A sit down with musician Collins Mutindi

Collins Mutindi, 36, is an all-rounded award-winning creative. He proudly wears the hat of a musician, record producer, video director and deejay. He talks with Mwangi Alberto about his abilities, challenges and triumphs

Just who is Collins?

I am a happy, loving and caring husband to Jane for 15 years now, a father to a boy, 13, and a girl, six. Besides being an accomplished DJ, director and producer, I also have abilities to draw and scriptwriting; it is the little I can count on my table.

How did you discover your interest in music and what inspired it?

Growing up, there was always music playing somewhere in the house and I don’t mean just the radio. My parents had an extensive music collection and a pretty decent sound system. So, there was always something playing somewhere and they have a true music appreciation and would listen. They inspired my music interests by exposing me to “the good stuff” very early on. I would receive hand-me-down cassettes from my folks, but gravitated and eventually fell in love with the beats at eight years of age and happened to join Kenya Mass Choir while at Class Four.

You managed to turn a new leaf in your life by quitting drugs. How did you find yourself in the vice?

I had issues with depression and anxiety since childhood because I was expected to deliver good results at school and at the same time be the best act in the school band and drama club. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the words to express what I was feeling. At age 11, I took my first alcoholic drink and that was where my substance addiction could have led me to jail or death. Some of the friends I roamed up with ended up in prison, while others were killed. I was a fairly bright and talented boy, but started involving myself in petty crimes such as stealing from my classmates and teachers. Truancy and barely into adolescence I already knew how to chimney cigarettes and bhang smoke out of my nose. Before I knew it, I had become a serious addict, which led me in and out of police cells countless times and at some point ‘mob justice’ for mistaken identity.

What convinced you that you could quit the habit and how was the journey to recovery?

My habit had gotten so bad that I was struggling to afford the drugs I was using. That’s when I was introduced to Tap tap. For a fraction of what I was paying for illegally purchased prescription pills, I could buy a bundle of Tap-tap and eliminate the withdrawal symptoms. Like everything else, the amount I needed to achieve the same results increased. I finally reached a point where I was unable to afford it. I had to find strategies to finance this lifestyle and were not straight ones. I vandalised property mainly steel, copper and aluminium, which I would sell and use the money earned to buy bhang, cigarettes, miraa, kuber and chang’aa. At some point, my parents came to my aid and took me with them upcountry where they had relocated for retirement. It is through their counselling and prayers that helped shape me back to my senses and at the same time I had an eye for some girl who helped me turn back to cleanliness, detoxed and cleansed and I gradually overcame the addiction. I didn’t want to and I feared being taken to a rehab centre. But back home, my parents’ eyes were always on me and my moves. My dad taught me how to earn straight and clean using different strategies at the farm. He taught me about time, discipline and never taking blame after a failure, but learning the lesson and moving on. It helped.

How did you get into music?

Mingi Mingi was my first song to record and direct in 2018. I remember coming back to the city as a changed young man. I wanted to play safe and earn clean as advised by my dad. So, I happened to secure a gig at Island Club in Westlands as their resident DJ every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Over time I acquired a fan base and I would get complimentary for all the clubs in Westlands and also got a chance to curtain raise for established DJs. It is at Club Changez where my interest in music took a new twist after I mingled and chatted with Diamond Platnumz, who encouraged me to follow my dreams. I took a step and visited several studios in the city and met Magix Enga when he had just arrived from Nakuru at Simba Sounds Records in Kasarani. I shared my vision with him and with Sh20,000, he helped me produce my first song that we later re-recorded. It is at this place that I got a chance to write the video script. I wanted my video script to be different, so I started working and researching by watching many videos as I saved money to hire a camera and lighting. One night as I was coming from my gigs, I found myself in a situation at the Ambassador bus terminus. It was past midnight and risky to go home at that time because Dandora, where I lived then wasn’t a safe place to walk about at night. I chose to stay and mingle with the vendors around the bus terminus. It is then that I noticed 90 per cent of them were deaf and the only source of entertainment they had were magazines. Right there and then, I figured that I could include sign language on my video so that at least it could be consumed by them too. Little did I know I was changing the narrative in music from the traditional idea of using scantly dressed women to ‘beautify’ a music video. The video took time for it to hit, but it later blew out without too much of a hassle and I am proud of what I did.    

How has the journey been for you?

Growth is inevitable! Having been recognised by both local and international organisations for people living with disabilities, I have been mentored and involved in businesses that have not only put food on my table but mentored and sign deaf artists in my studio, challenging me to open and start projects within the studio to fit every person in my space without the strain of “you must do music”.  I have graphic designers, translators, audio/visual producers and DJs. At Mutindi Music Production, I direct, come up with ideas and help management to approve content in and out of my studio. I also am the head DJ at my deejaying academy.

What was the inspiration behind your going into music production?

As a club DJ, I felt something was lacking in our sound because then Naija music had been taken hostage in the local radio and TV scenes. Our music didn’t have value, so I championed change in a practical way than arguments. And just like that, I found myself fully into it and still championing for change.

Your plans going forward are?

I have an interest in executive fashion. Now that I have music consumable by the deaf, and working with DJs who can entertain them, my focus now is to establish an interest in fashion for the deaf. I want us to have runway deaf models and a recurring show that will grow to become an international event. With that, I will have a complete package for the deaf in arts and crafts before we venture into advertising.