Jua Cali exposes cracks in Tanzanian showbiz: ‘They are broke!’
Renowned Kenyan rapper Jua Cali has stirred up controversy by claiming that the showbiz industry in Tanzania is financially strapped, prompting their artists to seek opportunities across the border in Kenya.
In a candid interview, the legendary rapper dismissed comparisons between the two countries’ entertainment scenes, asserting that Kenya’s cash flow far surpasses that of Tanzania.
According to Jua Cali, the recent hype surrounding a few Tanzanian artists’ success in Kenya has created a misleading illusion about the prosperity of Tanzania’s showbiz industry.
He contends that if Tanzania’s entertainment scene were as thriving as perceived, more Tanzanian artists would be actively seeking bookings for shows in Kenya.
“You can’t compare our industry and that of Tanzania; there is a huge gap. I could easily give you over 15 names of Kenyan artists who are consistently booked week in, week out, making significant earnings from these shows. Every other weekend you will see Meja somewhere performing, Bien Aime is elsewhere, Khaligraph over there, myself over here, Nyashinski somewhere, and so on. But in Tanzania, you will barely witness something like that,” explained Jua Cali.
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He believes that the financial struggles within Tanzania’s showbiz sector are the driving force behind Tanzanian artists’ frequent visits to Kenya.
“Tanzanian showbiz industry is broke; it has no money, as many want to believe. That’s why you see them coming to Kenya to try to get a piece of our cake. If there wasn’t so much money in our industry, you wouldn’t be seeing our artists going round doing shows,” claimed Jua Cali.
Backing his argument, Jua Cali pointed out the scarcity of show posters on Tanzanian artists’ pages, asserting that only Diamond seems to secure gigs consistently. This stark contrast, according to him, is indicative of the financial challenges faced by the Tanzanian showbiz industry.
Diamond, one of Tanzania’s biggest music exports, previously disclosed that the reason he rarely gets booked in his homeland is due to exorbitant performance fees.
Most promoters and event organizers in Tanzania, he claimed, are unable to match his fee, rumored to be nothing less than Sh5 million.
Consequently, Diamond has resorted to organizing his own shows in collaboration with sponsors, notably the Wasafi Festival.