Joseph Kamaru (1939 – 3 October 2018) was a Kenyan Benga and gospel musician and political activist. He was an icon, a hero, and a leading Kikuyu musician,^[2] who has sold about half a million records.^[3] He was notable for his politically motivated songs either praising or criticising the government. His music covered the teachings of life, promiscuity and sexual harassment in Kenyan politics and social culture.^[4]

He was known for his friendship with President Jomo Kenyatta, but after writing a song condemning the murder of JM Kariuki, they ceased to be close. He also wrote songs praising President Daniel arap Moi.

Kamaru was from Kangema, Muranga District.^[5] In 1957 he moved to Nairobi where he got a cleaning job.^[5] His first formal job was working as a house-help and a nanny, earning enough money to purchase his first guitar.^[6] He started pursuing music in 1965.^[5]

Kamaru made his first breakthrough in 1967 with Celina.^[2] The height of his musical career was between 1975 and 1985 due to the release of adults-only cassettes, all dealing with Kikuyu folk songs.^[6] In the late 1980s he was the first Kenyan artist to play at the Carnivore Restaurant, then only hosting foreign artists.^[5] According to Martin Dunford, the owner of the restaurant, Kamaru's vibrant performance opened doors for other Kenyan artists to perform at the venue.^[5]

Many of Kamaru's songs were political, either praising or criticising the government.^[7] Initially he had a good relationship with president Jomo Kenyatta,^[6] but after Kamaru wrote a song in 1975 condemning the murder of Josiah Mwangi Kariuki he fell out with him.^[8] After Kenyatta's death, the succeeding president, Daniel arap Moi, was close to the artist.^[9] In 1980, Kamaru toured Japan as a part of President Moi's entourage.^[9] After the visit he composed Safari ya Japan praising the president.^[9] Moi grew displeased with Kamaru's support for multiparty democracy in the late 1980s.^[5]

Kamaru received significant support from Voice of Kenya radio presenter Job Isaac Mwamto, who embraced the rise of Kenyan music, by presenting Kamaru's music to his radio stations.^[4] He was often called "Kenya's Jim Reeves".^[4] He recorded nearly 2,000 songs addressing morality and offering life teachings.^[10] The songs launched his status as a Kikuyu music legend and impacted East Africans’ music scene with classic hits such as "Gathoni" and "Charia Ungi".^[10] His popular songs include "muhiki wa mikosi" and "muti uyu mukuona" among others.^[4]

In the 1990s, Kamaru announced that he had been "born again" and would no longer perform the secular music on which he had built his career.^[6] In 1993, he turned to gospel music and disbanded his previous group, the Kamaru Supersounds.^[11] The change saw a plunge in his record sales.^[5] Kamaru was once the chairman of the Kenya Association of Phonographic Industries (KAPI), and owned a church ministry in Nairobi.^[12] He also ran two record stores in Nairobi.^[13] Kamaru expressed interest in building a Kikuyu cultural home on one of his many farms in Murang’a to safeguard and protect the Kikuyu culture, though this was not accomplished as he died in October 2018.^[14]

In April 2018, after a circulating death hoax, Kamaru confirmed his good health in an interview with the Daily Nation.^[14] In the interview, Kamaru said "God could not take me until I oversaw changes in the music industry and mentor upcoming musicians to get the best songs for their audiences and in return get a better pay".^[14]

Kamaru died on 3 October 2018 at the age of 79 at a hospital in Nairobi from complications of Parkinson's disease.^[15] He was survived by 2 siblings, 1 daughter and 3 sons.^[14] His grandson, also named Joseph Kamaru, is an ambient musician and sound artist who goes by the artistic name KMRU and is based in Berlin.^[16]