‘Firirida’ roars back to life but Munyonyi remains penniless

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought, writes the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in his immortal poem, ‘To a Skylark’, published in 1820.

This still rings true, two centuries later.

After nearly 36 years, Dickson Njoroge, 69, the composer of the song ‘Firirida’, has now known fame.

Well, fame is good for any artiste but when it comes without any pecuniary benefits, it only hurts.

‘Firirida’ is now a social anthem but Njoroge, who goes by the stage name Dik Munyonyi, has some sad thoughts fraught with misfortunes.

The song depicts the warmth and joy of welcoming visitors in an African way but in a more hospitable, cultural way.

Medical bills fundraiser

When the Nation caught up with him at Icon Gardens, Kenyatta Road, along the Thika Road on Saturday, the man had attended his own fundraiser to offset his medical bills after multiple hospitalisations over dysphonia (voice disorder) and a heart condition.

“My financial life has not changed despite the Firirida song being played all over. I have become popular but moneywise, the situation remains the same. I am still a poor man,” Munyonyi, who lost his voice just a few years after ‘Firirida’ was released in 1986, told the Nation.

He now speaks with a hoarse voice and the situation worsens when he visits River Road, where his music journey began.

“The condition worsens when I approach Rive Road; I’ve never understood how and why this happens. Losing my voice has been one of the lowest moments in my life. It has hit me hard,” he said, emotionally.

The fundraiser was attended by Kenya Film and Classification Board (KFCB) Chief Executive Ezekiel Mutua and local artistes, mostly drawn from Mount Kenya region.

Promote clean content

KFCB has teamed up with Tamco Sacco (Talented Musicians and Composers) Chairman Ephah Maina to market ‘Firirida’ as part of a wider plan by his organisation to promote clean content.

“We shall support him to re-launch the song. We have been told by the doctors that within a month, he will be able to speak well and recover his voice. Our idea is to turn his talent into money through clean content and make Firirida more popular than how the Jerusalem challenge was while at the same time fighting piracy,” said Mr Mutua.

‘Firirida’ was produced by Talanta Promotions alongside another song, ‘Munyonyi’.

Instant hit

Interestingly, ‘Munyonyi’ became an instant hit, made him popular and changed his fortunes.

“Firirida performed poorly in the market; it was not well accepted. Munyonyi became so popular that during concerts, I was always the last musician to perform,” said Munyonyi, whose music career began in 1971.

As they say, everything has its own time.

More than three decades later, ‘Firirida’ made a triumphant comeback when a radio presenter with Inooro FM, Jeff Kuria, posted it on TikTok – a video-sharing platform popular with the youth.

In under a week, it went viral and took over the airwaves, especially in vernacular radio stations. In social events, family gatherings and entertainment centres across central Kenya, the ‘Firirida’ beats united the young and old, men and women irrespective of social status.

Warm African culture

“The song portrays the warm African culture, especially when welcoming visitors during socio-cultural events. Kenyans are good people; they love visitors. The song celebrates our rich African culture,” said Munyonyi.

So, is any of his children in music?

“I had eight children, but two have since passed away. Only one, Munyonyi Junior, has shown interest in music. Since I lost my voice, I always perform with my son, who sings as I play the guitar. We have recorded an album and one song is dedicated to the President,” he said.

Mr Maina said 500 Tamco Sacco members have raised “a substantial amount of money” towards Mr Munyonyi’s medical bills at the Nairobi Hospital.

“Under Tamco Sacco, we have a development arm and a welfare arm that we are now using to help offset Munyonyi’s medical bills. Our appeal to the government is that people who use our music to make a living should be paying at the source when getting licenses so that artistes can benefit,” said Mr Maina.

Tamco Sacco is mostly made up of musicians from Mount Kenya region. They have launched a YouTube channel and a Skiza Tune code for ‘Firirida’ so that Munyonyi can earn well from his music, three decades later.