I found about Barbara Olesi last year when I did a review of her song, Niokoe. She is back with a new song, Njoo Ulivyo which was released last month. This is her fourth song off her upcoming album. Barbara is a fast-growing artiste whose album I cannot wait to get my hands on. She is a gospel artist whose main aim is to minister to souls through her God given gift of music. Pearls And Heels: Barbara Olesi
Njoo Ulivyo is a rhythmic and warm song that will resonate with anyone who listens to it. The audio was produced by Ben Gittx of Rhyme X Music. Gittx has worked with artists such as Juliani, Nasara, Bire the Vocalist, Kris Eh Baba just to mention. The song starts slowly with keys and a whistle-ish sound before the first verse. Here, you have to fight the urge to at least snap your fingers or tap your feet politely. The chorus sets in with Barbara harmonizing wonderfully before the drums and the whistle-ish sound set in to usher the second verse. From there, it is difficult not to fall in love with the song.
Njoo Ulivyo was inspired by Kirk Franklin’s Brokenhearted. “Brokenhearted is the song that made me get saved,” Barbara says. “I decided to do my own version in Swahili so I can minister to people closer home as well.” The song is about the love of God which does not choose, and that He saves many. It talks about how Christ requires us to go to Him as we are without fear.
The video was shot in a park in Nairobi. It is a simple video that shows the love of God through nature. We also get to see a duck protecting its duckling in a bid to show how God protects us. The video was directed by Joe Isaac Nduati of Crème Vision. Crème Vision has worked with other artists such as Danny Gift (in Nitakase), Jimmy Gait (in Today), Esther Wahome (in Nyakua) just to mention. Gittx, who helped in the video says, “Once we agreed on the concept, we shot the video a week later. The shoot took about five hours.”
Gittx speaks highly of Barbara and of the vocal growth that she has gone through and it is evident when you listen to Njoo Ulivyo. “When you look at how she put everything, you get encouraged to put everything as well,” Gittx says of Barbara. We can only hope that she will get even better to wet our appetite.
Barbara says final touches are being done to her debut album which will be released in the next month or two. She has already started planning for her second album with a song off it scheduled to be released next month. I would love to see her do collaborations and/ or duets with other established artists so as to bring out variety and a different touch in her songs. For now, let us wait for the album!
