Serving Through Music
Have you ever met someone who is simply living to do more, be more, and live more? Well, if you have been on campus at the same time as Eric Maingi, you surely have been in the presence of someone who lives by that mantra. While some may believe that it could be vague, it gives Eric more room to explore and the opportunity to render service to the world. His world is his family, friends, and anyone he engages with at any point in life.
When asked what he meant by doing more, being more, and living more, Eric expounded on the work he is doing at Colgate, which allows him to know more about the retail space in Africa.
Retail is more than just a supermarket because more than 60% of Africa’s retail is in the informal space. There’s a lot to crack in our own unique retail space in Africa. I want to study this space more and see how we can unlock more of its potential within the continent.
Aside from his passion for the retail space in Africa, many know Eric for his undying love for music. Not just any music, but music that uplifts and heals.
I want to be in a space where I can create more for others. Create more songs and more stories so I can become more of an Entertainer, a teacher in that space and more of an inspiration. In doing so, I will live my life more. In doing so, I will get to meet more people and do more.
Eric did not know how much ALU would pour into his musical journey until he met staff members like Mr. Kay, who supported creatives as they worked towards their own unique creative journey. The opportunities to perform during assembly, events like TEDx, and many more helped Eric gain more confidence in his voice. Never could he have imagined meeting other creatives from across the African continent. People he knows and believes will go on to do great things in their creative careers. ALU is where he met his musical partner Phillipo, where he grew vocally because of one of his friends from the Kingdom of Eswatini and met Babs, a west African producer who produced one of his songs.
The fantastic network at ALU is awesome and the diversity helped me grow as an artist.
Eric’s recent EP has been inspired and has been created for the launch of a book his friend has authored. The EP came as a surprise for him as he was initially only supposed to create one theme song for the book. When the one theme song was ready at the beginning of 2020, his friend fell in love with it so much that he requested Eric to create a whole album. Unfortunately, when covid hit in April 2020, it slowed down the making of the album. This did not stop Eric from creating absolute magic; this season gave more room to write multiple songs and, finally, record an EP for the book. One of the best parts about creating the EP was Eric being able to work with his friend and fellow ALUmni, Phillipo. Fast-forward to today, one of the Swahili songs on the EP play on the radio in Kenya, and Eric continues to build a bigger network of African creatives.
Every artist has their hopes and dreams for the work they create; Eric simply wants his music and stories to heal the world. Heal every and any part which is hurting and broken. His inspiration and motivation to continue making music come from the impact he wants to create and his belief that God gave us a voice to sing and serve others, not to sing to ourselves in bathrooms where no one can hear us.
We have a responsibility to serve. People don’t use that word because it makes one sound like a servant or slave but I learnt that through ALU’s stage of building a community, the input everyone has in building is serving. It could be frustrating to serve but we have to go beyond those frustrations. It’s beautiful to serve. It’s an attitude I am also growing in to. Through the service of performing, one can yield so much in others and in ourselves.
