Even before launching her music career in 2019 with her debut song Radio , singer Tanasha Donna knew that she would have to work twice as hard to break through the male-dominated industry.
And luckily for her, barely three years in, she has grown her brand to become one of the most sought-after young female artistes in Kenya.
Releasing hit after hit and living a life close to that of a recluse, evading the media at every turn, has created some sort of mystery around her.
“A lot of people think that I got it easy, that I have not put a lot of energy and time into my work, because of what they see on social media,” she said.
“Social media and reality are two different things. Just because I do not post the behind-the-scenes of the hard work it takes does not mean that there is no work.”
She said avoiding media interviews had prompted people to make assumptions about her. She took time off, she said, “to rediscover my sound and myself” and the break helped her creativity.
Life as she used to know it changed at the speed of lightning. Overnight, she transitioned from just a presenter on NRG radio to a music sensation.
“This is the most difficult industry I have had to work in, regardless of the fact that music has always been in me,” she said.
“I grew up in a family that loved to listen to music. I remember one time my cousins and I were in a living room and started acting like we were performing on stage.”
She said that sometimes she wished she had studied music in high school and university to perfect her craft “but experience is the best teacher and I have been learning and growing”.
For instance, she has had to change her sound. Initially, it used to be a combination of bongo and Afropop, which she said was not her true identity.
“I had to create a whole new body of music because I felt my initial sound was not really me. My sound right now is more Afrosoul or Afrofusion, basically music that touches the soul,” she remarked.
Kenyan artiste Tanasha Donna.
Photo credit: Pool
Her second song, La Vie , released in January 2020, immediately became a hit, earning more than 11 million views on YouTube. She featured Tanzanian singer Mbwana Yusuf Kilungi, or Mbosso.
“When I look back at my first songs, for example, ‘Radio’, I don’t really like it anymore, maybe because of my growth from then to now. But I do love ‘La Vie’,” she said.
“It was a beautiful project, and honestly speaking I did not expect it to do so well because I didn't even do much to promote that song. And this is a song that has no beats, just strictly keys.”
In August, she became the third Kenyan artiste to be featured on the digital screens in Times Square, New York, in the United States. Her appearance on the billboard was to advertise the release of her new song “Complicationship”, featuring Bad Boy Timz.
So did she have a strategy? “Honestly, in the beginning I did not have a strategy. I just decided that it was time for me to get into a studio and record music and see how people would receive it,” she said.
Relationship with Diamond
“My first song is actually not Radio but one called Ex Anaiva , where I featured Nviiri the storyteller. But like I said as I have grown I have put into place things that I want for myself and my brand.”
It is not just her music that has drawn the interest of Kenyans. Her widely publicised relationship with Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz became fodder for gossip mills.
Tanasha and Diamond dated for one year and even collaborated on the song Gere . They also have a son, Naseeb Junior.
“I have gone through a lot of positives and negatives. I have been able to inspire people through my music. The negatives, I would say, are not knowing who to trust, having critics who see fake news about me and believe it,” she said.
“Throughout my career I have had fears, especially the fear of failure, but I believe success in failing again and again. But I have learnt not to compare myself to anyone else and just trust the process,” she said.
She said now she has a better understanding of the industry and the business aspect of it, and she said she is ready to take over the world.
