Sex for beats putting off female gospel stars

Rose Haki: I featured in P-Unit’s "Hapa Kule" in 2009, Kenrazy’s "Rudia and GKon’s Mikono Juu. When I got saved, I switched to gospel, only to find the same things. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • This places the aspiring young women in a dilemma: Should they give in to demands for sex to launch their career, or stand their moral ground and forfeit their dream?

  • Remarkably, there are those who hit it out on their own and make it purely on merit. However, they find it hard to defend themselves in the court of public opinion, where their success is seen as evidence of impropriety.

  • Zuqka spoke to a few industry insiders to get some insight into the matter.

Stories of female gospel artistes being forced to exchange sexual favours for a shot at fame and fortune have become commonplace, painting the gospel industry as a jungle for young upcoming female artistes.

Venturing into it with good intentions, some say their dreams are thwarted by lecherous producers.

This places the aspiring young women in a dilemma: Should they give in to demands for sex to launch their career, or stand their moral ground and forfeit their dream?

Remarkably, there are those who hit it out on their own and make it purely on merit. However, they find it hard to defend themselves in the court of public opinion, where their success is seen as evidence of impropriety.

Zuqka spoke to a few industry insiders to get some insight into the matter.

Chuchu

“Have you noticed that we don’t have many single women in the gospel industry,” Chuchu asks. “Things are bad, I tell you. I get tired just talking about all the rubbish we go through.” Described as one of Kenyan’s hottest gospel babes, Chuchu has been attracting a lot of attention since she entered the music scene.

You probably remember her from Jimmy Gait’s mega hit, Ole, in which she collaborated with HD. But it’s her hit songs, Upendo and Beautiful, that have made her a household name. Many have heard her voice and seen her pretty face on blogs and newspaper advert, yet the burdens of beauty is weighing her.

“People believe that a girl can’t make it on her own unless she is married or exchanging favours. It’s even worse when we are treated like sex symbols in gospel circles,” she says.

Chuchu has always wanted to be a musician. At the age of eight, she was already singing in a church choir.

“My mom sang in the choir and led praise and worship,” she reminisces. “Every time she heard me sing, she’d say I would be a great artiste one day.”

While in Standard Six, she met gospel sensation Jimmy Gait, then a struggling artiste. They toured schools, conducted missions and even recorded a song together. When she completed high school in 2010, she reconnected with the now successful Gait and did the smash hit Ole. That opened the gates to fame, bringing with it the good, the bad and the ugly.

From fans trailing her with ulterior motives, to industry players downright asking for “it”, Chuchu has experienced it all.

“I almost gave up on music, I felt that, if this is gospel music, then I’d rather not do it. I just wish everyone would be professional and do their job with no strings attached,” she recalls.

Through all the upheavals, she has received the unwavering support of her mother, brother and friends. She has also managed to connect with people in the industry who have helped her realise her dreams.

“I really thank God for connecting me with the right people,” she says. “I can’t name them all but Teddy B, St P, R Kay and Lawrence Thuku of Truth FM have been very instrumental. I’ll never forget what RKay once told me: ‘You don’t need people to make it; with God, nothing is impossible.”

With a powerful voice and a new determination, Chuchu is set to take her art to the next level. She is currently working on transitioning to live music, even as she works on her début album.

“The guys at Sound Deluge have really helped me get my act together. You have not seen the best of Chuchu yet,” she says.

Rose Haki

“Music was my inborn passion so I took a step of faith to get my career going but I was shocked by the level of immorality in the entertainment industry. Ladies compromising, men taking advantage… waah, it’s crazy!

I think the solution is parent/guardian involvement. If fathers and mothers searched and paid for studios as they do schools, would we really have this kind of drama?” she asks.“I got into the industry with no support. I had two choices; quit or compromise, so I developed a third option: I became a video vixen to get money for studio time but in those days we were not paid that much.

I featured in P-Unit’s Hapa Kule in 2009, Kenrazy’s Rudia and GKon’s Mikono Juu. When I got saved, I switched to gospel, only to find the same things.

