top ten ya wasanii wenye chapaa kenyaa.............hapa......

HII NI YA MSANII JAGUAR NA GARI PIA ZAKE

Since Kenyan musicians have never declared

their net-worth, the only prudent way to find out

is going through the Music Copyright Society of

Kenya (MCSK) archives. As such, MCSK

recently came up with a list of the top 10

wealthiest musicians in Kenya.

The highest paid Kenyan artists by MCSK and

beneficiaries of endorsements, especially by

the corporate, make this list. Other factors such

as: number of live performances, CDs and

merchandise sales and other related careers

are also considered

So here we go;

1. Jaguar

Jaguar has been in the Kenyan entertainment industry since its

infancy and is one of the finest hit makers in the region. The Kigeugeu

singer is also an entrepreneur with a portfolio that consists of a taxi

firm, insurance company, garage and real estate. Jaguar was recently

awarded by MCSK where he was amongst the artists who bagged

millions at the event. He made headlines when he allegedly bought a

plane - Air Jaguar - that appeared in his new video Kipepeo. He also owns several posh car brands like

Bentley, BMW, Benz and Jaguar. Most recently, he was paid close to KSh1M after a single concert in Burundi

2. Nonini
He’s the Breakfast show presenter at One FM, Nairobi. Nonini is also
a co-pioneer of Genge, which is a sub-genre of Africanised Hip Hop.
He’s widely known as The Godfather of Genge. The artist has three
studio albums that receive massive airplay on local media making him
the highest paid artist by MCSK in 2012. When he launched the
Colour kwa Face Foundation to fight for the rights of albinos just
recently, the renowned Selif Keita endorsed him. Other corporate
groups backing the project include: Safaricom and Standard Group

3. Wyre
His new song Nakupenda Pia
featuring Alaine is one of the
biggest hits of 2013. Wyre’s style
is very unique as he fuses reggae3. Wyre
His new song Nakupenda Pia
featuring Alaine is one of the
biggest hits of 2013. Wyre’s style
is very unique as he fuses reggae

4. Nameless
Born David Mathenge, Nameless burst into the limelight in 1999
during Capital FM’s star search. He has worked with Tedd Josiah of
the now defunct Blue Zebra before signing with Ogopa DJs. Some of
the hits that he’s released during his career include: Megarider,
Boomba Train, Sinzia, Juju and Salary. According to the cheque he
received from MCSK, he’s one of the most played Kenyan artists.
He’s won many awards such as Kisima Music Awards (2004), Pearl
of Africa Music Awards (2006), Channel O Music Video Awards
(2007) and MTV Africa Music Awards (2009)

5. Habida
The talented singer is also a model and has worked with Kiko Romeo
in her early years. She studied drama at Lewisham College, London
and musical theatre at Kennesaw State University, Atlanta. On
returning home, Habida worked with renowned producer, Robert
‘RKay’ Kamanzi and managed to flood airwaves with the single
Sunshine alongside Nameless. Currently, her latest single Lights Up
is ruling the airwaves. She has won several awards like the Best
Video Award at the East African CHAT Awards, 2010. Apart from
royalty payments, she still earns a lot from her modelling career.

6. Jua Cali
Although Juacali didn’t make it to MCSK’s top-ten list of the highest
paid, he built an empire with Clemo - Calif Records. They also created
a new localised rapping style known as Genge. Other pioneers of
Genge were Nonini and Mahatma. In 2001, he penetrated the industry
with his hit single Ruka. He has released three studio albums since
then namely: Juacali Sekta, Ngeli ya Genge and TuGenge Yajayo. He
was the first Kenyan artist to be endorsed by a corporate when he
received a Kshs 1million-a-year deal from Motorola. He also signed a
Kshs 10-million deal as the Orange Ambassador

7. Juliani
In Kenya, Hip Hop artists usually don’t make as much money as their
counterparts in other popular genres like Genge and Kapuka. This is
with the exception of a few artists. When starting out, Juliani was a
member of the Ukoo Flani Mau Mau group before he got saved in
2005 and pursued a solo career. He has worked with Kijiji Records,
Kenya and a record label in the UK. He has also been endorsed by
Google Plus. Juliani’s music touches important aspects of society in
the realms of religion and politics. He has released two albums - Mtaa
Mentality and Pulpit kwa Street. And most recently, he got a new job
with Google alongside Churchill and Caroline Mutoko.

8. Prezzo
Even though most of his wealth comes from inheritance (as Jaguar
used to claim when he was beefing with Prezzo), Prezzo is
undeniably one of the top paid Kenyan musician. His hit song ‘Naleta
Action’ that featured Nazizi reserved him a spot as a big name in the
entertainment industry. He’s known for showing the immense wealth
through his flashy music videos. He was also a contestant at Big
Brother Africa (BBA) in 2012 but didn’t manage to win. Nevertheless,
Kenyans were proud of him and he’s currently a ONE Ambassador. 9. Angela Chibalonza
The late Angela Chibalonza was
born in Kinshasa, Congo and
relocated to Kenya after
graduating from high school. She
had a powerful voice and used to
sing in the choir. The artist has
several albums under her belt
including: Nikuabudu, Jina la
Yesu, Mwisho wa Dunia and
Ninapotembea. Her music is in French, Lingala, Luganda, Swahili and English thus sells across a wider
fan base. Although Chibalonza was in the top-ten list of the highest paid by MCSK in 2012, she always
insisted that she did music not for money but to minister

10. Ringtone
The talented gospel artist is ranked #10 by MCSK with regards to the
highest earning artists of 2012. He became popular after releasing the
hit single Pamela, which topped many local charts for weeks on end.
After that, he recorded several other songs with the current hit being
Jubilation. Ringtone lives a flashy lifestyle and has a lot of assets. He
tried his hand at politics in 2012 but didn’t succeed and ended up
purchasing a Range Rover worth more than Kshs 7 million with part of
the funds raised for the campaign