Sauti Sol’s Willis Chimano says he realised he was different in his teens.
In an interview with Wabosha Maxine on her podcast series, ‘Letter to my younger self’, Chimano opened up about his love life saying his first crush was different.
“It was different because I was different. I will keep it at that. What I liked was not necessarily what most people liked. As a teenager that is when I realised that and I said ‘cool’,” he said.
Chimano also said he had a difficult childhood growing up as an introvert.
“I was not as playful or as talkative as the other kids on the playground. To an extent, my folks were over-protective of me. I was very polite. I used to love seating and reading. I had a drawing book where I would draw houses I wanted to live in,” he said.
“I was such a mama’s boy. Sometimes I think of my childhood and it wasn’t very interesting. I hated sports. I tried in Kakamega High, they had introduced softball and trying to be a boy I tried to play but it didn’t make it any better. This is not me. It didn’t make it any better.”
When asked what advice he would give someone in his situation. Chimano said:
“You are amazing and that there is nothing wrong with you. If anyone tells you otherwise, you tell them that that is a ‘they problem’ and not a ‘you problem’. You will go through emotional turmoil,” he said.
“It isn’t world war three. People will say a lot of things but stand your ground and be happy. You’re going to be okay. Also, be careful. We are still in a place where such support can be far and far between.”
Chimano added that one needs to lead by being amazing at what they do.
“You almost don’t have a space to fail. Let your feelings flow. Aim for excellence for even your peace of mind. You fight with so much of what society is. Even how do you talk, how do you? It’s such an ongoing fight. People don’t let people be. Opinions evolve over time in society.”
