Kenyan Afro Soul musician, Dela
How you sound is definitely determined by your playlist. What you listen to often forms the motifs you employ when you open your mouth. Most people are comfortable with what they think they like or what they’ve heard since they are children. However, if becoming a maestro of sorts is what you seek, then opening your ears a little wider will do you good.
R n B
This is the common genre determining how singers sound today and only followed by church. The black Gospel influence in church almost closely resembles this. It is advisable to listen to a lot of Joe, Brian McKnight, Bebe and Cece Winans, Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera and Brandy. This music will infuse some soul into how you sing but more than that your voice will start allowing itself to do trills and runs. In addition, your ability to ad lib will increase exponentially the more you listen to Rhythm and Blues since it is a must in every song within this genre.
Reggae
There is a certain disdain for reggae among a certain class of people and smae applies to Rock music. You being a lover of voice, have no such luxury. You want to be the best, right? In that case, eat humble pie and just listen. Listen to how the singers in this genre phrase their words to bring out certain emotions. Listen to Peter and Gramps Morgan, Alaine, Burning Spea, Lucky Dube and Bob Marley who you will realize had a very wide range. Reggae puts your mind on an off-beat mode and removes some of the structured singing you’ve gotten used to.
Rock/Blues
I consider these two guitar genres. As a singer, listen to Rock and Blues to allow your mind to let your vocals push their limits. You don’t have to go extreme and end up at the doctors, but the idea is to not limit yourself to where your voice sounds sweetest. Sometimes it is not about how sweet it sounds but how much it moves. Listen to Ray Charles, Aerosmith, The Script, Al Greene, James Brown, Alterbridge, Aretha Franklin Patti LaBelle, P!nk, Barlow Girl, Evanescence among others.
Afro
This is the point where I say last but not least, which is what I mean. You are a Kenyan, you can only run away from it up to a certain point. After that, it hits you that all you’ve been listening to is someone else’s experiences, culture, story, image and not your own. One day you find yourself listening to Sautisol’s Nairobi and it hits you that finally you can picture this as compared to Delilah’s New York City. Listen to Afro to master African inflections and runs too. They are different. More importantly Afro has unique rhythms that only you have an innate gift that allows you to master easily. Add some Eric Wainaina, Asa, Miriam Makeba, Habib Koite, Fally Ipupa, Lokua Kanza, Thandiswa Mazwai, Les Wanyika and even Dan ‘Chizi’ Aceda to your collection.