Singer and Songwriter Bien-Aime Baraza's life story is one he shares often to serve as a reminder that he came from humble beginnings.
The Wahala hitmaker is in Nigeria promoting his new deluxe album and spoke of how he watched his then-rich dad slide into poverty,
His family's experience from rich to poverty has molded him into the man he is today as he described in a video on DYB Concepts YouTube channel.
"Things were so bad at the time I literally watched my father slip away and give up. My mum held the forte, while my dad sat on the verandah the whole day reading the Bible and talking to himself," he said.
This angered Bien and shaped how he views money today.
"We had debt all over the neighborhood, we couldn't borrow anymore. That was rock bottom," he added.
He discovered his musical talent in High School where he met Chimano and Savara.'
"We started singing when we were 15 years old. I remember that's where I discovered my musical talent. When I opened my mouth to sing that's when I forgot my house didnt have electricity, singing in Sauti Sol took me physically and mentally into a space where I was really good at what I did and it didnt matter what I had at home or what I was going through," Bien narrated.
Claps from the audience moved Bien.
"All those years of listening to the radio and singing along to our 9-battery radio, started to pay off and to date, the bond I have with my Sauti Sol brothers. They continue to take me back to the redemption that I got at the time, to the redemption music gave me at the time," he continued to narrate about childhood trials and tribulations.
As an adult, music is still my escape. Sauti Sol represents my escape, it represents the place that I go when I dont want to deal with the world and what the world is throwing at me"
He shared lessons learnt from his father's fall from glory
"It scarred me for life. it changed my relationship with money. You see now anything I get I understand the need for delayed gratification"
You will never see Bien brag or show off wealth.
"I save. You are never going to hear a story of Bien popping bottles in a club"
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