Genge musician Jua Cali performing during Blankets and Wine Event on October 1, 2023.
Hip-hop legend Jua Cali, the first Kenyan artist to ink an endorsement deal and become a brand ambassador, says that despite earning millions of shillings from such deals at the peak of his musical career, his sweetest and most memorable paycheque remains the Sh3,000 paid to him back in the early 2000s.
In 2007, Jua Cali became the first Kenyan artist to secure an endorsement deal, signing a one-year, Sh1.3 million contract with the phone manufacturer Motorola for its W model.
In 2009, he signed the biggest brand endorsement deal for a Kenyan artist to date, agreeing a Sh10 million contract with telecoms company Orange to become the face of its 'Ndunda Campaign', a marketing initiative to promote the company.
Paul Nunda, better known by the stage name as Jua Cali, performing at Milan Lounge, Mirage Towers Nairobi during the launch of East Africa hub & music-only radio by Trace TV on November 6, 2019. Jua Cali has lived off music for years.
Jua Cali went on to receive substantial paycheques, including from the Safaricom Live campaign.
But despite having minted millions of shillings from endorsement deals over the years when he was at the top of the game, the 45-year-old says, none comes close to the Sh3,000 his first-ever biggest paycheque.
“For the 20-plus years I have been doing music, I have made so much money from shows and endorsements, but the one that stands out is my first ever show to be paid. I was paid Sh3,000. That is what made the biggest change in my career and life because I realized if I could make Sh3,000 from music, then I could make 10 million from the same music,” says Jua Cali.
The rapper is extremely grateful to the late media personality Lorna Irungu, who opened the door to lucrative endorsement deals for him.
“The late Lorna Irungu connected me to my first endorsement deal. Motorola had introduced a new device targeting the middle class for the masses, and wanted a celebrity who resonated with the masses, and my name was fronted. I was paid 10,000 US dollars (Sh1.3 million in current exchange rate) at the time.”
The Motorola deal only marked the beginning of greater things that were yet to happen.
“The Motorola endorsement deal opened the floodgates to more endorsements from the likes of Safaricom, East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), among others.”
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