Embarambamba: All about the quirky world of a gospel ringmaster

Tall, comical and minimally gifted, Embarambamba has, over the years, harnessed his special brand of eccentricity to pull the masses, endear himself to fans and stand out in the music industry.

Coming from a region whose vernacular gospel music can be ploddingly tedious, Embarambamba decided to stir things up a little - by injecting a rare elixir into his unconventional bowl of music and entertainment.

Calling his art 'music', to some, may feel like a misappropriation. The lanky lad does more than just sing in the traditional sense - he yells, cackles, chants, whistles and screams.

To further cement his musical notoriety, Embarambamba embellishes his craft with garish attires, roadside drama, cheap theatrics and the most severely unconventional music videos ever.

It's a shtick he has perfected almost to a fault- he understands that, by being excessively showy and obtrusively loud, he will be hard to ignore and, therefore, he finds the perfect podium to parlay his craft and spread his artistic lunacy.

Consistently, the singer has refused to tone it down a little. He has actually gotten bolder with each release, bouyed by the attention he receives and the online reviews - negative or positive - his work generates.

Armed with a volcanic, resonant and impassioned voice, Embarambamba literally roared his way into the public consciousness, releasing songs laced with crudely suggestive titles and empty, scattered messaging. To further cement his idiosyncrasy, he adapted the habit of wearing female clothing, further rattling the multitudes. 

His latest song is titled 'Niko Uchi' which is a deliberately misleading attempt at explicit wordplay all aimed at riling up the masses and possibly inspiring a conversation.

In the 'Niko Uchi' music video, Embarambamba can be seen galloping down an earthy slope as he, as usual, soaks himself in the soil before proceeding to a shallow river from where all outlandish antics abound - he strips down to his pants, swaggers and dances, exposes his bare chest, lathers himself in soap, and, at some point, even uses a yellow 'shuka' to cover his lower region as he swivels excitedly.

Back in June, while speaking to the Nation, the 35-year-old denied public perception that he was mentally ill, only saying that he infuses his music with comedy, all aimed at attracting more followers to his side and earning him a living.

"Some have alluded to the fact that I have joined the LGBTQ+ community with my latest antics. No I haven't. This is just comedy and music and that is my style."

He added: " Wearing dresses is not a bad thing. That is my way of selling my content. We are in a digital era and we have to be creative to sell out there. Those asking why I am invited to different church functions don't understand that we are all worshipping God in our own different ways."

While some of his comical attempts may be side-splittingly hilarious, many of his attention-grabbing frolics have been dubbed silly, unfunny, densely inane and even tastelessly crass.

But even in the face of the fiercest condemnation, Embarambamba appears to actually thrive through it all, using the blowback as an opportunity to get even gaudier, in the process, achieving his convoluted objectives.

Around September 2023, he once again provoked listeners with a song titled 'Nataka Kunyonywa', quickly becoming a hot topic online due to a couple things - the rather risqué song title and the mud-bathed accompanying video.

“I am not doing well. That is why you have been seeing me do a lot of dramatic videos to keep entertaining my followers. Some were worried if I am okay but ni stress," he once told Nairobi News.

Despite the controversial showmanship, Embarambamba has continued to solidify his fanbase, pulling an impressive amount of followers on various social media channels - on Facebook, he boasts over 53,000 followers, on Instagram, where he is verified, he entertains over 18,000 people while on Tiktok, not less than 140,000 people follow him.

Quirky or not, the showbiz genius knows that the end justifies the means, and that, without the pomposity and bizzare tomfoolery, whether it's funny or not, or whether it entertains or not, he will not be able to put food on his table.

"This is comedy in the gospel. Being a devout Christian doesn’t mean I cannot incorporate humor into my content. Furthermore, if I don’t create content that attracts my followers, nobody will support me," he said to an entertainment website in the past.

In a recent clip he has been pushing online, Embarambamba receives a call from veteran comedian Churchill who can be seen seated at the same office with fellow comedian and now communication expert Walter Mong'are, alias Nyambane.

"Tutakutafuta, ukuje show utuambie ni nani anafua hizo nguo," Churchill tells the singer.

To Nyambane, he adds: "[He's] just an example of artists we have to hold hands, we have to support." 

Embarambamba may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if he, at least, manages to serve some tea on his dining table, he may just need to stick to the act. Clearly, it is working.