If  you haven’t seen Cess Blessings, maybe you have heard her voice. She is one of the upcoming talented gospel artistes whose songs have been hitting our airwaves lately.

She is also a model and the current brand ambassador for Jambo Mall Kenya.

The eight-year-old artiste started her music career early last year (2020) immediately after schools closed following Covid-19 pandemic.

However, according to her parents Benard Maina and Ann Ndei, they realised that she was musically talented way before, especially since she used to take so long when showering, completely  lost in her singing.

Besides, during church services, she would easily sing along in the praise and worship session.

To ensure this talent didn’t go to waste, they engaged her school music teacher who has been mentoring her.

Later, the teacher took her to studio where she interacted with other singing children and ended up recording her first song, Angaza in April 2020.

“So far, she has three songs to her name; Angaza, Mungu Atupenda, and Christmas Time featuring Joy and Judy.

She is working on three other songs to complete her first album. Her songs are influenced by what she interacts with daily; then her management team guides her on how to go about writing them,” says her mother.  

To ensure that she is able to balance school, music, and modelling, Ann makes sure Cess concentrate on her school work during week days.

During the weekends and holidays, she is allowed to work on her creative side.

However, with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) learning system, she is also part of the school team that does musical sets.

About modelling, when called upon, they agree on workable timeframes to get the job done.

“Learning is important to the overall wellbeing of a talented child. That is why we always strive to balance her academic activities with social ones.

The balance ensures she develops not only mentally but also socially,” she says.

So how does she handle all the attention that come with being in the limelight at her young age?

Ann says Cess is open and usually shares about all her experiences. If the parents realise  she is getting carried away or under any pressure, they discuss it.

Besides that, they always remind her that her talent is not about her, but a way to serve God and humanity.

“Godliness, humility, integrity and to impact the society positively are the values we are trying to instill in her as she grows.

We believe that values provide guidance, clarity, and impact relationships,” Ann says.

Moulding an all-rounded child

Since Cess’s father is her manager, Ann reveals that she doesn’t receive any special treatment from him because if they allow it to get into her mind that she is special, it might get into her head and  ruin her future.

“He always creates equal opportunities for all talented children that he manages under his company Kingbiz Inc.

Their approach and zeal determine how he will guide each one of them,” she reveals.

To ensure Cess manages her finances well, they have come up with a savings account for her and a part of the money goes to taking care of her creative side.

Being a sort of celebrity has impacted on her young life positively. With other children now looking up to her, Cess’s confidence has grown even in school. She has also interacted with people who she would not have met.

For Ann and Bernard, their parenting journey has been an amazing one and normal like for any other child.

They have created platforms for her, which they have ensured are consistent.

They have also been linking her with other gifted singers that challenge her, and ensure she does a lot of practice and most importantly, she keeps praying and reading the Bible.

Their joy comes when they see her thinking outside the box artistically and coming up with her own ideas.

Watching her perform confidently in front of people and the fulfillment she gets after seeing her talent being appreciated has been amazing. 

However, one of the main challenges they face as her parents is trying to control the excitement and making her know that she is also expected to perform well academically.

Secondly, is having to highlight some areas where she should improve while on the other side people are complimenting her.

“We believe that in the next few years, she should have released several albums, thus impacting other children in the society.

We see her becoming a great musician, who will not only be recognised locally, but also internationally,” she says.

Their advice to other parents who have talented children is that they should always give the children a chance to grow their talent.

This is because we are living in a time when CBC is being encouraged in our learning system, thus allowing children to pursue that what gives them fulfillment.

Apart from that, talents are paying off locally and internationally and not everyone ends up working in the office.

“Always observe your child, learn what they love doing; if it’s something positive encourage and facilitate it for you never know who they might become,” she says in ending.