Meet the Guy Who Came Up With the Name “Nonini” (No, it’s not Nonini himself)

Many (if not all) performing artistes use stage names which are not their real names. Most of them are usually an acronym of their real names or a random nickname. One artiste whose stage name not only strikes but has also become a household name in the entertainment scene is Hubert Nakitare.

Until recently not so many people knew about the origin, leave alone the meaning, of the name “Nonini”. The closest we were brought to fathom the name was when the rapper released his single Nonini ni nani na nini, which even confused guys more. Anyhow, not long ago Nonini introduced the guy behind the name during the shooting of his video Colour Kwa Face.

“…make-up, Peter Mukonga pale. For the record, ye ndo alicome up na io jina Nonini, sawa?” said Nonini introducing his make-up guy and long-time friend. Basically, the name is a question as in “No…nini?” It happened that Nonini got the name by coincidence back in high school when his friend (Peter Mukonga) asked him to read something on the blackboard. “Ebu soma hapa, No… nini?” posed Peter. Apparently, it sounded good to Nonini and so he told Peter that if he ever became a musician he would use that name.

Apart from doing the make-up in Nonini’s videos, Peter is a trained beautician and works at Tweezers Salon.