Naomi Wachira Interview | Kenyan-American Singer + Songwriter

naomi wachira kenyan american
Photo credit: Bryan Tucker

• “I knew exactly what I was supposed to be...” 

- Naomi on knowing her calling at age 5

Naomi Wachira was born and raised in Kijabe* Mission Station. At the time, the small town was anchored by a bible college, a hospital and a printing press, which were owned by the African Inland Church. Naomi’s parents would cross paths at the college, later marry and settle down in the secluded town.

*Kijabe is a Maasai name meaning “place of wind” and was one of the areas missionaries settled in the 1800s.

Professionally, Mr. Wachira started as a janitor at the printing press and worked his way up to the Executive Director. Additionally, he became a pastor and positioned the church as a primary fixture at home. Mrs. Wachira owned a sizeable bookstore in a nearby town, and simultaneously tended to the family’s farm. 

The traveling family band

Naomi (center) at age 5 with family band

At 5 years old, Naomi joined her family’s band that had been on the road before she was even born. The group toured around the country, to different homes and churches, singing and evangelizing. Etched in Naomi’s memory – a polyester purple dress that made her feel like a princess, while providing assurance that she was destined to be a performer. “Every time I look at that picture: OMG! I knew exactly what I was supposed to be…I couldn’t articulate it then, but it was just this peace that transcended anything and everyone around me.”

Intro to songwriting

The daughter of a pastor and a mini-sized member of a gospel band, Naomi grew up as a super serious Christian. And as the Wachira’s rose to upper-middle class, life became increasingly predictable.

In 5th grade (at 10 years old), Naomi was fortunate enough to attend boarding school. Eight hours away from home, she learned to survive independent from her parents for two years. By 8th grade, she returned to Kijabe and entered the public school system, as well as a limited social circle.

“It was awful…They’d say stuff like: ‘You think you’re better than us!’ Which that’s not how I saw myself. Having to go to boarding school made them ostracize me even more. When I came back for holidays, besides my siblings [a younger brother and sister] and very small group of family friends, nobody really liked me that much.”

During her freshman year of high school, Naomi recalls 'thinking she was going crazy' the first time she heard a melody running in her head. She had no idea how to bring it out until she picked up her bible and it fell open on Psalms 121. Pairing the two, she wrote her first song. Instantly, she became a singer, songwriter and Ms. Popular at school.

A terrible school year, marked by reminders of a privileged life, dissipated when she finally made a few friends.

• “I never really interacted with African-Americans before...We didn’t really study much about slavery.” 

- Naomi on life pre-America

Pre-America

“The way it was depicted, it was like the Promised Land. We had friends that left Kijabe and always sent us pictures…paved roads, clean streets. This incredible place where they have people who pick up your trash and everybody drives a car...”

A fairytale – the perfect place to attend university and to live out her dream of becoming a broadcaster.

Black in America

In 1996, at 19, Naomi arrived in the U.S. to attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

naomi wachira kenyan american
Photo credit: Janell Kallander

Her earlier years in boarding school paid off. She was able to immerse herself into a new world and figured things out as she went. The first year, she was tasked to understand the people around her: Whites and a pretty decent size of international students.

“Here they [Whites] were the predominant group. Where I came from, we [Kenyans] were the predominant group. There’s a difference. I was able to see the bigger picture...”

American culture and race quickly made a home in Naomi’s mental dictionary.

“I never really interacted with African-Americans before. It tells you a little bit about Africa, at least coming from where I come from. We didn’t really study much about slavery. To me, I had this perception that African-Americans chose to leave Africa…”

Confused on how to interact with people who looked like her, Naomi was caught in a particular identity crisis that is rarely discussed in mainstream. She fit the physical characteristics of being Black in America, but culturally, something was different.

“Coming from Kenya…I knew I could be anything, I could go anywhere. But the more I spent time in America, when you’re here it’s like: Oh, I’m Black!”

And as an immigrant from Africa, “…People have these really weird perceptions of Africans and Africa, and it’s always associated with wars, hunger, corruption. And I remember having so much shame and that’s part of why I assimilated so quickly to American life.”

At 23, Naomi would go on to graduate with a degree in communications and immediately started working for Moody Bible Institute for the next seven years.

The guitar

“I hadn’t really been writing since high school and I started getting this urge to write music again…I started listening to the famous singer Patty Griffin and just loved how she played guitar…I had a few friends that taught me how to play a few chords. Then I started writing again and that pushed me to keep getting better at it.”

No formal training. Just Naomi, her friends, YouTube, and a year-and-a-half is all it took. At 27, she was confident enough to sing and play guitar in front of people.

naomi wachira kenyan american
Photo credit: Bryan Tucker

Who am I? What am I doing here?

