Eric V. Baker (a.k.a. Kenya Gruv) began playing the guitar at the early age of 7; he grew up playing in church for the service. At 15, after playing on the local gospel quartet scene, he got his first gig touring all over the US with a well-known gospel group, the East St. Louis Gospelettes. At 19, Kenya began playing on the R&B and Blues scene in Oakland, San Francisco and around the greater Bay Area. At that time, he was playing with some of the most sought after R&B musicians in the industry. These were cats who had played with the artists that put Oakland on the map, including Sly, Larry Graham, Frankie Beverly and Maze, the Whispers, the Tonies and many more. After being immersed in the Oakland/Bay Area R&B scene, Kenya began a career in music production. He placed a number of songs with artists such as New Edition, Somethin’ for the People and MJG & Eightball. Some of his most memorable achievements are the production/vocals on “Top of the World” for the “Menace to Society” soundtrack and his work on Tupac’s “So Many Tears.” For the next several years, Kenya was involved mainly in production. He began to tour with groups like the Tonies, Lucy Pearl, Digital Underground and others. He continues to do session work, playing the guitar, bass and drums. At present, he is on tour with the Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Joss Stone.
