Award-winning dancer and choreographer Ian Wainaina has paid tribute to Afro-jazz musician Lydia Achieng’ Abura, who died in 2016.
Abura was influential in the Kenyan entertainment scene and her legacy lives on in the several albums she left behind and the legions of up-and-coming musicians whose careers she helped nurture.
Ian worked with Abura in Tusker Project Fame, where she was the academy's principal.
"I remember she hated going upstairs but she loved all the contestant and she would encourage us so much," Ian told Word Is on Friday.
He said Abura treated all contestants with respect.
"She would take us for lunch and would share a lot of stories with us. Like I remember she told us she started driving a car at the age of 12," Ian said.
After 10 years of missing from the music scene, Ian is back with Mrembo, a song about a beautiful girl whom the singer holds in high regard.
Speaking about the song, Ian said, “I was challenged by two of my youngest dancers to go back to the studio after nudging them to always follow their dreams."