You need to test these people who claim to be gospel musicians, there are too many fakes, I tell you no man can be trusted; only God.

I have encountered several producers who pretend to be interested in my music, only to realise they are not seeing me as a minister, but as a potential girlfriend. That is why we don’t have many single women in the industry.

If you don’t dance to their tune, they will put you off, but if you comprise they will use you and dump you for the next hot thing. We are blessed to be a blessing to others. If you mismanage God’s resources, he will reduce your supply, so change before circumstances change you.

After starting my own mentorship organisation, I have realised that you don’t really need to know people to make it.

God will make a way for you, have faith and work on your vision. To all the fake gospel producers, pastors, dejaays… I am not compromising. I will firmly stand my ground. Hate me or love me, I am Roz Haki, gospel musician/ motivational speaker and founder of  Faiward mentors.”

Rachael Njoroge, Ceo, Ray Media,

 Young people can be sometimes be naïve and, consequently, fall prey to those who might wish to take advantage of them, says Rachael Njoroge, who has more than 10 years’ experience in event planning and the entertainment industry.

We need more avenues for mentorship to nurture the talent in the music industry. I run a forum called Ray Talk where we equip and cultivate talent.

We have had the privilege of helping artistes avoid the pitfall of  being vulnerable and made them productive. Upcoming artistes should learn how the industry works, and how to work on their talent without been taken advantage of.

They need to network with the right kind of people, those who will lift them, not crash them. We must encourage artistes to attend such forums or mentorship programmes if we want to grow this industry.”

DJ Shock, co-founder of ADJ,

For this gospel DJ, she has a piece of advice. “Grow a thick skin, things will happen that make the journey difficult but don’t give up! Have a support system of friends, pastors and mentors to encourage you, says the veteran  gospel DJ and co-founder of an online mentorship programme for DJs that boasts more than 12,000 members.

“Don’t listen to anyone who says you have to play along and do the wrong thing to make it; God has done it for others, He will do it for you if you trust Him and pay the price of educating yourself on the music industry, working hard and working smart. You don’t want to find yourself in a position where, you are successful, but when people want to know how you got there you have no testimony because you went against your beliefs and did unethical things.

The best way to enter the industry is to seek out and form a strong relationship with a mentor, especially of the same gender; not a peer, but an old hand in the industry, a veteran.

People who are almost fatherly/motherly, explain how the industry works and protect you from pitfalls and wrong decisions, as long as you keep them updated on what is happening.”

St P, Producer

An accomplished producer, he has a long list hits to his credit, including Jimmy Gait’s Sari Sari, Kambua’s Usiku na Mchana and Bahati’s latest single, Lover. St P has worked with just about everyone in the industry, the famous to the infamous and everything in between. He is also the audio producer of NTV’s satirical show, XYZ, and one of the leading audio experts on cartons and animations.

“My female clients have told me these stories and it’s bad out there. Most of them come to me after being frustrated by other producers; women are afraid of recording nowadays.

But there are two sides to this story: Women also use producers and dump them when they become famous. But it’s not good for business.

If you sleep with 10 women and do 10 free songs for them at 20k each, that’s 200k gone. If you do free albums for each, that’s 1.2 million, and they distract you from paying clients.

Some girls seduce producers to get freebies, some even move into their houses and live off them. But there are those who fall in love innocently during the production processes. You can’t produce someone’s music unless you guys have creative chemistry and with the long hours we spend in the studio, the lines can get a little blurred at times.

As a Christian, I have to set an example and I believe over the years I have earned the respect of my female clients. You have to separate business and pleasure.

You can’t mess the paycheck because of a few seconds of pleasure.

What you do to someone else’s daughter will be done to yours, so treat these girls like your little sister. If a little “office romance” happens between a producer and an artiste, be faithful and keep the work professional. Many producers have actually married artistes they worked with. I think our modern world has cheapened love and glorified sex, that’s why we throw away our dignity for temporary happiness.

I still get bombarded by random texts from women who want to pull a fast one on me. Some of them even schedule super-late sessions and show up at my doorstep with overnight bags. But as everyone in the business knows, St P keeps it strictly business.”