We all want to make it in life, for any artist, it is his/her wish to be able to charm fans and win their hearts.
Every artist wants their work to be recognized and appreciated, however, life being the life and unfair as they say it, there are those who will struggle their way up in the ladder, some will end up giving up while others due to their influence thanks to their finances or that of their family will automatically slide into the industry.
The situation especially in the entertainment industry has never been easy, the challenging part is starting off. Coming out of the shell in a quest to shine and being given a chance to be heard has and will always be the difficult part.
As an upcoming musician, the struggle of getting the media to play your song on TV or radio gets frustrating.
You’ll have to seek the necessary people like DJs and presenters to at least feature the song on their playlist. Starting off an artist, full of life and believing in themselves, after all what could go wrong?
You trust in your talent. Hey! Your mother praised you for your song, your friends hailed you and told you to go for it, your best friend is even marketing you to his/her other friends and strangers have told you they like your vibe whether it is true or not, you carry that ego with you knowing very well that that DJ would be asking himself ‘where has he/she been all our lives?’ or probably trust that some celebrity will get to hear your music and sponsor your projects and manage you.
Well, that’s how everyone sees it in the beginning but Nairobi ni shamba la mawe. You are here in the city to shoot for the stars only for your ego to be ruined completely and for the strong-hearted itauma but itabidi uzoee, you push hard till something worthwhile finally comes your way.
You find out that some people in fact most people in the industry are reluctant in pushing your career. Better for you if you have money because you come from a well up family.
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For an artist who has saved up to try to push his brand to be it a musician, comedian or dancer, you get to be exposed to some greedy people out here to eat the little you have and still trash your work. It is life but we have to push on right?
For new sensation, Cool Malk who hails from Kisumu city he narrates one of his challenges as an upcoming artist to Switch TV presenters Mary Mwikali and Kush Tracey, for him starting off wasn’t easy like most artists.
In fact, back in the days where artists would hold on to their CDs and try selling them or handing them over to the DJs, he did the same, gave his song to the DJ at club Tribeka in Nairobi only for him to later find it trashed in the toilet bins.
“I gave a DJ a song, after hapo kwenda kwa dustbin ya choo nilipata CD yangu, kwa dustbin ya choo.” Cool Malk recalled.
It is not just him, popular gospel artist Size 8 also has gone through such struggles to try venture into the music industry.
She frequently recalls moving up and down with her CDs in various radio stations to get her song played. Speaking to comedian Churchill in an interview.
Size 8 recalls how she had to nag media personality Caroline Mutoko to play her song in Kiss FM which in one occasion decided to fulfill her wish and played the song. Size 8 went all the way to Lion’s Place in Westlands to thank Caroline Mutoko for playing her song.
New rising star Cartoon Comedian also narrated her side where she always had to audition for Churchill Show in order to at least on one-day land herself on the stage and make it as a comedian.
Same case to Kiss FM presenter Jalang’o who talked about the struggle he went through before landing a role in the famous TV show Papa Shirandula.
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For him, he slept hungry and would still walk all the way from Mwiki in Kasarani to Kenya National Theater to see if there was a spot for him. The comedian faced rejections which made him tear down before finally kicking off as an actor.
Well, it is what it is, the good news is in a world where the internet is taking over we all stand a chance of shining by just being patient and sharing the contents we have.
For one to rise to fame it takes the public to recognize our work and that is the fun part of it. By just sharing content on various platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter etc anyone can become a household name and fulfil their dreams.
2020 has opened doors to various artists who would be unknown if there wasn’t so much hype on the internet.
Take a look at Azziad Nasenya who rose to fame thanks to the Utawezana challenge on TikTok, Cartoon comedian whose comedy in the famous INANIAFFECT vlog made her shine, there are the likes of Crazy Kennar and Flaqo and the list is endless.
So if you are an upcoming artist, here is a word for you, the road is not going to be that smooth but with persistence and believing in oneself the doors will surely open.
