired me to take it seriously, that’s when I started to compose my own songs. The pandemic allowed me time to record these songs since schools were closed,” said the rapper in an interview with The Standard.
Apart from the OG, he is also inspired by a number of other musicians and would love to do a collaboration with them. Sauti Sol, Nyashinski, Femi one and a few others are the musicians he’d love to collaborate with.
Youtube channel
He has a total of 13 videos by the time of writing this post. Cheza Kama Wewe garnered over 5.8 million views. He has a total of 127k subscribers and counting.