Towards the end of her years in Chicago, Naomi was really conflicted about herself as a person and about her faith. During this discourse, one of her friends that had moved to Seattle to attend seminary a few years earlier reached out to Naomi.

“My initial thought was that it was going to be more for my own personal development. Not that I was going to work in a church. I just wanted to understand what is this faith. I actually believe in God, but there was so much about what I experienced and understood about the church that I didn’t really like. So this was my way of figuring things out...”

At 30, Naomi moved to Washington to start her master’s program at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology.

The longer she lived in America, the more Naomi wrestled with how people perceived Africans and Africa. A class simply called “Multiculturalism” changed all of that. “I remember having to write a poem called ‘Where You’re From’ and realizing that I really come from a really beautiful place, with a beautiful culture, people and beliefs. That became the beginning journey of: This is where I was meant to be born. This is my heritage. This is my power, my foundation, my everything…I have to own all of it. The good, the bad.” This yearning for Africa eventually came through her debut song “Africa Rise Up” (2011) and first EP “African Girl” (2012).

And to add, Naomi realized that the only way happiness would occur would be to learn how to melt her Kenyan and Black American identities – not denying one or accepting one as better than the other. “They are all important parts of who I am.”

A new mom-to-be

In 2009, her final two semesters in graduate school, and a decade after her last travel home, Naomi decided to visit her family in Kijabe. She wouldn’t be going with an empty hand…or stomach in this case.

The culture shamed women who got pregnant out of wedlock, so she expected a sense of disappointment from her parents. She was prepared to face her family head-on, but ended up surprised because they were not bothered at all. They said, “You’re an adult now. We’re going to support you in anyway that we can.” What a relief!

In 2010, she graduated with her Master of Arts in Theology and Culture, and had a new daughter, Aiyana. And the following year, Naomi started two full-time jobs: working at a non-profit while pursuing her music career.

I’m going to need help with this was Naomi’s thought. Her father passed away in 2013 and olive branches sprouted – her mom stepped in to help and gained another heart to love. From age two until six, Aiyana lived with her grandmother in Kenya and got a chance to experience the other side of her Kenyan-American coin.

naomi and aiyana
Aiyana (age 7) and Naomi / Photo credit: Stanton J. Stephens

 “I’m finally really comfortable in having my own skin, having my own story, and where I come from. I can hold all of it.” 

- Naomi today

Afro-folk, full-time

Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, and South African singer Miriam Makeba (nicknamed Mama Africa) sits on the highest thrown as Naomi’s influencers.

And it was through Tracy Chapman that Naomi realized that she could create her own style of music rather than conforming to a pre-existing genre. She decided on Afro-folk and created a place for herself in the music industry.

Naomi knew that music was her calling. So in the summer of 2011, she decided to go all in. Starting with performing at open mics, her music caught on and invites to do shows started popping up within six months.

Since then, she’s been going strong for the past 6+ years. In 2014, she dropped her critically acclaimed album “Naomi Wachira,” and is now set to release her sophomore album “Song of Lament” (June 2nd, 2017).

“This album fits with everything that’s happening, and not just in America…I don’t care what country you go to. I don’t care what person’s belief system is. People want to be loved, respected, and have purpose…In “Song of Lament,” yes it’s a mournful album, but I think it also highlights this need for us to humanize each other.”

Song of Lament Album Cover

In your 2012 song “African Girl” you say: “I can hear them whispering…when you go to their land, please represent us well.” Do you think you have represented Kenya and your family well?

“I’m writing music that I know will serve other people, not just me…to enlighten people, inspire people, give people courage to show up in their lives; to honor their culture and be who they were meant to be…I feel like I have represented my family, culture, and people in a good way.”

Who you were when you first landed in America up to today, what change have you noticed?

“The biggest change – I don’t feel the need to deny myself who I am for the sake of fitting in. I’m finally really comfortable in having my own skin, having my own story, and where I come from. I can hold all of it.”

What advice would you give to anyone who may be struggling with their cultural identity?

“Learn how to honor whatever place you are in life. Sometimes we feel conflict and try to resist it. The more you resist that conflict, the more you give it power. Sift whatever the tensions are and allow it to move away from you.

And I’m a big believer in intuition. Listen to what that voice is telling you inside. Follow that voice. It’s there for a purpose.”

• •

- Naomi Wachira’s new album “Song of Lament” is available for pre-order HERE

- For the latest information, including upcoming tour dates and locations, visit naomiwachira.com or follow Naomi on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @imanafricangirl