He may be young, diminutive and somewhat shy, but don't let how Moses Omondi looks fool you. Mr. Seed, as he is popularly known in the music industry, is the new kid on the block, literally and musically. He shot to public prominence through his hit collabo with MOG, Papa God Oh and has his sights set on even bigger things. We caught up with the 16-year old singer to find out his story and how he's balancing it all.

Mwafrika.com: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us man. First off, why the name Mr. Seed?
Mr. Seed:  The name is inspired from the story of the mustard seed where Jesus says even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. It also means Setting Elshadai Exaltation Deeper.

Mwafrika.com: Tell us about your musical journey
Mr. Seed: It's been long and full of God's faithfulness. Prayer has played a big role in it because if it had not been for the prayers especially that my mother made for me, I would not be here. I come from a humble background in Huruma with one older brother and sister. Before seriously venturing into music, I was a dancer with Bone Breakers, a local dance group back at home. My brother is a singer and he sort of inspired me.

Mwafrika.com: So you're a musical family?
Mr. Seed: Yeah, my mom also sings in the choir. When I was in primary school, my brother who has since moved to Eldoret would write songs using riddims. He would force me to do the same every time I came from school. I did not like this because he would beat me when I resisted. I didn't know it then, but I think it helped me a lot because I now write my own songs. One day though, after coming home from school, I sat down and started writing. I found myself having finished a whole song within like ten minutes. I was really impressed and it gave me confidence and morale to write and do more.

Mwafrika.com: So did you get any tracks recorded back then?
Mr. Seed: The first single I recorded and then did a video for was You Called Me in 2009 with producer J Blessing

Mwafrika.com: And where did you get finances to record and do a video at the same time seeing that you were still in high school?
Mr. Seed: I tell you, it was God's favor. Before J Blessing became a household name, we were friends and knew each other from back then in Huruma. When I seriously ventured into music, I approached him and when he sampled my songs, he liked what he heard. He took me into his label, Link Productions and decided he would sponsor my musical projects hence forth.

Mwafrika.com: That must have been something...
Mr. Seed: Yeah I tell you. We did that track, You Called Me but it did not receive much airplay - only one TV station played it. Discouraging as it was, I did not lose heart. I kept on praying and hoping. In fact, since they are the only ones who played it, I would tune in to their Gospel music show just so that I can see myself, haha!

Mwafrika.com: So how did MOG come into your life?
Mr. Seed: As you might know, we come from the same neighborhood. I had always wanted to talk to them but did not know how to approach them because I thought they would diminish me because they were big artistes. So, I approached Kenty and told him about the song I had done but was not getting airplay. After listening to me, he told me to call him the next day in the morning to see what he could do for me. I was shocked for upon calling him, he invited me for a show they were going for in Murang'a. I impressed them so much with my performance that they started calling me for gigs.

Mwafrika.com: And the idea for a collabo was born then?
Mr. Seed: Yeah, after that I prayed to God to allow them to accept doing a ‘collabo’ with me. I talked to Kenty and once again he was easy, telling me to plan for a day and time. I felt I needed to do something that had a Naija feel to it. So I wrote my lyrics and requested my producer for a track that could flow with it. At first, he was skeptical doubting my wisdom in doing a Naija track. Still, he gave it to me to sample it. If it was not for the encouragement of some few friends, I would never have done it, so many people tried to dissuade me saying that people would not like it. I got a day, called Kenty who called the other two. They wrote their lines in less than twenty minutes. We recorded that same day and into the night, doing the video after a week. Surprise of surprises when upon release, Papa God Oh, became an instant hit, causing ripples through the charts.

Mwafrika.com: Any album coming out soon?
Mr. Seed: Not really, am doing singles for now. Actually, I have done another Naija single with Dunco and Ngashvile called Wello Wello, it should be out soon.

Mwafrika.com: Is that another Naija song? Don't you think the fad has run its course?
Mr. Seed: No, actually, I think this is where I will be at for a while before I go to another genre. I am the ‘Kenyan Gospel Naija singer’ (Laughter) Am also pushing my first single, You Called Me and now it's receiving considerable airplay.

Mwafrika.com: Quite inspiring. So, how do you balance school and music, especially now?
Mr. Seed: I only do shows and recordings on weekends leaving weekdays strictly for school. 

Mwafrika.com: And where do you get your inspiration as an artist?
Mr. Seed: Let me say first of all that I thank God for my producer J Blessing who has been a big brother to me. So has MOG who have mentored me musically. They have really tutored me and made sure I do not slip. They are such an inspiration to me. There is a project called Badilisha Mtaa that we are involved in where we do free shows in the slums and encourage upcoming artistes.

Mwafrika.com: That's cool. So what's next for you?
Mr. Seed: I hope that through my music people’s lives will change. I also hope with God’s grace to be able to make children’s homes to help the unfortunate.

Mwafrika.com: Thank you for your time, it was a pleasure.
Mr. Seed: Thank you. I really also appreciate my fans who have also put me on the musical radar by having me nominated for various awards including Chaguo La Teeniez and Mwafaka.

Email (will not be published)

Name

Title

Comment
 remaining characters

Post