Natasha Sanaipei Tande (born 22 March 1985),^[1] popularly known as Sana, is a Kenyan singer, songwriter, actress, radio personality and entertainer.

Career

In 2004, at 19 years of age, Sanaipei joined the Coca-Cola Popstars (East Africa) Talent Search after coaxing from her family.^[2]After successfully auditioning for the show, she deferred her Pharmacy studies at Kenya Medical Training College. Sanaipeiwon the competition alongside two other Kenyan contestants, Kevin Waweru and Pam Waithaka. Together, they formed the band Sema and won a record deal with Homeboyz Records. In 2005, the trio released a seventeen track debut album Mwewe, with hit singles Leta Wimbo, Sakalakata, and the eponymous Mwewe, thrusting them into the limelight.^[3] Later in the same year, the band split, citing "irreconcilable differences" and "external forces".

After the band split, then Capital FM Kenya Chris Kirubi asked former Hits Not Homework presenter Eve D'Souza to train Sanaipei as a radio presenter but eventually determined that she was not a good fit for the station. Shortly after, she joined Kiss 100, where she shadowed former Mid Morning Show presenter Angela Angwenyi and later began to present the Mid Morning Show and Keeping It Kenyan on Saturdays.

In 2012, Sanaipei left Kiss 100. She joined Easy FM (now Nation FM) in 2013 as co-presenter of the drive show alongside Edward Kwach. In 2014, she released her hit single Mfalme wa Mapenzi as part of producer Wawesh's Mahaba project, a showcase of Swahili love songs.^[4]The song earned Sanaipei widespread critical acclaim for her songwriting. Later, she began to host the mid-morning show alongside comedian Obinna Ike Igwe. When Obinna was transferred to the driveshow, Sanaipei became the sole host of the mid-morning show and garnered the station's largest listenership. In September 2015, Sanaipei and fellow presenters Ciru Muriuki and Anto Neo Soul were laid off. Their termination was met with uproar on social media platforms, with many listeners and fans demanding their reinstatement.^[5]

After leaving Easy FM, Sanaipei turned her focus to music, releasing singles such as Rasta Man, Simama Imara, and Ankula Huu. Her hit single, Amina, broadened her regional appeal and caught the attention of Tanzanian pop star and musician Chege Chigunda, who invitedher to Dar es Salaam to write and feature on his Najiuliza single alongside Tanzanian songbird Ray C.

Discography

Filmography

References