JUA CALI OPENS UP ABOUT BEING CONNED IN BUSIA AND HOW HE MADE HIS FIRST MILLION

Veteran musician Paul Julius Nunda, alias Jua Cali has shared details about his steady rise in the music industry. Speaking in a recent interview, the Genge singer disclosed that he kicked off his music career alongside producer Clemmo of Calif Records. 

After releasing their first song, it did well to the point that they got a gig at one of the biggest festivals in Kenya at the time. Jua Cali revealed that they were paid Sh3,000 after their first performance. 

“There was an event they used to do in Carnivore every December for high school students who have completed school. So the organisers called us to perform and at the time Nameless and Redsan were on the top of the league, so we were just curtain raisers. Being a big event the organisers said they would pay us. After the event, they paid us (Jua Cali, Nonini and Clemmo) Sh3,000,” he said. 

Years later, Jua Cali took over the entertainment scene after his song, Kiasi, went viral making it his biggest song. “In 2005, Kiasi was a hit song and put me to the limelight. My fans received the song with so much love because the video was funny. At the time, I believed the best way to get attention was to make the fan laugh,” he disclosed. 

He further recalled how he was conned by a promoter who had invited him for a show in Busia. “I got a call from my friends in Busia and they invited me for a show. I took a bus to Busia and as usual, I demanded money before performing. However, the promoter pleaded with me to perform and he would pay in the morning claiming he would pay me with the entrance fee.

I performed and when I got up in the morning, his phone was off and no one knew where he went. The owner of the club on his side declined to pay us and instead offered bus fare back to Nairobi. Two years later, I heard the guy who conned us had died,” said Jua Cali. 

Jua Cali also attributed part of his musical career to Gina Din Group director Lorna Irungu who gave him his first endorsement and paid the singer Sh1,000,000 on top of other perks. 

“Lorna Irungu organised my first endorsement with Motorola. She called me and said she liked my job after which she invited me to the office. We got to the office, she showed me the device that she wanted me to endorse and offered Sh1,000,000 for the job,” he stated.