Qqu’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Intro Kenyan musician
Is Musician 
From Kenya 
Type Music 
Gender male
Birth 28 October 1980
Age: 39 years
Star sign Scorpio
Genre:
Rhythm and blues

Moses Qqu Odhiambo (born 28 October 1980), known commonly as Qqu is a Kenyan singer, songwriter, choreographer, performer, instrumentalist, Lifestyle Entrepreneur and digital artist.

Biography

Early life

Qqu was born to well respected Provincial Agricultural Officer and his mother who was an administrative clerk at Kenya Pipeline. Due to his father’s duties, Qqu grew up with his mother. His four older siblings were significantly older and thus were rarely around. Qqu pretty much led a secluded life. His brother first introduced him to music by playing beats at the dinner table, it was here that Qqu delved into the world of music. Being a first learner, Qqu would wake up hours earlier than usual just to sit at the breakfast table and wait for his brother to come to the breakfast table and learn the next rhythm….

Musical beginning

Qqu grew up listening to practically every form of music that he laid his hands on, most notable collections he keeps to this day are Roger Whitaker, Diana Ross, Boney M, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Sounds of Blackness, Rebecca Malope. While in Primary School, Qqu was notorious for banging his desk in between lessons to make music, this gave way to him becoming the youngest instrumentalist to join the Church choir at age 8. It was here that he felt most at home, growing in his faith and playing with great musicians such as Pete Odera, Sally Oyugi, Mary Warambo, Hellen Mtawali (whom he would later on join with as teachers at first and second edition of Tusker Project Fame alongside his fellow choreographer Ian Wainaina)
Having finished High School, Qqu was part of the initial group that formed one of Kenya’s most successful dance companies (Ollovar), and it was here that the seeds for music were sown. Alongside Ian Wainaina they formed the group NIX and they went on to record one of their most successful albums, Xaxawa.

Music career

Although influenced by a myriad of musical styles, Qqu favours the dancefloor, so HipHop, Salsa and Lingala are his greatest love. His musical tastes are for Conscious HipHop, Uptempo Lingala and Smooth Zouk. He is currently finishing off tracks for his Debut album, Alive. Qqu is working with artists like annieSoul, Juliani, Freestyle Essien from Nigeria, The Villagers and others. The album is set to be released in November/December 2014 and will be his first to have a worldwide release. Qqu performs in English, Swahili, Luo.

2005–2006 Xaxawa

Qqu while in NIX released this album and had great hits such as Beba (feat Ventura Rodriguez). Nakudanganya and one of East Africa’s all time love ballads Sura ya Malaika.

2007 Utado

One of 2007’s best club singles, also still with NIX. This song had a great twist in that both Ian and Qqu sang in their native languages (Kikuyu and Luo) and served as a unifying factor during the period before the 2008 General Elections.

2012 Hisivi

Qqu was featured on this radio hit with Wini Nkinda an accomplished Choreographer turned musician

2012 There she goes again with Chris Adwar

A Playful song that was set to be a free internet release.

Live performances

Qqu is known for his energy on stage, having been on tour with Wyre for over three years, Dance has become a hallmark for him. With his signature grin Qqu is adored by many and is a mentor to many dance groups that have since hit the scene.
Qqu has shared the stage with many artistes like P-Square, Wutah, Oliver Mtukudzi, Bebe Cool, Chameleon, Kanjii, Eric wainaina, Kevin Wyre, 2Face Idibia, TMK Wanaume, Ray C, Morgan Heritage, Jay Sean, Raghav, Mr. Vegas, Kidum, Professor Jay, AY, Nonini, Jua Cali, Amani, Wahu, Nameless, Nyota Ndogo, Redsan, Nikki, Kleptomaniax, Susan Owiyo, Hellen Mtawali, Achieng Abura, Abbas, Ukoo Fulani, Longombas, and many more.

TV Appearances

Qqu appeared in 2013 Orange Beat Ya Street TV show on NTV(Kenya) as the Chief Judge and was selected because of his role in pioneering the dance industry in Kenya. The show proved to be a major gaining the necessary top spot ratings in its time slot. The Competition saw the winner collecting a cool kshs 5million. The show showed Qqu in his element directing the young and upcoming groups and giving them solid advice on how to push their careers in dance.

