Musician Nyamari Ongegu, popularly known by his stage name Nyashinski, has revealed how harsh life in the US was for him and his family forcing him to become a truck driver to eke a living. 

Nyashinski’s family moved to Delaware in the USA in the early 2000s when he was only aged 21 and his popularity was through the roof as he was part of the then hit making group Kleptomaniacs. 

But the land of opportunities had other things in mind for the young rapper forcing to quit the music industry that he loved passionately and find a job as a truck driver to be able to survive the hard life. 

“When we moved abroad, I had completely quit music. I was working back in the States as a truck driver. I used to drive a lorry, trying to survive,” Nyash revealed to Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja during an interview on his Youtube Channel. 

Driving Trucks 

Read More

  1. Nyashinski ordered to produce Tecno deal in copyright fallout with producer
  2. TECNO Camon 20 Series: 'Video Master' specifications, price, availability in Kenya
  3. TECNO unveils Nyashinski as its brand ambassador for new CAMON 20 Series

The Malaika hitmaker painfully narrated how he would drive the trucks for long hours and also how it was tough for his young self to adapt to the quick switch of environment from Kenya. 

“I had started wearing out. It is a lonely existence because you are on the road for weeks on end. Just you, the truck and the long road ahead. Relationships breakdown, your health suffers too, he said. 

He added: “I knew many older drivers whose marriages had broken down due to the work. Also I know I worried my parents a lot. They didn’t know where I was sleeping, they were scared of me getting an accident.” 

Nyashinski confessed to Sakaja that his tribulations forced him to rethink his life choices and he missed Kenya greatly, especially the social life and successful music career he enjoyed before then. 

“Two things that were life-changing for me back then was one, when I was here, I was a star. People recognised me everywhere and we were doing what we loved. I moved from a place where I was known and getting a bit of favours to a place where no one knows me. No special treatment and you must work because you have to eat,” he narrated. 

Back To Studio 

It took the nudge of a friend who noticed he had a passion for music to get him back to the studio and that is where sweet home Kenya started to call him by name. 

“My friend told me to just go in the studio and exert that pressure as a lyricist. I did not have to release the songs. But I found myself listening to a beat, creating a song and then wanting to perfect it, and then I wanted people to listen. That is how I found myself back into the music world and came back home,” he said nostalgically. 

Nyashinski took a flight back to Kenya in 2016 and soon after released the solo his first solo song to rejig his career and this announced his major comeback to the Kenya music scene. 

‘Now You Know’ was a mega hit and he followed up with Malaika, Bebi Bebi, Mungu Pekee and Hello among other bangers that saw him solidify his unique position at the top of the industry.