Reviewed by George Luke

With a name like Henrie, you'd expect this young Kenyan singer to be a bloke, but in fact, Henrie's a she! (but then, Ice-T's real name is Tracy and John Wayne was called Marion, so that's hardly shocking). Like any other young African today, Henrie has been exposed as much to Western pop and urban sounds as to the indigenous sounds of Africa and the album reflects that mix of influences. To be honest, she almost lost me right from the word go; the album opened rather inauspiciously with a bunch of kids reciting the 10 Commandments, then went into a song whose basic-sounding house arrangement didn't do much for me (the kids turn up again halfway through the album for another brief interlude, and again at the end). But then things started to get better. "Ole Wangu" (Woe Is Me) finds Henrie musing over the dilemma of trying to trust God when circumstances try to force you to look elsewhere for help. Guest rapper Steve Mutuku adds some ragga spice to the songs "Usichoke" (Don't Tire) and "Ole Wangu" and provides a nice opening to "Songa Mbele" (Move Ahead). "Manzi Wa Maana" (A Young Woman Of Reckon) features some Cher-style vocoder doodling. The sleevenotes give brief English summaries of what each track is about, complete with the Bible verses that inspired the songs. Henrie can sing and shows potential as a songwriter; she just needs to work on improving her memorable/not-so-memorable song ratio. And to leave the kids at home, unless she's doing a kids' album. (Don't bring them even then! Ed)

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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