Mercy Masika

She released her debut album at twelve years of age, and had formed a music group at thirteen. Her sophomore album followed in form one, and she was appointed choir director for Machakos Girls High School. Disarmingly shy and soft-spoken but powerfully gifted vocally, Mercy Masika is no ordinary lady.

Mercy speaks of her gift matter-of-factly, pointing out that she has always known that God called her to be a singer. She credits her early interest in music to her parents, especially her mother, Agnes Masika, herself a singer. Agnes was the face of that KBC programme of yore, Sing And Shine. Through this involvement, Mercy and her siblings were introduced early to shows like Joy Bringers, where they performed severally.

It was therefore no surprise when in class 6, Mercy insisted on producing her first album. Titled Nobody Like Jesus, it featured her mother and Hellen Mtawale. Driven by this feat, Mercy went ahead to form a singing group the next year, and with it came a platform for preaching and presenting her singing talent to the world around her. This would continue into high school, and culminate with the release of her second record, Roses Will Bloom Again. This one featured and was produced by Reuben Kigame.

But it was not until she joined Daystar University in 2002 that her gift as a worship artist really began to grow, buttressed by the abundance of opportunity and talent in the school. This year saw her meet up with producer Robert "R Kay" Kamanzi for the production of the album that propelled her to national limelight, Wendo Waku. Done largely in Swahili and her native Kamba, the album was quite a challenge for Mercy.