AY: Bringing Hollywood home

Welcome back from America. Why did you keep your trip a secret in the first place?

I’m a mysterious man, I prefer surprising my fans with good things all the time. Again, I had taken a long time to plan the trip to Hollywood.

For how long had you been planning?

I have been talking to Sean Kingston for the past two years, trying to set a date for the video shoot.

What took you so long?

Bad timing, busy tour dates for Sean Kingston, he had an accident at some point, and I have been busy too. But I kept on pushing him until we settled on a date.

What kind of a person is Sean Kingston?

One of the humblest Hollywood stars I have come across. He is generous too; for instance when I needed a nice location to shoot the video, he allowed me to use his house.

Give us the details about the video shoot

I went there to shoot one video, but ended up shooting two. The first one was with Sean featuring Miss Triniti and the second was a collabo with Lamaya and Miss Triniti. The directors of the video have worked with other American stars like Usher, Jennifer Lopez, among others.

Who funded the whole project?

I did.

Even paying for the video shoot, travel, accommodation, props?

Yes. I was well prepared for this so I had to make it happen. For you to make it big in this industry, you must go that extra mile to invest.

It must have been very expensive. In the pictures, I have seen some souped-up old school low-riders. Did you hire that?

Yes, they were the most expensive props during the shoot. One car was costing $900 (about Sh80,000) for just a few hours, and I had to use several of them to make the video really good. However, Sean made things a bit easier for me, which slashed my planned budget.

How big is his house?

A four-storey building, large lawns, swimming pool – just like mansions other Hollywood stars own.

Did you meet any other Hollywood star?

Yes, guys like Soldier Boy, wrestler Hulk Hogan, among other few stars. But I really wanted to meet my role model Dr Dre.

So did you meet him?

I tried, using the links with Sean Kingston, but it didn’t work. We had even planned the meeting place and time, but he wasn’t able to make it because he was held up in other projects. The most satisfying is the fact that he got to know that an African artiste from Tanzania wanted to meet him. So next time I will give it another shot.

Many African artistes pay American musicians to do collaborations with them. Was it the same case for you and how much did you pay Sean Kingston?

I did not pay Sean even a cent. This was a project done in good faith and through the connections I have had for years.

How did you get to know him?

He has performed in Tanzania before, so that’s how I got to meet him first. My relationship with Lil Romeo, who is millionaire rapper Master P’s son, also made it possible to do a song with Sean. If you have a good relationship with these artistes, it is very possible to do such collabos without paying the American artistes.

So you must be the first Tanzanian to do a song with such a big star?

Absolutely yes, and I will continue to do more projects with other American and European stars. I’m already making contacts and follow ups on that.

When are you releasing the songs?

We are releasing the collabo with Sean this week all over the world, both the audio and the video. It’s called “Touch Me”. The other one will be released second week of December.

Is it easy for East African musicians to get to that level?

Yes, but only if they will take the risk of investing in their music. Many artistes are afraid to spend money when they want something. That way they remain on the same level.