Kenya’s dancehall artiste Swabri Mohammed, better known by his stage name Redsan, opened up about his family, revealing why he keeps them away from the limelight.
Redsan, who is one of the most private celebrity musicians in the country, disclosed that he has four children.
“There is one who rhymes. I tell him soma kwanza, sitaki noma. Kwanza the way the industry is hard, I tell him school first. The firstborn is turning nine, then there is a six-year-old and then a four-year-old, and the lastborn is two years. The lastborn is a boy, he pelekas me mbio. He is into TV and music, but mazee, I tell him to hold on,” Redsan told Churchill on the ‘Journey Series’ edition.
On why he keeps them away from social media, Redsan said it is to shield them from cyberbullies.
“There is so much disadvantage, especially kwanza huku East Africa, sijui ni nini mbaya. You might decide to expose your family then people compare and criticise them,” he said.
Adding: “Things like your outfit can be a topic. She [wife] always tells me to keep my family life away from social media, to post my work and nothing else. She says the family and my work should be two very different entities.”
Redsan also spoke about nearly joining the national football team Harambee Stars when he was younger.
“I was supposed to be selected for the team’s under-17 back in 2001. We were playing Coca-Cola Cup. We were 12 teams and the winning team was to be selected to join Harambee Stars but I did not advance, I had an injury. The other boys moved to the next stage. Some still play until now. I was a striker playing number nine. Right now I would have been a footballer and a musician. The likes of Dennis Oliech, Mariga know me,” the musician said.
The hitmaker also explained how he got his stage name.
“Redsan was our football team in Parkview Academy. I was the captain but when the team parted ways, I decided to hold the name. My first time to hold a mic at F2, DJ Mdosi asked for my stage name, I said Redsan and the name stuck.”
