CHRONICLES OF A FAILED RAPPER: MY STORY

Have you ever felt like you’re the best at something and wondered why you don’t succeed at it? I might just be the most talented rapper you’ve never heard of and if I had the money, I would bet on it. By those words, you my dear reader, might assume that I am not happy with myself, but nothing could be further from the truth. Let me take this opportunity to tell you why. 13 years ago, I graduated college with a dream. I was going to be the highest-paid footballer in Kenya. Well, that’s what I thought of course. There I was, young and naïve, training harder than everyone, all the while watching every single Ronaldo clip on YouTube. If you ask me, I was just as good as he was and it showed on the pitch. Maybe a little bit too much because in a very short time I realized that you cannot be too good in a Kenyan football match. I was taken out so hard I couldn’t play for the next year, and thus died my football dream. Now if you’ve been following this far, then I hope you have some semblance of sympathy for a brother. I had no health coverage, and my folks were not exactly rich back then. Picture an African home, half a cripple with a college degree, but with nothing to show for it. What’s worse, you’re too injured to attend any job interviews and have to wait for clearance by the doctor, on their dime. I will leave that to your imagination but basically, that is how a rapper was born. I will not bore you with the details of a 10-year failed career because I might need you to buy my book someday. If you thought football was hard, then music is way harder. I even quit a few times, to be honest. Why you ask? Well, there’s simply no logic left when you think you’ve done your best work yet, and won’t get even a sniff of support from your family and friends. It breaks you. Never mind the little amounts here and there that you spend on production, both audio and video, for a measly number of streams and views. It is also a path that filters those who love you from those who use you. I’m just lucky I prefer my misery to that of a dead-end job. So here we are in the good year of our Lord. A failed rapper who now owns a start-up record label and media production company. It might still be a small enterprise, but the vision is not. I now find joy in providing a platform and an opportunity for other young creatives to achieve their best. Don’t get me wrong, I still rap, just no longer like my life depends on it. Out of my gruesome journey, I have managed to learn so much, and part of it, I am using to write this. What I have learned is that in life, there are no guarantees. Sometimes might not see the whole picture, but passion, hard work and perseverance open doors that you never dreamt you could walk through.