Mombasa star Sudi Boy: Drugs will kill you

With Twende, his latest collabo with hip-hop artiste Rabbit, presently amassing considerable airplay, Sudi Boy has managed to carve a niche for himself in the local showbiz industry thanks to his alluring vocals.

It is this current success that has won him friends and enemies alike, with some Coast-based artistes starting to wage a war against him.

A number of artistes have been on his case, branding him as a mere collabo artiste who cannot hold a tune on his own. In fact, others have gone ahead to call him a hopeless school dropout.

However, Sudi Boy remains unshaken. In fact, he urges his haters to keep on dissing him, saying all of it is a blessing in disguise.

“What is wrong with doing collabos with other artistes if by the end of the day everyone gains,” he wonders.

A few years ago Sudi Boy says, he was a hopeless teenager, brought up in a poor family that saw him drop out of school in Form One due to lack of school fees.

“I dropped out of school after it became apparent that my father was unable to raise my fees. I later resorted to playing football and performing acrobatic stunts at different events for cash,” he recalls.

“My mother abandoned me at an early age and I had to fend for myself to make ends meet. I was exposed to challenges many people would not overcome and that shaped my character. I have learned to work hard in life and thank God for every success that comes my way,” he notes.

It is this humble upbringing that gave Sudi Boy a compassionate heart, something that explains why most of his songs are about love and inspiration.

He describes his music as contemporary Afro-fusion.

Sudi Boy is quick to warn that drug abuse has killed the careers of many talented youths in Coast region, giving talented rapper Sokoro as an example.

“Celebrities ought to be role models. However, this generation of artistes is losing it. Many artistes have music that carries no content at all. Others thrive on glorifying sex, drugs and women.

I fail to understand why some artistes would rather be controversial than ambassadors of good societal morals,” he wonders.

Sudi Boy made his debut in 2007 with his first hit song Banati.

In 2010, he moved to Nairobi and did his first collabo with Pilipili on a track titled Mteja.

His other major collabos include Naona Bado featuring Amileena and Nakuchukia featuring Rabbit.

Sudi Boy has also collaborated with Ugandan star Jose Chameleon and is currently planning another collabo with Sauti Sol.

Among his recent accolades include Best Male Artiste and Best Afro Fusion Artiste at the Coast Awards.

This soft-spoken, vocally gifted singer says the local showbiz scene is competitive, full of phony promoters and a lot of undercutting.

“I have met with different artistes who claim that their songs were stolen by follow artistes. Personally, I have performed at various events were the organiser refused to pay for the performance,” he says.

Sudi Boy reveals that he charges Sh100,000 per show and is currently doing at least two shows a week.

“I have to be paid half that amount before I set foot on the stage. Anything less than that is just out,” he warns.

“If you do not have the right connections and a good management team getting your music out there as an upcoming artiste is difficult,” he further states.

The singer paints a gloomy picture of the local showbiz scene saying it is really hard to impress a Kenyan crowd. He tears into artistes for their ‘fake’ lifestyles saying many go out of their way to impress their fans and yet behind the scenes they are suffering financial challenges.

“Many of these artistes resort to drug abuse to escape the daily pressures of being a celebrity. Drugs will kill you. Just be true to yourself,” he advises.