*Almost 20 years of stardom but still evergreen, young and ageless
By Charles Anthony Mwangi
Do you know the topmost Swahili language gospel artist in the world? Looking at the number of hits, viewerships and leading the charts, it is none other than Christina Shusho. Yes, in the world of swahili gospel music, Christina tops the chart for female artists.
She beats everyone else and is on top of the world. Kiswahili is the most spoken language in Africa, with over 150 million speakers. The lady of the golden voice is in her 40s, but continues to belt out new tunes, almost every month. Music, that is, gospel music seems to have a life of its own for her. For us, the generation of 2000s, her hit song, the timeless worship ballad, “Wa Kuabudiwa” meaning the one to be worshipped, came and has remained an ageless song. It filled up the airwaves all over East and Central Africa.
It was in her album “Unikumbuke.” Most artists come and lose their spectrum and newcomers, come and take over. But for Christina, it has been different.
Year after year, she comes out with new hits and never seems to slow down. So far, she has made over100 songs, and almost every published song has become a hit. The lady of “unikumbuke” or remember me, God, was born in the northwestern corner of Tanzania in the early 80s. She schooled at Kigoma Primary and Secondary.
She grew up singing at Sunday school. After she moved to Dar es Salaam she was playing sexton at the church choir. After she decided to go into a solo music career, it seems she has never looked back. Her wooing, captivating, booming, solaceful voice transcends languages and is loved in Tanzania in particular and Africa in general, by people of all ages. The music in the album “Kitu Gani Kinitenge Na Upendo wa Bwana,” and “Nipe Macho Nione”, give me eyes to see, spread in the Swahili world like bushfire, stipulating her to international stardom. She got invitations to perform in many parts of Africa and the rest of the world including America, UK, Austria, Canada and so on. Today she is one of the most sought after gospel artists for collaborations. She opened a youtube channel for her music on March 15, 2013.
By September 2021, her channel had registered over 43m views, which on average one can translate into 15,000 views every day for the last 8 years, which is a no mean feat. If you add 43 million views in her official channel, with the views running into over 40 million in other unofficial accounts featuring her songs, we have the top Swahili gospel artist.
All over East Africa, we have young people selling songs at the shopping centres selling music via flash drives or installing it on your phone. In Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Kampala, you will never miss her songs on their list. The history of Swahili original gospel music is not complete without Christina Shusho.