Henrie Mutuku
Early life
Early life
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Mutuku was born in [Nairobi](/wiki/Nairobi "Nairobi") in 1978, the firstborn with three brothers to Mr. and Mrs. Mutuku. She grew up in the Eastlands, a densely populated area in Nairobi inhabited by generally low income residents, and from a very young age was exposed to a diverse range of music styles including R\&B, Reggae, Rap, Benga, Lingala and other African blends of music.

Henrie Mutuku's love affair with music was evident quite early in life when at the age of 5 she would sing in family gatherings, church, and nursery school. Later, when she was slightly older, it was the church choir where her talents for music were obvious and enhanced. She has also sung in the local church worship team, Christian Union, singing groups such as More Than Conquerers (MTC) and Prayer Partners (PPs).

Her Christian upbringing in the Eastlands suburb of Nairobi has influenced her style of music as she uses Swahili, English, her mother tongue Kamba and Sheng (a concurrence of English, Swahili and local, vernacular dialects) to express herself and communicate to her audience.  Since then, she has grown to use basic Amharic and French, mainly due to the influence of Ethiopian and Congolese refugees living in her environs.

In upper primary school she toyed with the idea of making music her career choice and as an active member of the Drama Club and Choir mistress in [Loreto High School, Limuru](/wiki/Loreto_High_School%2C_Limuru "Loreto High School, Limuru"), her love and interest in music was solidified.

She is fluent in [Swahili](/wiki/Swahili_language "Swahili language"), [English](/wiki/English_language "English language"), [Kamba](/wiki/Kikamba_language "Kikamba language") (her mother\-tongue) and [Sheng](/wiki/Sheng_%28linguistics%29 "Sheng (linguistics)").


At what age did Henrie start singing in family gatherings, church, and nursery school?