Forget Jimmy Gait, this Kikuyu Hello cover will leave you in tears

If you were mocking Jimmy Gait for his ‘muhadhara’ cover of Adelle hit single, you haven’t seen anything yet.

A Kenyan woman, identified solely as Geraldine, decided to translate and record the global chart topper in Kikuyu.

Unlike Mafeelings singer Dela Maranga who went to the pains of creating a musically and vocally appealing Swahili rendition of the soulful ballad, Geraldine and her sister were inspired to do their version after a night of insomnia.

The clip, which was uploaded to YouTube by Irene Mwangi, has poor audio quality and it was recorded without musical accompaniments.

So did Gait’s notorious rendition have anything to do with this version?

Interestingly, it did-according to Irene Mwangi.

“So after listening to Jimmy Gait’s Hello cover my friend Geraldine and her baby siz, suffering insomnia and in their tired not so sleepy state thought of translating Adele’s Hello to Kikuyu and doing a Kikuyu cover.!!!?? If jimmy gait tried so anyone else can,” read the caption.

On Monday, Jimmy Gait released a gospel version of Hello and it sent Kenyan social media into a tizzy.

Gait takes the persona of God, speaking to a ‘prodigal child’ about changing their ways. From having chips fungas to drinking too much and forgetting their faith-Gait serenades a lost believer “from the other side” atop an upbeat track.

Within a matter of hours, the song’s YouTube video had received nearly 300 dislikes compared to 64 likes. Sadly, that was just a tip of the iceberg.

Kenyans on social media ruthlessly hit out at the gospel singer, with many making fun of his interpretation of the hit single.

https://twitter.com/kevanbett/status/679013752042356737

Dear Adele, we are sorry for Jimmy Gait's cover of Hello. We sincerely apologize. No Kenyan was consulted.

— Syindu Musesya (@pmusesya) December 21, 2015

Chilling, then the Jimmy Gait 'Hello' rendition comes on.. pic.twitter.com/ghcwThz55Y

— I am the terror.. (@Buggz79) December 21, 2015