User:Guycalledryan/Mercy Myra

Mercy Myra is an award winning Kenyan R&B artist. Her first appearances were at private nightclubs, and she is now signed to Project 254 Records and tours professionally. She is also actively involved in programs fighting AIDS in East Africa.

Early Life
Mercy Myra was born in Nairobi, where she began primary school. As her parents were posted to different locations she moved to Zambia, Malawi, Italy and Sweden but at the age of 13 she returned to Kenya where she completed her education and went on to study computing at college. From a young age her musically inclined family encouraged her to sing at both family gatherings and in the Church Choir.

Music Career
Myra's first professional appearances were at Lukes and later Galilileos, two private nightclubs located in the heart of Nairobi, performing material by other artists. In 1996 she left college and joined Calabash, a group which toured Kenya but did not have any releases. She left the group after a year and joined R&B group Destinee and then Black Ice, before recording a single produced by the groups keyboardist, Bruce Odhiambo, entitled African Woman, which was later chosen as the theme song for and performed at the M-MET Face of Africa Model competition. In addition to this success she performed alongside artists such as Papa Wemba at the Beats of Season concert and US Rapper Coolio.

After several setbacks, including