Early life

Mutuku was born in Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

 in 1978, the firstborn with three brothers to Mr. and Mrs. Mutuku. She grew up in the Eastlands, a densely populated area in Nairobi inhabited by generally low income residents, and from a very young age was exposed to a diverse range of music styles including R&B, Reggae, Rap, Benga, Lingala and other African blends of music.

She learnt to sing and play the piano, and started performing early in life at family gatherings before graduating to singing in Sunday School class in a neighborhood church and later with the church choir. Mutuku considered pursuing a singing career during high school, where she was an active member of the Drama Club and Choir mistress for the school choir.

She is fluent in Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...

, English, Kamba

Kikamba language

The Kamba language, or Kikamba, is a Bantu language spoken by the Kamba people of Kenya. It is spoken by 5,000 people in Tanzania .The Kamba language has lexical similarities to other Bantu languages such as Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu....

 (her mother-tongue) and Sheng

Sheng (linguistics)

Sheng is a Swahili-based patois or slang-based language, originating in Nairobi, Kenya, and influenced by the many languages spoken there. The word is coined from the two words - wahili and lish....

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Music career

Henrie started working in music with local Christian artists like Izzo and Pete Odera as a background vocalist. She later featured predominantly in a 2002 compilation album ‘Rebirth’ produced by Soul Child Inc. Her career was catapulted after duel winning the KORA 2002 Best Artiste East Africa.

Mutuku's debut album was “Simama” (Stand) which has gone on to contribute hit songs like “Usichoke” (featuring Roughtone and R.K) and “Manzi wa Maana" (featuring K.J. of Redykulass-a Kenyan comedy troupe). She has also featured prominently in popular music countdown radio shows like Kiss 100’s “Smirnoff Top 7 songs in Nairobi”, East Africa FM Radio’s ‘Link’ and Kampala FM as voted by listeners.

Mutuku has curtain raised for Bebo Norman

Bebo Norman

Jeffrey Stephen "Bebo" Norman is a contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, USA. His most successful album to date is Myself When I Am Real, which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Falling Down". Other popular songs by Norman include "Disappear", "Nothing Without...

 at two concerts, allowing her to make her first music video, “Nakuhitaji” (I Need you), created by the local Family T.V. for the promotion of the Bebo Norman Tour. She very recently recorded yet another music video for the song “Amini” (Believe), a feature in her album ‘Simama’.

In 2003 she won 2 Kisima awards for Best Female Artiste and Best Contemporary Gospel Artiste. She was also nominated for a Kora Award in 2003.

Mutuku actively participates in fundraising and awareness activities for HIV/AIDS prevention, AIDS orphans and patients, the Protecting Life Movement in Kenya and Bible translation and literacy.