Richie Gathu: UK-based Kenyan artist speaks on life abroad, new release and taking Kenyan music global

That work became "Lucky Me," a single that has actually been ready for nearly two years. It's part of a larger conceptual album titled "6 DEGREEZ," which Richie describes as a story about the painful cycle of finding love, going through the motions, breaking up, and repeating it all over again.

While living in the UK but rooted in Kenya, you might expect "Lucky Me" to explore cultural tension or homecoming. Richie is honest: it doesn't. The song is purely about celebrating freedom after escaping a bad relationship and finding joy in moving on.

However, he promises that his Kenyan upbringing is coming. He's currently tapping into the music he grew up listening to back home, drawing inspiration from those sounds for future releases. That chapter is still being written.

The title "Lucky Me" might sound ironic, but Richie means it sincerely. He wrote the entire "6 DEGREEZ" album as a form of therapy after emerging from a long-term relationship that turned very toxic toward the end. When he says "Lucky Me," he's expressing genuine gratitude for getting out alive. There's no survivor's guilt here—just relief and the hard-won joy of reclaiming his own peace.

Returning to the studio after twelve months away wasn't easy. The hardest part, Richie admits, was simply showing up session after session and shaking off the rust. He's someone who takes a while to warm up, but once the flow hits, he feels unstoppable. There were moments of self-doubt over the past year, but he knew he was ready to share new music again when all he wanted to do was create. "Can't keep the hits in the vault forever," he says.

For fans who have followed Richie since his early work in Kenya through his current chapter in the UK, he wants one thing understood: this new era is entirely unapologetic. Unapologetic about who he is, where he's from, and what he represents. His goal is bold but clear—to be the first name anyone in the world thinks of when they hear "Kenyan artist." He plans to do that by creating timeless music that resonates with and represents his people back home.

Expect the music to be phenomenal. Richie has always used his art as an outlet for whatever is happening in his life, and this new chapter will be no different. But the quality is rising. "Lucky Me" is just the beginning of the "6 DEGREEZ" story—a therapeutic, unapologetic, and proudly Kenyan-driven return from an artist who refuses to stay silent any longer.