RAPPER DNA COMES CLEAN ABOUT SH32 MILLION CAMPAIGN MONEY DEAL AND GOING BROKE

Kenyan rapper Dennis Kaggia, alias DNA opened up on his prime days and working with retired President Mwai Kibaki when his song, Banjuka was a hit. The rapper-cum-producer disclosed that he was approached by Kibaki’s team to perform his song at all his political rallies. 

DNA was paid a huge amount of money but he was chased away from an international bank because of his age. “We were paid the campaign money and we were looking for a place to bank the money. Can you imagine, there’s a bank that chased us away. A very big bank, an international bank. We got to the bank and asked to open an account but they dismissed us because we were young and at the time we had a cheque with a lot of money. We left and went to another bank which had a nice VIP section with fewer people,” DNA said. 

The Banjuka hit-maker also narrated how a local magazine at the time misreported that he had been paid Sh32 million for his song to be used at the campaigns. “This money was not a lot but the problem is that Pulse Magazine heard about the deal and ran a story saying I was paid Sh32 million. Things went crazy, imagine going to the hood and people think you have Sh32 million,” he added. 

DNA also said fame took a toll on him, disclosing how he would recklessly spend his money to the point that he was forced to go back to his parents home. “The problem with fame, you feel the pressure of living up to the standards of your fame. Fame even changes how your family and your closest people look at you. I would drive to the hood and now that people had known my car, I would give drivers and conductors Sh500 or Sh1000. I spent all my money until I moved in with my parents.”  

He also spoke on his relationship with Starehe MP Jaguar, narrating how he used to drive him to shows, “Jaguar used to drive me to shows and he used to be so angry about how I drink. Jaguar could see that I had a good thing but my lifestyle was not good. When you look at his face you could see he is a determined man, he had the same look while we were coming up. Before he became an MP, he was good at making music and because he understood he wasn’t the guy of the fame, he was the guy of the business,” he stated. DNA currently runs a production company in Nairobi.