EXCLUSIVE: TikTok stars Vijana Baru Baru open up on pain, love and heartbreak
Though their love song has become the latest internet sensation, Tutu Kantu and Mwana wa Wambui aka Vijana Barubaru have had their share of Nairobi relationships.
The Sasa Hivi hit makers share their dose of character development in Nairobi through unpredictable relationships.
For Tutu the worst heartbreak he ever experienced was unrequited love with his then-lover.
Although he moved on, the melodious artiste shares, “Ni utoto tu ilikuwa inatusumbua, looking at it from where I am sitting at currently, but then the pain was as real as it could be.
I fell in love with this lady, but she only viewed me as a friend. I tried moving on and blocking her everywhere, but I had memorised her number, and knew where she lived, and it took some time to heal.
Additionally, she had this cologne. I remember her to date. I smell it in the streets of Nairobi, and sometimes I flashback.”
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On the other hand, Mwana wa Wambui, the last born in a family of two children, brags that he only gets his heart broken in the process of heartbreaking his lovers.
“You see you can end a relationship but it comes to haunt you. The worst heartbreak I experienced was in 2019. I cheated on my then lover and when we parted ways, I realised her worth.”
Tuku admits that he started writing about love when he was in high school, and there was a student (Stella) he had a crush on, so much so that he wrote a love letter to her.
“I loved English and still do. So I wrote to her a letter with a dictionary and used very expressive words like voluptuous. However, when the letter was getting to her school, she had already been transferred to another school and the love ended there.”
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For Mwana wa Wambui, love letter writing was a booming business for him.
“I was not a good person. Anytime I would see that your girlfriend was pretty, I would approach her and tell her that I personally wrote the love letter.
On the other hand, Mwana wa Wambui shares that through love for writing in high school stemmed from his love for music
However, after their song went viral, Tutu revealed that they had been able to bag some partnership and ambassadorial deals, scooped some shows, and have also done custom dedication songs.
“Ladies have shown their love in excess via my direct message,” he adds.
The reception of their song to the immediate family, Mwana wa Wambui, says, “My mother did not know that I had a song that was trending in Kenya at all. Though she has always known that I am an artiste and prays for me, she does not know any song that I have sung reason being I am not singing gospel,” he begins.
“But when she saw me taking a flight, she called me and enquired about the song that we did. Upon sending, she loved the song but complained because of my ear piercing. But generally, it was bittersweet.”
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Their passion for music began long ago, with Tuku saying that his mother used to sing songs when doing chores while his father listened to Lucky Dube’s jams.
“Additionally, mother used to write songs for my brother and me, so that’s where my love for music began.”
The 28-year-old songwriter added, “My mother has been a fan ever since, and she was happy for me when the song was a hit.”
Mwana wa Wambui spoke about a childhood memory that he recalls.
“When I was young, around class six-seven, we were living in Huruma, so there was this mad man who had covered himself with a mattress and he was dancing while walking. So passing him, I shouted calling him Michael Jackson. This man raced after me and I swiftly ran screaming and I was saved by a women who was nearby.”
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Tuku on the other hand, recalls that he was a thief when he was a child, and there is this day when he stole Sh69 from a shopkeeper.
“A mob came to where I was and the rather unfortunate thing was that my classmate was insisting that the irate crowd should beat me up. My big brother who had been sent to another shop, saw the mob and curiously wanted to know what was going on. Upon seeing me, he rushed home and told our parents who came to my rescue.”
However, Tuku, the second born in a family of four children, adds that though he was saved from the mob and his father paid up the dues, he received a thorough beating at home.
“Lights went out when I was being canned and I thought the beating was over with but a lamp was lit and the discipline continued,” he recalls.
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