With close to two decades worth of experience in the music industry, Nameless is arguably one of the most successful homegrown artists.
In recent years, the hitmaker has turned his attention to mentoring upcoming artists. In an interview with the veteran hitmaker, he revealed the three secrets behind his success in Kenya’s cutthroat music industry.
“There are three things I always tell young artistes, even when I am mentoring them: There is talent, discipline and strategy. I always say that sometimes a person is strong in some parts, and weaker in others because people are different.There are people who are talented, but they are not disciplined, others are talented and disciplined but do not have a strategy. Maybe you are talented in voice but you do not know how to put those words well, then just get a writer to write for you.”
Adding, “Strengthen that part you are good at. Subconsciously, initially I always tried and strengthened my weak points, but now when I sit down I realise they just revolve in those three angles.
“In the creative art there is a time that you can be in the mood to create and there are other times you are out of the mood completely. It is not coming at that point you want it to come.
“At that time what do you do because you have to work? So you need to get some support at that situation, even myself I open myself to writers, I have always written my music, my own work. The first song I was helped in writing was Butterfly, which was in Luganda, so I needed to get some assistance in that and I told someone this is what I want, so they did it for me.”
Nameless concluded, “Those three points are what have guided my career over time, every time I am weak, I find a way to strengthen it so that it is a full package.
“I think I am very strategic [have been] ever since I was young. If you want to work on strategy learn how to play chess. Even as kids, I try to get Tomiso to play chess because it helps your mind to be strategic. I try to keep my writing simple, I learnt that in university, that is few words but strong.”
