We recently connected with Brakanah 44 and have shared our conversation below.
Brakanah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I fell in love with music at a young age, since i was 7 years i think, but it was the normal kind of love like because i was not that into the thought of me being artist because then football was my so thought career. But when i was 13 years in high school i started doing freestyles perfecting my craft passing time too and my friends were always amazed and everyone who heard me performing my rap song were like kid you going places and it felt nice because at that time i wanted to be an artist but the courage built up when people showed me love and i had to start writing songs to perfect my craft. And by the age of 17 i had won my first music award with my bros the Trn family. It felt nice.
Brakanah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Samuel Mwangi Kariuki or Brakanah 44 born in Kenya. So i go with a lot of professional initials but am popularly known for being a rapper, i don’t like saying hip-hop rapper because am versatile. I got into the music industry in 2018 but at that time i was in a band {Trn}, not until the start of 2022 when i started doing solo projects and by the start of 2023 i had gained a buzz because my ep 24love had gone viral on apple music and on Soundcloud i had one track from the Ep going big in streams and for the first time i saw my fan base growing in this fast rate. And it was really fun seeing my later following projects going big am almost having my first 100k streams on soundcloud only in like 2 months since i released my Song John wick (kill) and all this without a label or management team just me and my phone.
One of the things am proud of is that i record all of my songs in 10 mins at least just that one take and i let my emotions run through the mic, i say that my songs are my diary because this is where i say most of my life stories, record what i feel and the moods am having on the time am doing that. Am creative band more of imaginative but i most likely enjoy going all real on my projects no fictions just inspirations.
My inspirations is me, thinking of where i came from as i begun my journey i just get inspired to continue because at first it was not easy but am at the point in my life where i know am going to blow up soon am manifesting hard on it and preparing my head and thoughts for it, i just want to be ready when the time comes because that time is coming i can feel it.
My main focus right now is music for real though i wake everyday going straight to my streaming platforms to see my performance on that night because most of my streams are foreign and not from Kenya. I don’t think if i use any other site for communications more than my mail am an introvert and if am not talking to family or friends on my phone its strictly business although i do answer my fans on my social media platforms if it not of them i would have not been on this spot now so all thanks to them for life.
My mission is to impact and give hope to every young kid with a dream that every dream they have can come true and that they should also use there platforms to impact people. I believe that with great power comes greater responsibility and if you are artist or someone based on the creative center let your main goal be inspiration.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
So my fan base is something else that i want to thank God for because them people are real, like the support i sweet to watch. I built my fan base by giving them something good, i know everybody creates interest when something is good and also by spending time with them, people normally love it when am on live streams on any of my platforms and streams me either looking for some new instrumental and trying it out for them or maybe just normal freestyle videos.
Secret to you building a fan base as a creative personnel is by being available to your audience you can ghost for sometimes but don’t let it be to common, and don’t be afraid to try new things out just be creative be you.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I feel like if you good at what you do that’s it like i believe that something precious outsells it maybe now or later but you have to hold onto your inspirations, and once you be different i promise you the results are outstanding. I see money coming in from my streams but i don’t touch any of that now am trying to be calm because i know am going to do more and more good so am trying to be as humble as i can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linkr.bio/Brakanah44
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realfourtyfour/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brakanah44official
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brakanah44/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brakanah44
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnOPkNCiWWGodj_2kBdcIw
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/brakanah44
Image Credits
Images belong to Brakanah photo taken by (Laughters Photography)