Humanitarian work

A serious advocate for sustainable lifestyles, Qqu is an ecovangelist and is currently setting up basic plastic recycling plants which are cost effective and environment friendly, and are managed by the locals.
He is obsessed with Hydroponics knowing fully how water is both a scarce and equally wasted resource. He hopes to find out ways to get this to the masses who might have little space to work with and challenge the notion that to produce you have to have large tracts of land. He’s also the founder of the Alive campaign, which seeks above all things to encourage mentorship in primary and high schools.
He’s also an advocate for NACADA and Club 254 which seek to enlighten high school students on the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
He was one of the founders of Inter prisons dance championship which is now in its fourth year with aim of giving inmates a creative outlet.

New media Strategy & Content Development Work

Having actively delved in IT at the same time as he did dance and music. Moses Qqu has been instrumental in the shaping and creating of new media space in East and Central Africa. He is a founding member of the Design Kenya Society which is a professional design institution that draws membership from students, professional and stakeholders in the design industry in Kenya. DKS is affiliated to Network of Africa Designers and by extension, International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). He has been instrumental in the shaping of Design Kenya Society and mobilization and recruitment of designers. He is also currently serving in the steering committee of the Art Directors and Copywriters Club of Kenya. Moses Qqu is also one of the key resource persons in the review and development of undergraduate, Diploma and Certificate programmes at the School of The Arts and Design at the University of Nairobi. His currently portfolio extends through the creme de la creme in corporate working on projects for clients such as Samsung, Orange Telecom, Alcatel, Safaricom, Coca-Cola, Barclays Bank and many more.

Discography

Albums

  • Xaxawa (NIX) (2005)
  • Utado (NIX) (2007)
  • Sonko (NIX) (2009)
  • Alive (2011)

Singles

  • “Kua Hivyo” (2005)
  • “Beba” (2005)
  • “Kixawa” (2005)
  • “Nakudanganya” (2006)
  • “Sura ya Malaika” (2006)
  • “Utado” (2007)
  • “Beat ya Mkamba” (2008)
  • “Sonko” (2008)
  • “Alive” (2014)

Producer credits

  • Chris Adwar – Xaxawa (2005)
  • Clement “Razul” Mutua – Whoa (2005)
  • Paul “Ulopa Ngoma” Kibukosya – Oku Gatia (2007)
  • The Big Boss – Alive (2010)

Awards

Won
  • Best Professional Web Designer of the year Cybermatrixx Awards 2005–2007
  • Best HipHop Dance Group at the Sprite Ball Face Off 2006 (DF1)
Nominated
  • Nominated for best HipHop Group at the Kisima Awards 2006
  • Nominated for best Bomba Male at the Kisima Awards 2007
  • Nominated for best Group Kenya at the Kisima Awards 2007
  • Nominated for best East African Artist at the Africa Gospel Music Awards 2011
You May Also Like

