He is fresh, he is extraordinary and he is good, very good. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing one the newest acts in the local Gospel scene, Eko Dydda. An artiste, artist and poet, his is a world of art which he has embraced, nurtured and altered to bring a whole new meaning to the way it’s done.

Known for the hit collaboration with Holy Dave, Niko Na Reason, Eko is a grateful man - in fact, the song is a thanksgiving jam whose intention was to give glory to God for His goodness. Born 23 years ago, he has seen and lived it all, growing in some of Eastland’s biggest slums including Mathare, Kariobangi and Huruma. Raised in a family of three brothers and one sister, his ride to the top of the charts has been quite eventful.

Although he started tinkering with music while still in high school, it wasn’t until much later that he paid it any considerable attention. As one of the praise and worship leaders in church, he never thought he would become a rapper, only seeing himself singing as far as music was concerned. That was to change after he went to live with his older brother who was a Hip Hop head and budding producer.

Eko credits his turn to hip-hop to a somewhat intriguing story: a ‘spiritual’ friend in his former school, Eastleigh High, kept bugging him to seek God as he insisted Eko had something more to his purpose than just singing. He once woke up in the middle of the night only to hear tunes that sounded like beats ringing in his head. He was quite frustrated for this is not what he wanted; he had hoped God would give him a crystal clear answer about his calling. In fact, he found himself bickering to God telling Him to give the beats to his aspiring producer brother. Nevertheless, he asked God to give him words and was surprised when they came out as rhyme.

That was the beginning of the rap journey. But there’s more – on presenting himself to his brother, he was challenged afresh. His brother told him point-blank that his style was not original but facsimile of others. He challenged him to come up with a style that would make him unique, set apart from your average everyday rapper. That’s when Eko had the brainwave that gave him his own unique delivery.

In dabbling with different approaches, he wondered what would happen if he gave his rhymes to a stammering friend of his. Intrigued by the thought, he put the stutter in his rhymes, dragging out some words and finishing them with a stammer. The result was pure genius that even his producer brother recognized. Now that he had found his niche, there was no looking back, even crafting a dancing style to go with it which he would later call ‘stagger’

He credits crunk-head Holy Dave who he met at the monthly Mad Love Lounge through Rachel, for giving him a chance to perform at the event, opening more doors for him. It got better for, at the event, he also met Jeffro who squeezed him into the programme of another bigger event, Wapi? where he got an eager audience that seemed to appreciate his fresh approach to the performing arts.

Eko points out that his biggest break was when Holy Dave gave him an opportunity for a collabo. Although it seemed he’d said it as a joke, Dydda followed him up reminding of the issue. To him, it was a chance to  finally do a song with an established artiste who he really admired and looked up to.  Thus Niko na Reason was born.

When the song hit the airwaves, it was nothing but magic; breaking from the confines of gospel charts to topple even secular jams. Eko is full of praise to God for the success the jam has had, giving him a chance to reach out to others through his unique style of hip-hop.

And what about his name, why Eko Dydda? Well, he explains to us that Eko is an acronym of his real names (which he insists on keeping hidden) and Dydda is opposite of Daddy, a nick name he was given when he was in Mathare Youth Sporting Academy-MYSA, where he once played football. In fact if it was not for music, he would be probably playing professional football, another of his gift.

His other collaborations include Sunday with Saint P and Michelle as well as Christlike with Jeffro and H3. His parting shot?

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