Ngwatilo: To hold on to
She grew up singing in church in Nairobi, Kenya, but it was while at university that Ngwatilo’s relationship with music took a definitive turn. She embarked on a quest for self that took her to Johannesburg, South Africa to study the role of Kwaito music in shaping post-apartheid urban youth identity. There Ngwatilo found the stuff of poems spewing out of impassioned exchanges with friends, thick in the air at a particular Jozi reading, and alone with her on the road between Venda and Johannesburg. There was little to do but hold on.
She’s since lived in London and New York City, primarily engaging in the ways folk make jazz and poetry. In Kenya Ngwatilo found a valued mentor in Eric Wainaina, and is currently digging closer to her roots, seeking the wisdom only family and community can teach a person.
Ngwatilo is a smoldering star you will hurtle past. Stop and listen, or pass this way often. Her voice is gentle and bold, her words thoughtfully disarming. She would cut through to the core of your mind and heart and deposit love there.
