Who is Vonroe?

Anthony Okoth

In many ways, Vanessa Vonroe is ahead of the curve. She released her first album at the tender age of sixteen. Her sound is that of the future come too early, an EDM inspired sound that is finally becoming widely accepted in Kenya. Sitting quietly drinking her favourite milkshake, one would be hard pressed to see the immense desire to succeed that is well hidden behind her warm smile and wandering eyes.

Evolution seems very much a part of Vanessa, right down to her stage name. “My stage name used to be ‘Fina’, but there’s an artist called Fena so there used to be a lot of confusion. I changed it to Vanessa Vonroe, with Vanessa being my given name and Vonroe is a corruption of Monroe. It came from my friends teasing me because I am into vintage clothing.” Her music constantly evolves to stay fresh and to accommodate her numerous ideas and experiments, which sees her working with numerous producers and collaborators. “I like anything that’s different and sounds odd,” she states. “I like EDM at the moment, so my album (coming out this month) reflects this. I like to mix futuristic sounds and retro, 80’s music.”

In a country where singing is regarded as an ‘unserious job’ in favour of more blue and white collar endeavors, those who strike out on their own are up against it from the very start. Vonroe is no exception. “I’ve been singing since I was eight so it’s basically all I know. It’s been tough, there have been moments where I thought I should give up and get a ‘normal’ job and focus on other things. I’ve always been a dreamer and really stubborn, so I set my mind to it and worked at it. I always ended back in music.” She credits her constant work at becoming a better artist to her evolution as a performer and as a person.

“It’s helped me as a person because I used to be shy and terrified of performing in front of crowds, I’d stand on stage perfectly still and my friends would be like “Move! Move an arm at least!”  So it has brought out the best parts of me.If I wasn’t a singer I would’ve been more reserved and quiet.”

 Her affinity for experimentation can be seen in her music, her numerous covers on her Soundcloud page and the amount of work she’s done in the music industry. She’s written music for various artists as well as Operation Smile and the Human relations trust. When quizzed about why she no longer writes for other artists, her reply shows how attached she is to her work: “It felt like I was giving away something that’s mine.”

For more on her music here is her sound cloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/vanessavonroe