Despite being broke, I will not remarry- Princess Julie

What pains you the most?

My greatest pain is the change of fortunes and sudden twist my life has taken.

You have been away from the limelight for a while now. Have you officially relocated to the village?

Yes, I’m now in the village and will stay here. However, if I get a chance to perform in any town, I will not let down my fans. But my home is here in Bondo, Nyironge.

So you have not given up on music?

Music runs in my blood and I haven’t stopped performing. Even when things are bad I still do shows in Sori Town, Migori County. But since I lost all my instruments, I’m employed to perform. But the money is too little to sustain me and my backup singers who I have to pay.  I’m left with nothing. The situation is so bad that I even contracted a bad throat infection from sharing a microphone. I hope things will look up for me soon.

Do you blame anyone for your misfortunes?

You know in my heydays, I invested a lot of money in music but when things went digital and Kenyans adopted memory cards and flash discs, business went south. Now when people stopped buying CDs, that really affected my career.

I am sure you have learnt lessons in all this journey...

Yes. I have learnt many things but the hardest of them all is that when you are doing well, many friends will surround you and love your company, but when you lose your fame and fortune, only few will stand by you.

A while back, it was alleged that singer Akothee gave you an offer but you rejected. Clear the air for us please.

Akothee wanted to buy some of my songs and own them permanently, but I turned down that offer because selling my music would be like selling myself. I’d rather keep a low profile but not lose my identity. I am hopeful that Princess Julie will one day rise again.

Do you miss life in the limelight?

Honestly, I do. What I miss the most is entertaining my fans across Kenya and having many shows.

Which mistakes did you make in your prime years and do you regret?

At some point in life, we all go through challenges and that is my story. However, I do not have any regrets about anything I did in my past life.

If you weren’t Princess Julie the Benga maestro, what would you be doing?

I can’t think of anything else; music is my life. But I have been trying a bit of farming in the recent past.

Your son MakaJuly follows closely in your  footsteps. Do you think he can fit in your shoes?

My son is fine. He does a bit of business in Migori town. He has also produced a CD themed around his life and as a gratitude to God for sustaining him. But he says currently music is not in his mind.

 It’s been over 20 years since you lost your husband Princess, have you thought of remarrying?

I think I’m too old to think of re-marrying!