Fake money meant as video shoot prop landed me in jail for 2 years - Local singer

One January night four years ago, Papa Veen had to cut short his plans to shoot a music video to answer a case in court. The up-and-coming rapper’s plans to shoot his debut video to the single, Shawasili, led to a two-year jail term three days after appearing in court.

It all started when Papa Veen was travelling from Rangwe to Migori by road for the video shoot. His production team, Fountain Music Studio, was waiting for him in Migori where they are based. However, the weather did not look good; heavy rain pounded the road and when darkness covered the sky, there was no other driver on the road.

The weather became so bad that he decided to make a stop at a place called Opapa and seek shelter in one of the homes in the area, hoping to proceed with his journey the following day.

He sought shelter and one family accepted to host him for the night provided that they called the authorities to inspect him.

“They explained to me that not long before they had hosted a man and in the middle of the night a gang raided their home. The guest was part of the gang. That is why they had to call the police,” he explains. Veen agreed.

When the police arrived, they inspected him and his luggage. Their search led to counterfeit notes amounting to Sh20,000 tucked in his bag. He had scanned a Sh1,000 currency note to reproduce 20 of them.

“The money was for the video shoot. I envisioned a video similar to Lil’ Wayne’s, where the rapper has been shown to ‘blow money fast’. I explained to them why I had the fake notes but they would hear none of it,” he says.

He showed them his audio player and even went ahead and performed Shawasili to them but they would not buy that.

They took him to Migori Police Station. The following day he was presented before court to answer the charge of possession of counterfeit money.

The rapper pleaded guilty and was sentenced to Migori Main Prison and released in May 2012. Fountain Music found out that he was in prison and continued to work with the artiste.

If Veen he had sought permit to acquire fake money, he would not have been behind bars. Was he ignorant?

“Yes. I believe I was naive. I know how the law works now. I do not regret it because I did not let my dream to become a singer die. I created music and became the first artiste to release a full album while in prison. Being locked up did not mean that my talent was locked up too,” he says with pride.

Veen, who now dabbles in motivational speaking, launched the album, Mjela, in prison

It was sponsored by a group of foreigners who were impressed by his talent during a ceremony at the prisons where he performed.

He accredits the success of being able to release an album while in prison to God, humility, relation with people.

“What I started as a non-prisoner was accomplished when I was a prisoner, in a place I never imagined. It was the grace of God.

I also related well with the fellow inmates and the warden. I would perform at events and with time, things worked out,” he says.

The album speaks about real life issues and crime, entirely different from Shawasili.

“My songs majorly involve my life, things I have gone through, the ups and downs. I saw it irrelevant because it was all about flossing.

I wanted to do songs that could impact the society. My hip-hop music has a little bit of ghetto music - it is commercialised and explicit,” says the rapper who divulges that Khaligraph is his role model.