Danna Paola’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

What is Danna Paola’s Net Worth?Danna Paola is a Mexican actress, singer, and model who began her acting career as a child. Danna Paola has a net worth of $10 million. After appearing on the telenovelas “Rayito de Luz” and “María Belén,” she had her breakthrough role on “Amy, la niña de la mochila azul.” Paola has gone on to star in numerous television series as well as films and theatrical productions, and has released several studio albums.Danna is extremely popular on social media. She has over 30 million followers on Instagram, 15 million fans on TikTok and 5 million subscribers on YouTube.Early Life and Career BeginningsDanna Paola was born on June 23, 1995 in Mexico City, Mexico to Juan José Rivera Arellano, a singer, and Patricia Munguía. She has an older sister named Vania. When Paola was a child, her parents divorced.At the age of four in 1999, Paola went to a casting call for “Plaza Sésamo,” the Mexican version of “Sesame Street.” Both she and her sister were cast on the show, appearing in a number of episodes. The next year, Paola was cast in the telenovela “Rayito de Luz.” In 2001, she landed her first lead role on the children’s telenovela “María Belén.” That same year, Paola released her debut album, “Mi Globo Azul.” From 2002 to 2003, she had a guest role on the telenovela “¡Vivan los niños!”Career BreakthroughsPaola had her career breakthrough in 2004, when she played the main role of Amy Granados on the successful children’s telenovela “Amy, la niña de la mochila azul.” Her star continued to rise the next year, when she played the female lead in “Pablo y Andrea,” a television adaptation of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” As a teenager in 2009, Paola landed the lead role of Patito on the hit teen telenovela “Atrévete a Soñar,” a remake of the Argentine telenovela “Patito Feo.” To promote the show, Paola and the cast recorded a pair of soundtracks and did a tour across Mexico.Further Television CareerIn the summer of 2015, Paola moved to Miami to film the telenovela “¿Quién es quién?,” her first telenovela role outside of Televisa. The program ran for 120 episodes through 2016. Following this, Paola had a main role on the first season of the drama series “La Doña,” based on the 1929 Venezuelan novel “Doña Bárbara.” She then appeared in a guest role in the show’s second season. While still on the program, Paola filmed the Telemundo biographical series “José José, el príncipe de la canción,” based on the life of the titular Mexican singer. Paola portrayed Mexican singer-songwriter Lucero in 11 episodes. Meanwhile, from 2018 to 2020, she played the main role of Lucrecia Montesinos Hendrich on the Netflix Spanish thriller series “Elite.” Following this, Paola became a mentor on the Spanish singing reality competition show “Top Star. ¿Cuánto vale tu voz?”Film CareerPaola made her feature film debut in the 2008 Mexican film “Tear This Heart Out,” based on the eponymous novel by Ángeles Mastretta. Two years later, Paola provided the voice of Rapunzel for the Latin-American Spanish dub of the Disney animated film “Tangled.” In 2015, she lent her voice to another Spanish-language dub, this time for the DreamWorks animated film “Home.” After starring in the 2018 Mexican film “Lo más sencillo es complicarlo todo,” Paola had yet another voice role on an animated film, for the Spanish dub of Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon.”Stage CareerIn 2003, Paola made her stage debut starring as the title character in “Regina: Un Musical Para Una Nación Despierta.” She had another lead role the very next year in the musical “Anita la huerfanita,” an adaptation of the popular Broadway musical “Annie.”Paola had her greatest theatrical success yet in 2013, when she began playing the role of the witch Elphaba in the first Spanish-language production of the smash Broadway musical “Wicked.” The production opened in Mexico City at Teatro Telcel in October of 2013 and closed in January of 2015. A massive hit, it sold over 100,000 tickets and became one of the most successful stage productions in Mexican history. Subsequently, Paola was invited by producer Alex Gou to join the cast of the musical “Hoy no me puedo levantar,” in which she played the lead role of Maria.Music CareerFollowing the release of her debut album “Mi Globo Azul” in 2001, Paola released her second album, “Océano,” in 2004. This was followed by “Chiquita pero picosa” in 2005. After a seven-year hiatus, Paola returned to recording with her self-titled 2012 album, which spawned the hit single “Ruleta.” In 2014, she participated on the ABBA tribute album “Dancing Queens,” singing a cover of “Take a Chance on Me” that debuted at number one on iTunes México.In 2020, Paola released her fifth studio album, “SIE7E +,” which features songs from her EP “Sie7e,” including the hit tracks “Final Feliz” and “Mala Fama.” It also contains new singles such as “Sodio” and “Oye Pablo.” Paola released her sixth studio album, “K.O.,” in 2021. Spawning eight singles, it went on to receive a Latin Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.Fashion and EndorsementsBeyond her acting and singing, Paola became a fashion designer in 2014 when she collaborated with the Mexican clothing brand Sexy Jeans to release her own line. A couple years later, she became the new face of L’Oreal Paris’ Casting Crème Gloss hair color line for the Latin American market. As part of the promotional campaign, Paola dyed her hair and appeared in television and print advertisements for the brand.
Read More