Neema

The New African Soul Battle
On November 18th 2010, Neema and Sauti Sol joint the New African Soul Battle. This was an initiative of ASN Bank and Africa Unisgned. The aim of this battle was to raise €20,000 for a professional recording and a live performance at an ASN Bank event in the Netherlands. Music fans decided which artist they would like to see perform at the event by making an investement. It was a long and exciting battle but eventually Neema raised most funds and won the competition. Sauti Sol got a 500 dollar reward from ASN Bank as a second price.

We decided to add the funding part for the recording to Neema’s profile on Africa Unsigned. All Neema supporters have the right to two tickets for Neema’s live performance at the ASN Bank event and a digital copy of the recording.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Watch Neema’s introduction

Biography

Neema Ntalel, 25, was born in a small obscure town in the Great Rift Valley, Kajiado, a hundred kilometres south of Nairobi-Kenya, to Josiah Ole Kirisuah and Sarah Kirisuah. She is the first of five children and prefers to refer to her life as lived in the best of both worlds…

‘I was raised half in the city and half in the village. My early education was in Nairobi, but every minute that I was not in school, my family and I were living in our home village. My dad always said, ‘Nairobi is house, Kajiado is home.’
After primary school, Neema attended The Maryhill High school and then Daystar University where she studied Media and Communication.
She discovered her love for music while in High school and following that discovery, she was in every associated club and group; school choir, drama club, student music groups and many of these garnered her several school awards.

After high school, Neema began her pursuit of a career in music and this led her to record her first single, ‘Impressions of love’, a song about the different images of God’s love for mankind. This single was then nominated for an AGMA- American Gospel Music Award, for best international act in 2003.
The next significant occurrence in her career was her nomination and win of the All Africa KORA Award for best female artist-Eastern Africa in 2005 just as she was in her final year of college. This award led to a six week tour in Canada, her first music tour. After this initial tour she has been part of several others to countries like the USA, The Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Mozambique and so on.

Earlier in 2010, Neema was part of the theartre production, ‘Daughters of Africa’. This was a production that brought together twelve women from eight different countries of Africa, all performers and artists in their own countries. The message behind the show was ‘The New Africa!’. Neema says she was part of this production because it presented the bright and correct image of her homeland. Africa has so consistently been painted in a negative light by international media and this show was an oppotunity for me to be part of showing the world that Africa is alive and beautiful. We are moving and growing. All is not dark and desperate. We are full of life and hope and colour, and we want to share this enthusiasm with the world!’.

Throughout her career, Neema has been heavily engaged as an advocate for children’s welfare, acting as ambassador for several organizations championing this cause. These include Compassion International, UNMC (United Nations Millennium campaign-MDGs), ZanaA (working to provide sanitary towels for girls from poor areas), CIPI (Inspired Pastoralists Initiative (Providing education and health for children among pastoralists communities in Kenya), and Organics for Orphans Int.

Neema, a Maasai girl brought up in the savannahs of the Great Rift Valley, has always spoken strongly about her passion and cause…
‘I believe that I have a responsibility to the community I belong to. I was the first girl in my family not to be circumcised and to receive a university level of education and I believe every child should grow in a healthy and safe environment with the opportunity to make a life for themselves.

I believe that when one commands the attention of many, for example by music/performance, then they must use that power and attention to make the world a safer better place to be. They must act and speak for those that cannot speak for themselves’

Neema’s dreams and desires all revolve around Music and children….
‘I want to sing!! I love it. It brings peace and joy to my heart and to the hearts of those that listen. It still is a universal language and I believe like Shakespeare said, ‘If music be the food of love, play on!’ and I plan to do just that!
I also want to participate in the effort to make quality art education available to budding artists in my country and then Africa.
I want to continue to use my music to champion the cause of children’s welfare and to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.
Finally I want to be the person, artist, friend, performer who sends the message to everyone who hears, ‘You can do it!’ There is a little magic in all of us and I know…

‘None of us are perfect, but we are all capable of greatness!’