Popular American musician Kamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman has denied Kenyan origin.
In response to a question on Instagram on September 10, he claimed that his parents did not name him Kamau on the basis of the Kikuyu cultural naming system, by which one takes names from their ancestors.
“I was given the Kikuyu name based on its meaning and my demeanour,” he explained. In Kikuyu culture, Kamau means Silent Warrior.
“I received my name after my parents and elders got the chance to observe me for a bit,” the rapper added.
He disclosed in a previous interview that his ancestry actually traces back to an array of west African tribes like Tikar of Cameroon and Kiru of Liberia.
Despite not being from Kenya, in 2018 he visited the country for a performance at the Thrift Social concert.
Speaking of his experience, he explained that he felt like he was home, not a tourist.
“I won’t be able to give an adequate answer to that question right now. I’m not even in that space because I’m not a tourist here. This is like my house. It doesn’t matter what anyone says,” he stated.
Kamau’s parents were keen to educate their children about African culture and even enrolled them in the Ujama Shule in Washington, which is described as the oldest fully independent African-centered school in the United States.
“My father and mother were born under English names. They wanted to change that trajectory of psychological slavery that’s present in almost every black home by starting with the names because the sound is very important and what I answer to is very important, he said.
