Kasiva Mutua | |
---|---|
Origin | Kenya |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 2013 - present |
Kasiva Mutua is a Kenyan percussionist. According to Daily News Egypt , she is one of the top drummers in Kenya. [1] Mutua is currently based in Nairobi. [2]
Mutua learned to play traditional drums from her grandmother at the age of six. [3] [4] In her community in a village in Kenya, it was not permitted for women to play drums, although her grandmother had a small drum that she used when telling stories. [5] In her journey to become a drummer, she faced many problems, including harassment and the destruction of her equipment, due to the taboo against women playing drums. [6] [7] However, she continued to play and began to try out for music festivals when she was in secondary school. [5] Mutua earned a degree in journalism from Busoga University. [8]
She was part of the One Beat program in 2013. [9] Mutua joined the Nile Project in 2014. [10] The project supports artists in countries surrounding and affected by the Nile River and has an activist component. [10] Mutua is a co-founder of an all-women percussion group called MOTRA (for MOdern and TRAditional Rhythms). [6] The group was started in 2015 and includes eight members. [7] She was named a Global TED Fellow in 2017. [2]