Stuck in the destructive drug lifestyle – STRIKE ONE!
Wrapped up in sex and immorality – STRIKE TWO!
Single parent - no father figure, and no siblings – STRIKE THREE!
 That seems the ultimate recipe for disaster - the kind of story you'd come across when Quentin Tarrantino goes wild. The end of this tale is all too familiar to us – or is it?
Not this one!
Continental KORA award winner, Cupboard full of honors, clothing line, hit debut album in stores.
That's the story of Davidson Ngibuini, more affectionately called DNG. At only 19 years of age (2005), his achievements would make seasoned veterans blush with envy. In 2004, he received a KORA award nomination (Best Male Gospel Artist Africa), along with more fancied acts Paul Gwala and Shipho Makhabane, both from host country South Africa , DR Congo's Francis Kalala, Zambia 's Jojo Mwangaza and compatriot David Zziwa. DNG went ahead to trounce them all and get the nod for his captivating Ennovator -driven jam “Samehewa”.
Upon his Nairobi return, he proceeded to grab nominations almost at will. Best Gospel Video, Best New Artist and the prestigious Songwriter of the Year at the 2004 Groove Awards, Kenya's first ever Gospel Awards. In addition, 2005 saw him proceeded to pick up the Best Gospel Artist at the Chaguo La Teeniez (CHAT) Awards; an undeniable testament to his ‘household name' status, as this award is adjudged by 13 to 19 year old teenage voters.
Did we mention his singles, including ‘Samehewa', and ‘Samehewa - Remix' rocked the local music charts, and topped sales figures at mymusic.co.ke,
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And all this from a young man who only two years prior was lost in a world of indulgence and hedonism! He would be the first to admit his life was headed in the wrong direction. Early in 2003 he had set off on his secular music career, and had it not been for the prodding of a devoted born-again mother who never gave up on a troublesome son, and a terrifying dream that left him in a real sweat, he might have been in a very different place in his life. (True, dreams might leave one disoriented and scared, then okay in the morning – but if you were to see yourself rotating like rotisserie chicken in a hot furnace in the after life…well…you know how it would go…hopefully!)
If this is not testament to the fact that God can turn a life inside out, and give it a ‘Paul-like' change of course in a matter of days, I don't know what is! Consider Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
And if that's not enough, see 1 John 1:9,
“If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful ad just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.
There I go preaching, we need to get back to the topic before an alter call crops up; ma bad!
DNG has since developed a steely determin- ation to live right, and by God's grace, his faith has grown in leaps and bounds, seeing a significant settling down and maturing in lifestyle, much to the delight of his mother, who happens to be the chief financier of his artistry. Now a Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of Nairobi, he is looking forward to a rewarding life.
As an artist he has had the opportunity to sharpen his skills significantly, and has worked with artists such as Gospel Fathers and Kiki . He's developed his  own clothing line, and shared the stage with artists as diverse as American Gospel Music Awards nominee Roughtone , SK Blue , Jogg C , as well as mainstream acts Code Red, 2004 East African Coca Cola Pop-Stars (SEMA), KORA Award nominee Redsan, and many others.
Today DNG predictably admits his number one inspiration for music is God. He testifies of the goodness of the Lord as to what He has done for him, and what He can do for others. Other inspirations include his life challenges and struggles, as well as the trials and tribulations. Effortlessly incorporating what he sees and feels into his music, he strongly believes he has something to say, and has the perfect platform to do so.
It is unlikely that the word ‘vision' would have been topping his vocabulary list a few short years ago: today, he is a real futurist, his vision crystal clear. He wants to spread the Gospel to all people of all denominations, and aims to influence especially young people to change their lifestyle through his music. He believes that there is a lot of indecent music out there, laced with sexual innuendo and nasty lyrics.
Here now are excerpts from him.
“I don't want people to make the mistakes I made. I…aim at changing the stereotype that many people, especially the youth, have that Christianity is boring and it is just for the old folk. I want them to see, through my life, that you can still be young and be born-again, and still enjoy yourself, have clean fun and live your life to the fullest”.
“Music all over the world has been perverted, seen as promoting immorality, sex and wicked behavior. I aim at cleaning up the stigma around music, especially in Africa where the traditions and society are very conservative. It is high time we worked at getting rid of this tarnished image around music”
Amen to that!
To contact DNG, or support his ministry, reach him on:
Email:
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1"CONGRATS"
at Friday, 21 November 2008 06:24
YOU ARE GREAT
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