To fast track your music career, try and find worthy investors

BY COLLINS KARIUKI

Whereas most music artists have a bubbly and lively personality, Danson Munyao, 23, who goes by the stage name Iman, is different. He is calm, measured strategic and insightful in his speech.

Love is a feeling he holds dear and his music is testimony to that. Although he grew up in Nairobi, a city full of broken hearts and unfulfilled dreams, he believes true love is out there ready to be found by those that seek it. Listening to him, it is clear that art is close to his heart.

“As a musician, I strive to be real. I try to write about things that people can relate with. Oftentimes, these are things that I have gone through myself, so the songs I write are just a raw expression of my feelings. For instance, my songs Midnight Calls, Moyo Wangu and Nawe all talk about heartbreak, which is something that happened to me not long ago. The songs were my way of dealing with the painful overwhelming emotions that I felt after being heartbroken.

“Apart from just being a means of expressing my emotions, I believe that as an artist, my music should inspire my listeners. Therefore, rather than just make songs purely for entertainment, I aim to tell a story through my music, and make listeners feel better despite the difficult circumstances they may be facing.

Once I get an idea for a song, I immediately jot something small regarding how I feel about the subject, then create a story from it. After that, I look for rhymes so that I can easily create a melody.”

Iman’s journey in music began at the end of his primary education. At the time, Bongo music from Tanzania had taken over Kenya airwaves by a storm, especially songs by Diamond Platnumz. His songs made Iman fall in love with singing in Swahili. He says that the way Diamond sang and expressed himself in his music videos moved him.

Later, he discovered Otile Brown through his song Pakate, and was surprised to find out that Otile was a Kenyan musician. He had assumed he was Tanzanian because of his style. The realisation that Otile Brown, a Kenyan, was doing the kind of music he loved and was interested in, convinced him that he too could do it.

Upon finishing high school, he joined Marist International University College to pursue a diploma in business management, and it was then that he decided to try his hand in music. Initially, he did this just to see how far his passion could get him. To be called a musician, you first need to make music, something he had not done. After writing his first song, he reached out to his friends who helped him get a producer, Antony Tjay, and there began his journey as an independent musician.

With Tjay, Iman released four songs with Bongo beats and written in proper Swahili. However, he made a few mistakes soon afterwards. Although he was singing Bongo music, in Swahili, he adopted the stage name March Bravens, which sounds more like a rapper’s moniker. Also, he was not strategic while releasing his music, and had not clearly mapped out his target audience.

“When I was marketing my song, Sio Sawa, I reached out to Terazo New Media for help in marketing and promoting the song. They gave me feedback on my song and also new ideas concerning my music. They also offered to take me under their wings.

“Getting signed up by a management company was a big step for me. I believe that as an artist, you need to have a team that handles certain things that pertains to your music, so that you can focus more on writing and creating the best content. I had never thought of how I wanted to brand myself and how I wanted to be viewed by my audience.

“My management team helped me understand that as an artist, the nick name you choose is very important. You need to pick a name that resonates with your audience. For my case, March Bravens made people think I was a rapper, yet I was not. Additionally, it was hard for my audience to spell my first name. We needed something unique that resonated with my music, so we settled on Iman, from the swahili word ‘imani’ which means faith.”

Iman found that the change of name made him more focused in his style of music. He started releasing songs with well thought out themes, at strategic times, and targeting a niche audience, unlike before when he would rely on his emotions to write and release songs.

For instance, his most recent release, a song called Enjoy, was released on February 1, 2022. Enjoy is a love song and its release was meant to coincide with the beginning of the month of love.

Aside from the management company, having his parents’ support was also a blessing for him. His father helped him get investors, eliminating the struggle of finding the finances to kick start his career. In just a couple of weeks, his song has garnered over 30,000 views, which is impressive for an upcoming artist.

“As much as I have made up my mind to pursue music for the rest of my life, I do have periods of doubt where I wonder how things will turn out for me and where I will be in the next few years. However, looking at what I have achieved, I believe I am on the right track. I started out alone but now I have thousands of people behind me and I am sure things will get better as time goes by.”

Iman says that being a musician comes with a lot of internal pressure to do better. According to him, the environment is highly competitive and artists are working to release new music hits, which he believes is good for his growth. Already, he has several songs and an extended playlist (EP) all waiting for the right time of release this year.

To upcoming musicians, Iman has this to say: “Your discipline and commitment to your craft needs to take centre stage. The way you conduct yourself will let a potential investor know whether you are worth investing in. With hard work and discipline, you are bound to attract people who are interested in investing in you.”

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