Why I am fed up with the music industry – Meg C

 Kenyan singer Meg C.

“Ask me about music support… watu wamekuwa na roho mbaya, they do not support talent, and I will mention names," that is what Meg C, now Keydoli and also known as Yusriyah shoots, said.

"Other artistes think collaborating with you will take their spot or that wanakusaidia sana or take you as a threat,” she said when I reached out for another matter altogether late last week.

“Or people want to get into your pants because they think you are pretty,” she added, her tone aggressive. 

She recorded much of the album in Tanzania and was spending a lot of her time between Bongo and Qatar. The seven-song album was well-received in Tanzania, and includes features from Tanzanian artistes. Didn’t she make that decision on her own?

“This thing can fire you up. People do not even know about us, our music history, we conquered and made Kenyan music recognised. I was a hit in East Africa (with Love Stages) and my song was number one in charts in Tanzania for a whole month,” she says.

 Meg C.

“I am respected and given support in Tanzanian more than my own people, which makes me say I am not Kenyan…” She claims her comeback has been derailed by individuals she refers to as ‘godfathers’ - showbiz players whom she says have tried to make a coin from her. 

“Godfathers want a lot of money to make my comeback, na mimi siwezi lipa pesa because I am one of those people who made the music industry great.”

Explaining that she was so frustrated that she had given up as a Kenyan musician, she names several radio personalities as some of the people who have not come through for her, accusing one of promising to link her with Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho but not going through with it. 

“This is last year… When I arrived in Kenya, (he) was asking for money saying he will connect me to 001, which I am still waiting for the date. All I wanted from Governor Joho was the county support as a resident of Mombasa,” said Keydoli, adding that (the radio personality) connected her to another manager who promised to connect her to Jalang'o, and through him, it would be easy to work with PMVA winner Masauti. 

This is where it gets interesting.

This manager, who she did not name, asked for $3,000 (about Sh323,700) as the budget to have Masauti work with Keydoli. She claims she did not have the money, plus the album was already done. She fired the manager.

Upon prodding for more evidence other than the few screenshots she had shared, she claimed to have lost a phone in Tanzania, the one that had the details. 

 Meg C.

We reached out to some of the individuals mentioned and managed to track down the anonymous manager through our links. 

“I gave Meg C the budget for working with Masauti, and she did not have the money. She simply disappeared after,” said the manager, who sought anonymity. “Hakufika bei,” he said.

One of the named presenters, whom we spoke to on Tuesday afternoon as he was about to get into his radio show in a station in Mombasa, said he has never gotten any money from Meg C, and she needs to show receipts if that ever happened.

“I am very furious. She needs to tell me when she sent me money and explain when I promised to link her to the Governor (Joho),” he said. “I would not know why she would want to tarnish my name at all.”

And there is more, she takes on a popular morning show presenter. "He made me come to Nairobi and took me to Rick Ross’ show (2018), then gave me fake promises about supporting my music,” she said, still not done with her claims into what she calls an abusive relationship between artistes and media personalities.

She blames a popular TV show host for giving her false hopes, and a top female radio presenter for not supporting fellow ladies.

“I have decided to mention names because these people are destroying a new generation,” said Meg C, who adds that as a widow with two kids, seeing her talent being crushed by people who came into the industry after she did is not fair. 

“This thing will blow up and bring enemies and I am okay with that because when I needed them to just play my music, they refused,” she said.