When you see Avril Nyambura, the cliché 'aging like fine wine' comes to mind. She still loves music, but she wouldn't describe it as her 'heartbeat'.
I recently asked ChatGPT to roast me, and it told me, “I collect careers like infinity rings of the Justice League [sic].” And I kept thinking, what are we here for, if not to collect them as much as you want to. Life is for the living.
I am now into entrepreneurship, and what I have learnt is that not every business is supposed to last a lifetime. So, there are some careers that do not need to last a lifetime. Do things and move on.
I started my music career when I was in my second year at the University of Nairobi and I was making a lot of money. Being a firstborn, I wanted to help back home because I could, not because it was demanded of me. If anything, I was young, making all this money. I never saw it as a black tax.
But my late father, who passed on in 2016, wasn't happy when I chose music as a career path. He thought I could do better. I had to do a whole music presentation for him to help him understand where I was going with this. I won him over, and he actually attended my show.
He was an entrepreneur, and I guess that’s where I get it from.
He would come to the show to look for money opportunities. I remember one time he asked me how much those speakers at the show cost. And asked what if we get them and start hiring them out.
Judith Nyambura, better known as Avril, has been a prominent figure in the music industry for nearly 20 years.
Photo credit: Pool
If there is one trait I picked from my parents, it is valuing education. You don't have to get a job in what you studied.
Education opens your mind to the world of possibilities. I graduated 16 years ago from the University of Nairobi with a degree in product design. I only began applying that knowledge this year.
But have I been using the wealth and knowledge of those studies? Yes, I have. The social connections, the execution of ideas across different fields, and that is what school is for. To make you think beyond what you know.
I think we tend to box ourselves too much. Just because you went to medical school and passed doesn’t mean you have to be a doctor.
I have never had FOMO. I have no fear whatsoever of missing out. When everyone is going this direction, I would go the other way because I can control a lot of the elements.
Lately, I am being called ‘Sasa Ma’am’ by some random young guys, and I am like, ‘Jamani, when did I get here?’ But well, I guess it's life.
