Gospel artiste Redemption Musiq alias Brian Juma has opened up on growing up in a violent environment as a child.
Speaking to Word Is, he said his childhood life was sad. "My mum gave birth to me when she was only 17 years old and got married because of having a child (me)," he said.
He said his mother could no longer continue living with her siblings as they would have chased her away.
At a tender age, Redemption and his mum moved to Kayole to try and make ends meet. "That is where she got engaged to my step-dad, who became violent to her because of me and at some point, my mum sent me to her sister as my step-dad hated me," he said.
Every time he visited his mum, the step-dad would beat him, asking him why he came to his house uninvited. "When I started school, I started living with my mum again and they would fight every day of the year," he said.
The only time the fights were not seen was when one of them was not around.
Redemption said he had to start hustling as a child, selling sugar cane and jaggery (sukari ngutu) and mandazi and moved to the rural area.
He only came to Nairobi to do his class eight exams and would go spend with friends, and that is when he joined music. Today, he does gospel music with songs like 'Crossing over', featuring Guardian Angel.
