Shamba boy to selling changaa : Hustles of celeb before fame

Piece by: Peninah Njoki
Lifestyle
You have heard ‘kazi ni kazi’ and these celebrities took on that mantra to eke out a living before fame came calling.
They did what they had to do to reach where they are now.
Otile Brown.

Otile Brown was in the past used to help his mother sell changaa.

He is now a celebrated artiste so your past cannot determine your future.

In a past social media post,  Otile narrated how losing his mum affected his life.

Adding that sometime he would be frog-marched by police for selling illicit brews.

“Appreciate and love your mama…feeling kinda emotional tonight.

Wish she could be here so I can spoil her, My mom died when I was about to turn 13.

I don’t like talking about it but I don’t shy away from speaking about it because I know it could motivate someone.

Sometimes when I would get caught, the officers would frog march me past the school compound where other children would see me. It was embarrassing didn’t like doing it but I had to survive,” 

Willy Paul

The ‘Jigi Jigi ‘ hitmaker used to work as a house help before fame came knocking. Contrary to back then when he used to be paid to work he is now the one who pays people to work for him.

Maina Kageni

Prominent radio personality Maina Kageni was in the past a truck driver in the United States. He has in the past shared how hard it was working under a boss who constantly called him a ni**a.

He is now a renowned MC and radio host with Classic 105.

“I was called a n*gga so many times and the sad thing is that there is nothing you can do about it because you need the job,” Maina said.

Mwalimu Churchill

Daniel Ndambuki, best known as the Godfather of comedy, used to work in Industrial Area where he used to wash bottles.

“I USED TO WORK IN INDUSTRIAL AREA WASHING BOTTLES AND I WOULD BE PAID PEANUTS. THE MONEY WASN’T ENOUGH FOR FOOD AND TRANSPORT. THINGS WERE NOT EASY BACK THEN,” CHURCHILL TOLD MPASHO.

Akothee

Akothee is currently living the life but that has not always been the case. In the past Akothee, a mother of five used to be a taxi driver.

Her efforts paid off and she is currently living the good life.

Diamond Platnumz

He is considered the most celebrated artiste in Tanzania not only for his good music but also for his energetic performances, but more than 11 years ago Dangote was just a young man working at Shell petrol station.

Part of his work was refilling the Reserve tank from the fuel tanks.

Diamond Platnumz

Jeff Koinange

Jeff has in the past revealed that he didn’t have it easy at the beginning.

One of the first jobs he did was working at an American fast-food company, McDonald’s saying that it was the worst job he ever did.

He recently related his experience saying,

I worked at Mcdonalds, it is like an American fish and chips shop. It was the night shift. It was the graveyard shift. 

It’s late at night, 2-3 a.m. in the morning, where you wear headphones and people are driving through and they pick up stuff coming in to buy.

Jeff further narrated that he would see the clients through surveillance cameras and take their orders. The man got his big break while working as a flight attendant as a very young man.

Zari

Zari also narrated how she juggled between school and odd jobs just to earn a living while living in the UK.

In a lengthy post, she wrote,

LIFE CAN BE A ROLLERCOASTER AND YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHERE YOU’LL END UP.

FROM STUDYING MY COSMETOLOGY COURSE IN THE UK ( WHICH HASNT HELPED ME) WHILE DOING HOUSE GIRL WORK TO PAY MY ACCOMMODATION (YES I’VE BEEN A MAID BEFORE)TO RUNNING THROUGH BUSES TO GET TO MY NEXT STOP WOODGREEN WHERE I WORKED AS A CASHIER AND SOMETIMES AS AN ISLE PACKER IN SAINSBURY.

FRIEND, I STARTED OUT EARLY WASN’T EVEN SURE WHY ME. BUT THE INNER VOICE IN ME WANTED BETTER. MY DAD HAD LEFT, MY MOM WAS DOING TAILOR JOBS DAY AND NIGHT I COULDN’T STAND SEEING HER STRUGGLE.

Further adding,

I COULDN’T STAND HER PAIN. I WAS LIVING WITH MY AUNT IN THE UK WHO TREATED ME LIKE A STEPCHILD.

GOOOSH🙄

BEEN THROUGH BOUTIQUES, LONG ECONOMY FLIGHTS TO CHINA IN BETWEEN BUILDING A SCHOOL AND HAVING BABIES.

MY MUSIC AND TV CAREER IS A STORY FOR ANOTHER DAY. PHEW😪 ALL I’M SAYING, CONSISTENCY IS KEY. DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU DO. JUST DO IT.

Harmonize

Just like many artists, Harmonize struggled in the beginning.

He was a street vendor before being discovered by his mentor Diamond Platnumz, who would later make him the first act signed on to leading Tanzanian outfit - WCB Record Label.

He recalls the tough times:

“Before I became Harmonize the star, I was nobody.

Life was so hard. I used to sleep in one room with my whole family.

Sometimes I used to have one meal per day. I struggled before my music career picked.” 

Patrick Igunza

Hot 96 radio presenter, Patrick Igunza did not have the money to join college and was forced to do odd jobs to get by.

"So we went to Karen to try and get odd jobs in White-owned farms.

We went to the African International University to try and get jobs there and that's where I got my first job.

We used to work four hours a day and for each hour we worked, we got Ksh 30, so in a day I'd get like Ksh 120 and we would not be allowed to work more than four hours.

After working here for a year (sheds tears and pauses) I applied for KSST to do mass communication and they picked me," he narrated as he wiped tears.

He now works with the top paying media station royal media owned by S.K Macharia.

What's that one job you did that you won't forget in a long time?