Jua Cali, a hip-hop legend, claims to have made millions of shillings through endorsement deals, but his most excellent payday was Sh3,000 in the early 2000s.
"In the 20 years that I've been performing music, I've earned a lot of money from demonstrates, but my first ever paid show stands out." I was given Sh3,000. "I discovered that if I were to generate three thousand dollars from music, I could earn ten million dollars from the same music," Jua Cali says.
As his popularity progressed, brands began calling him for influencing positions, and the millions he had imagined became a reality.
"My first endorsement deal was arranged by the late Lorna Irungu (media personality)." Motorola had introduced a new device aimed at the middle class for the public, and they wanted a celebrity who could connect with the masses, and my name was fronted. At the time, I was paid USD 10,000 (Sh1.3 million at the current currency rate)."
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Jua Cali became the first Kenyan singer to sign an endorsement deal with a company in 2007.
Jua Cal's property in terms of music became the face of the Motorola W model for the duration of the deal.
"The Motorola endorsement deal opened the floodgates to more endorsements from the likes of Safaricom, East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), you name it," says one source.
Jua Cali also travelled to South Africa for the first time as part of the contract for a photo shoot to advertise the device.
