Times are hard people, for everyone actually. It is very okay to go down because we remain hopeful that one might have a mind-blowing comeback, right? Sometimes not having it all sorted out is fine, it helps one appreciate what they have.
Celebrity hype is not always about flashy cars and expensive watches sometimes the numbers are just a borrowed taste to hide the real face of poverty. In this list, we uncover five of the poorest Kenyan celebrities who almost had it all but ended up in abject poverty.
Jimwat
Remember the 2006 “Under 18” club banger? Yeah, we all do. Jimwat was once one of the most promising rappers in Kenyan music. Signed under Calif Records, he was producing hit after hit and growing his fanbase by the day.
Tables have now for Jimwat is just an ordinary bar visitor in Kikuyu town. It is rumored that he still lives with his parents after all his attempts to make a comeback in music failed.
Hopekid
Hopekid who has publicly been a gospel advocator, his personal life can easily be summarised by one word – scam.
In 2016, Hopekid was rumored to be a con artist who preyed on churches and private gospel functions. It was alleged that he was struggling to pay his bills in his home town, Kayole, and had to settle for conmanship to raise the money.
Earlier this year, Hopekid was faced with yet another scandal after he was reported to have raped a young girl in Nakuru along with his friend DK Kwenye Beat which left the innocent girl infected with an STI.
Shaevy and Slice
A few years ago,
Unfortunately, the brains behind the song, Shaevy and Slice, were not so lucky. From poor management to drugs and alcohol, the talented duo ended up missing out on good record deals and are now your average hustlers.
Shaevy is rumored to be a conductor in the Kayole route while his music counterpart, Slice, spends most of his days smoking weed in his parents’ crib.
Bobby Mapesa
Bobby Mapesa was once branded as the face of Kenyan hip hop. But with the dawn of a new generation came new music trends and Bobby was too slow to keep up with the fast-changing drift in modern music.
Soon, the once-promising artist was kicked out of the music scene and his music was rendered obsolete.
But a man’s gotta eat. Bobby Mapesa later figured out an easier way to make money by conning upcoming artists for a feature only to disappear with their money.
His tricks were, however, short-lived after he was exposed as a con artist. At the time, it was
Kristoff
Kristoff is a big name in Kenyan music right now, and for the most part, we can safely assume that he is doing well. In a thread done on Twitter, however, Kristoff is, apparently, a big joke both in and outside Kenyan music.
Looking closer at his music stats online, his singles rarely hit 50K views on YouTube and he will usually depend on collaborations to get his personal brand out there.
We can, therefore, assume that his success in music is only dependent on bigger celebrities, and luckily for him, they are generous enough to him grow.
We can, therefore, assume that his success in music is only dependent on bigger celebrities, and luckily for him, they are generous enough to him grow.
Nonetheless, Kenyans are a tough crowd. Many local music fans are yet to appreciate his musical talent and many have admitted that they would never pay for a Kristoff concert unless there was a “more talented” artist lined up for the show too.