Take beauty, charm and incredible vocal talent, add to it business acumen and sharp focus, and you may just succeed in describing Bariki. At first glance, the two young ladies that make up Bariki appear laid back, reserved even. A few minutes with them dispels all this, as one comes face to face with their passion for music, their enviable friendship, and determination to get where they want to go.

Easily one of the most loved Gospel duos on the local scene, Maryanne Mumbi and Yvonne Wamboi are currently riding high on the back of their latest release, Nasonga Mbele. But their story goes all the way back to Hospital Hill High School, where the group was born with three members in 1999.  They went through the usual CU-Church-Specials path that most ‘singing groups’ take within the school setting.
 
It wasn’t until after high school that Yvonne and Maryanne decided to seriously pursue music, and changed the group’s name to Bariki. Explains Yvonne:

But it wasn’t until 2003 that the group released its first single, Leo Ni Leo, to wide acceptance. Produced by Ben “Gittx” Gitau, the single would propel Bariki onto the airwaves, and become their introduction to the local Gospel scene. They grabbed chart poles again with O Mighty God, featuring Davy, a couple of years later. Both undeniably radio friendly, these jams became much loved sing-alongs.
 
Although they released two other singles in this period (Nampenda and Its Christmas), Bariki have surprised fans with long periods of silence, and it was a sigh of relief when they returned in 2007 with Nasonga Mbele. Arguably their biggest single to date, the Rkay-produced jam entered radio charts almost immediately, topping both Hope FM and Family FM charts for several weeks.
 

 
So how come after five years of being on the scene, Bariki is yet to release an album? The answer may be found in two places. One is the fact that Yvonne and Maryanne are not wholly involved in music – Maryanne works as Accounts Manager at a local ISP, while Yvonne has just graduated from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa with a degree in social sciences. The second gives a glimpse into why these ladies have chosen not to make music a career, yet: Money. Bouncing off each other, they explain their discomfort with the perception of Gospel artists:

“There’s a perception in the Gospel (music) industry that is not helpful to advancing artists’ careers. For many artists, this is a way to make a living, apart from ministry. Yet the Gospel industry, as opposed to their secular counterparts, does little to motivate its own artists. We need money to be able to get our message across – how else will that album be made? We are ministers, but the music has to be able to sustain itself!”

Yet despite this, Bariki has continued to show excellence on every platform they have. The biggest of these are the 2005 Xtreme Weekend, where they shared the stage with Gospel reggae artist Chevelle Franklin, as well as the 2007 Xtreme Weekend with Kirk Franklin.

They take their mic-ops seriously, and have cut themselves out as refreshingly urban artists whom many young people can identify with. Their style ranges from RnB, to urban soul and zouk, but they point out that the diversity is deliberate so as not to limit them. It will be interesting to see what sound Bariki finally settles on.
 
Yet, at least according to them, this Bariki story is just beginning. They have big plans ahead (an album is in the offing), including collaborations with various acts, as well as business and ministry expansions. It does seem that we will be hearing from these two outstanding ladies for a long while to come.
 

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