“I’ve just come back from rehearsal,” Bien-Aimé Baraza says to me from his home in Nairobi. He’s seated comfortably in his garden, smoking and exuding the calm confidence of an artist in his element.
“I'm always rehearsing. I don’t need a reason,” he explains when I ask him if he is preparing for a particular event. For him, it's about staying ready.
In many ways, this commitment to constant growth and reinvention encapsulates Bien’s journey from his celebrated days as the lead singer of Sauti Sol, Kenya’s most successful band to date, to his current solo career.
It was only last November when Bien, 36, took the stage for the last time with his Sauti Sol bandmates — Polycarp Otieno, Savara Mudigi and Willis Chimano. This followed the group's announcement that they would be taking an indefinite break after 17 successful years.
With five albums under their belt, Sauti Sol toured globally, topped charts, and earned nominations from the Channel O Music Video Awards to the BET Awards. They’ve shared the stage with the likes of South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and even two-stepped with former President Barack Obama during his 2015 visit to Kenya.
“I had to have the humility to start again,” Bien says. “There’s no skipping steps because you're famous from a previous band. You have to start at a certain level and work your way up.”
Photo courtesy of Bien-Aimé Baraza.
“I had to have the humility to start again,” he shares. He remembers how, in his most recent European tour, he played venues that Sauti Sol performed at early in their career. “There’s no skipping steps because you're famous from a previous band. You have to start at a certain level and work your way up.”
When asked about the state of the group, Bien assures that they’re still tight. He’d just hosted them for dinner at his home the weekend before, and he sees Chimano for dance practice almost daily.
“At the end of the day, these are literally my best friends,” he explains. “I don't have anyone else to gossip with. I don't know anyone else to talk about things happening in my life, it's them! We try very much to just be present in each other's lives.”
For many artists, the move from a band to a solo career can be daunting. For Bien, it was no different. Despite Sauti Sol's incredible success, Bien understood that a solo act would come with a new set of challenges — reintroducing himself to audiences, exploring his identity beyond the band, and creating music that represented his voice alone.
