TikTok whistling sensation Priscilla wa Imani: I am a hawker having fun
It is perhaps the high time President William Ruto, his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja learnt how to loudly whistle in a public place.
This is because the new Tik Tok trending whistling sensation Ms Priscilla wa Imani wants a collabo with them.
This is the diva who has been showing up in all odd places and without warning, emits a loud brave whistle followed by a shout "Priscilla wa Imani ndani ya...".
She has done it in supermarkets, petrol stations, markets...and she says she might do it in a church...mosque, mortuary..."it's only in a hospital where I cannot do it unless it is demanded as some sort of therapy".
"You can imagine the joy it will be the president queuing us on with a loud whistle, Riggy G follows suit, Mr Sakaja takes over and I come in with my bit...that would the day God has chosen for me...you can imagine the footage and how it would behave on social media," she told Nation.Africa.
Wa Imani, whose real name is Priscilla Gakuru, says whistling is in her soul and comes out effortlessly, normally and originally.
"Many would argue that it can only be done under influence of some substance...My whistling is from sober lungs...sober soul," she said.
She added that many others think she was once served as a makanga (tout)-a trade that mostly relies on whistling from the mouth to attract passengers and command the driver.
"It is not the case. I started off as a hawker in my native Laikipia County. I'm well-known hawker in Laikipia and Baringo county markets," she said. She added that she runs a shop near Laikipia University.
"Further, I tried my hand in gospel music where I have hits like Omba, Kola Byona Byokola, Moyo Wangu, Kwanini and Kibali. I tried that line between 2012 and 2015," she said.
However, she found the field so tough and unyielding to a point she relegated it to a 'not too important side hustle.'
"I tried hard but in vain to have my music given airplay. I never hawked my music because it is a very demeaning enterprise...But all of a sudden, in comes TikTok and it is now a case of an answered prayer," she said.
And her landing into TiKTok was an accident.
“I had gone to the village during dowry ceremony. As I negotiated with the in laws, someone was taking my video. And I whistled. I do not even know who took it, but it was uploaded...it welcomed me into the world of content creation," she said.
She said many comments that followed the upload were amused by the whistling prowess and she knew it was her dwlling point.
"I picked on whistling…Not many women can whistle and certainly few men can whistle like me. My whistle reverberates inside in my mind and heart…It is a blessed whistle," she said.
Describing her whistling talent, she said "it comes from me…it is Godly...The Bible does not ban me from whistling. When the Bible says be of good cheer and rejoice, my input is in whistling…others scream…others ululate ad others clap as they jump up and down".
And her growth has been phenomenal to a point it also amazes her.
"I knew this was going to take somewhere but not at this rate…People are flocking my way with presents the moment I upload some content...Subscribers are coming my way. My God has come through TikTok," she said.
Many believing she has an obsession with whistling, Wa Imani says "it is not the case, and it is not my ecstatic trademark...I don’t whistle in bed, you know…"
She said her husband and three children are very supportive.
"My husband loves it and that is the confidence you see in my whistle since it is supported in my family. My husband does not see my whistling as kiddish or thuggish," she said.
She counseled spouses to be supportive of each other's talents.
"Husbands... release your wives to explore their talents…women too, release fully your husbands to venture out there and do their vibe," she said.
About children?
"Let us not limit our children…if you notice they have a talent, let it shine earliest possible," she said.
She envisions herself as an international celebrity and who will launch a performing arts' incubation centre to help grassroots' talents find a launching pad.
"It is very hard to find a launching pad...you can age and die before you get a breakthrough in our villages. That is the tragedy I seek to seal in my success road," she said. BY DAILY NATION
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