Who is the Richest Musician in Ukambani?

The question as to who is the richest musician in Ukambani is one that is very hard to answer. You see, musicians tend to be folks who like to create the impression that they are doing very well, even when they aren’t. That is part of the celebrity lifestyle that musicians are expected to adhere to, if they are to remain relevant in the entertainment field. Furthermore, it is difficult to assume that the people who have been most successful in the music field are also the richest. Sometimes, you find a Kamba musician who has only attained at modest level of success in the music scene, but who has nonetheless invested the little money he or she has earned so well that they have ended up becoming quite rich. On the other hand, you may find a Kamba musician who has been very successful in the music scene, but who hasn’t managed to properly invest what he or she has earned through music – meaning that in spite of him or her being successful in the music scene, they may not be as rich. On yet another level, you find some Kamba musicians who actually don’t care so much about the riches. These are individuals who seem to be contented with whatever little they have. Then it becomes very hard to draw such artists into comparisons with regard to who the richest musician in Ukambani is – because, in the first place, they don’t care about riches...

It is, of course, very easy to tell who the most successful musicians in the Kamba music scene are. What is not so straightforward is telling who, among these Kamba musicians, have actually managed to translate that musical success into financial wealth. The most successful musicians in Kamba benga would certainly including the likes of Maima (Kithungo Raha), Katombi (Nguuni Lovers Lovers), Kativui (Kyaume Boys Band), Ken wa Maria (Yatta Orchestra) and Vuusya Uungu (Ndalani Boys), Shock (Kalandini Boys), Katicha (Ngaani Boys)... to name but just a few. The challenge is in telling who among these have actually managed to translate their musical success into financial success. On the gospel side, the most successful artists would certainly include the likes of Wilberforce Musyoka, Steven Kasolo, Purity Kateiko, Hellena Ken, the Kasangas, Peace Mulu, Justus Myello and Apostle John Kay to name but just a few. Again, the challenge would being in telling who among these have actually managed to translate their musical success to financial success. It gets even more difficult when the artists tell you that they got into the music to minister to people’s souls, and not necessarily to become obscenely rich...

There are of course certain challenges that Kamba musicians face, making it hard for them to translate their musical success to financial success (even if they so wanted). One of the biggest challenges in that regard is the challenge of piracy. Sometimes – in fact very often – you find that the pirates end up selling more copies of the artists’ recordings than what the artists themselves sell! This surely is unacceptable, and there doesn’t seem to be much that has been done about it. There is also the challenge where you find that the people who invite the Kamba musicians for gigs don’t always pay them sums of money that are commensurate with the artists’ stature and with the amount of work that the artists have to put into composing music, managing bands/choirs, practicing… and so on.