Advocate with passion for music

If there is one thing that has become more evident since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kenyan music industry is on a new trajectory. The lockdown period gave artistes unique platforms to showcase their talents, and listeners a buffet to indulge in. With their unique sounds, artistes are slowly claiming their spots. And for Afro pop lovers, Immaculate Juma, popularly known as Ima is one of the new favourite girls on the block.

Currently winning the airwaves with her new jams including Don’t complicate it; Heaven; and Grown, Ima‘s music is a groovy fusion of English, Kiswahili and Luo into the Nu-Nairobi sound to serve music that regardless of age, any music lover can enjoy. 

“What makes my music unique is that it’s my expression of my experiences and my musical influences all wrapped into these beautiful compositions,” the artist had shared during a recent interview.

Pursuing law, music and teaching

Formally a member of the music group, Mice, which came into the limelights around 2015, she took a break from music for some years to find her own sound before making a comeback in 2020.

“Our parents were quite strict and brought us up highly regarding authority in all forms. We were also expected to perform well in school. It’s no wonder that Ima pursued a law degree at University of Nairobi.

“She graduated in 2014 and later joined the Kenya School of Law, where she graduated in 2016,” Jullie Juma a corporate communications and public relations expert and Ima’s elder sister shares.

Ima runs a law consultancy, ArtLawKenya, that is purely tailored for creative industry practitioners. The firm also does trainings and workshops for creatives. She also consult for Kemunto Moturi and Associates Advocates in Westlands. While she is not doing music or practicing law, she lectures at the Africa Digital Media Institute, where she teaches music business and IP protection.

However, as Jullie shares, music runs deep in the family. “My dad, Isdor Juma (a retired civil servant) is an avid music listener and he’s the one who probably made all, if not most of us love music. He loved to play for us Rhumba every Sunday whenever we came home from Church. It was like his way of relaxing and reset for the week ahead. He also loved pop music and some rap. He had a mix tape in which he had recorded some songs from artistes such as Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and George Benson. He also had a rap tape from Heavy D. He would whistle as he did his things around the house and sing lightly too,” shares Jullie.

Their mother, Willbroda Juma, a former employee at the Mater Hospital, also sang a lot. His elder sister had a selective love for classical music, while his brother too loved music, especially Boys II Men songs. “My second eldest sister and I were shy about our singing prowess back then, but if asked to, we’d definitely sing with a lot of confidence today. So yes, in a nutshell, we’re all singers,” adds the sister.

Being her immediate elder, Jullie was the first in the family to catch her musical sparks. She would sing in the bathroom or when she was doing things around the house, and had to encourage her to follow her talent.

“I remember there was a day I was scrolling on social media and I saw a poster calling for people to audition for a singing competition at Paa Ya Paa Gallery, Nairobi and I sent it to her. Deep down I knew she was good, but to be honest I wanted to see if she’d go for it because she was kind of shy about her singing prowess. She took it seriously and actually went for it.

“She and two other entrants were picked in the finals and that is how she entered her first musical group called Mice with whom they performed at gigs and events for a couple of years before she went solo,” shares Jullie.

Joining the four-members-band in 2015 was also her official entry into the music industry. But when the group started to do things separately, it was also good for their artistic growth and their creative direction.

Even with her talent, she has had a fair share of challenges including struggling to get the right producers, getting airplay, marketing her music, which has always made the little and big wins along the way worth celebrating as a family.

“She is so driven by her passion for her music that she is rarely put down even in the face of these challenges. Even when she has her weak moments, they don’t last. She has the habit of picking herself up and moving. She jokes and likens herself to a cockroach, they rarely give up easily and even if they go down they will do it fighting,” she says, laughing.

Balancing act

While in the beginning there was skepticism about her music career, after seeing her determination the whole family has been supportive.

“My parents were much more interested in her completing her studies. Now they are appreciating her music more and more. As her sister, I have tried to support her by getting her airplay in the mainstream stations through some of my media contacts. I also do my best to listen in on her radio interviews even if I’m at work, and I also do my best to go for her shows and share her music within my networks,” she says.

Jullie believes Ima’s ability to make bigger comebacks from her setback has to be her strongest trait as a person. “She tends to have a “What’s the worst that can happen?” mentality. For someone like me who prefers to live a planned life, she’s teaching me that life, is indeed short, and we need to make the most out of every situation and live it to its fullest,” shares the elder sister.

How does Ima balance music, law and teaching?

“The great thing about being an entrepreneur and working as a consultant is that I get to dictate my own hours. My law practice is usually Monday to Friday, then have music gigs on Saturday and Sunday. I have days where I get to clear my schedule to produce and rehearse music. I admit though that it isn’t easy, but I try to make sure none gets neglected. I also try to be self-aware, so that I don’t risk burning out. What helps me though is that I genuinely love both law and music. Planning, therefore, has become a skill I have had to and still continue to master,” she says.