Joseph Mwendwa Munoru, alias DJ Joe Mfalme, probably one of the highest paid deejays in Kenya, was three months old into his employment by Homeboyz Radio when he was fired a year ago.
The popular disk jockey had just joined the station after ending his 12-year stay at Capital FM when he was shown the door alongside veteran radio personality Shaffie Weru and Neville Muaysa.
They were fired after trending for days on social media over utterances they made — which the station deemed insensitive. They were accused of vouching for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
The trio used to host a breakfast show. They made the remarks on air while discussing the plight of a lady, who, reportedly, was thrown from the 12th floor of a building by a male friend after refusing his sexual advances. The lady lived to tell her story.
But flashing back, a calm Mfalme believes they were victims of cancel culture (total banishment of someone perceived to have done wrong). He also faults the station for handling the situation unprofessionally.
“Look, I don’t want to go back to that. I am a guy who hates drama, but that was just it. I mean, in the corporate world, where did you see someone getting fired for the first mistake? If whatever we did was wrong in their view, at least a warning should have been issued first. You live in this country. We have seen worse scenarios with no action taken,” Mfalme told the Sunday Nation .
“There is nothing to regret about [what happened]. Look, there are women in my life too that I care about, including friends and those who are not talk of fans. If they were offended, I am sure I would have lost them by now. I didn’t. Many understood where I was coming from and to those who didn’t, I apologised. But I believe by now they might have realised that.”
Even then, Mfalme says he picked a vital lesson that he will carry along his career.
“For us, we were only trying to share insights and we almost got killed. I have been in the entertainment industry for years. We witness such situations from time to time in nightclubs, all these entertainment joints and even at events. But after what happened, I will never try to be the hero again. No matter how ugly the situation I see turns out, I will always turn a blind eye,” he said.
While some may think their “cancellation” hurt his career; on the contrary, it only fortified his brand.
“Surprisingly, no brands disengaged. It was even more surprising to me that in my 13 years of deejaying, last year was the busiest. My phone just couldn’t stop buzzing with many brands, corporates and people wanting us to work together. I did a lot of year-end parties and corporate launches in 2021. I even managed to build my mother a house, despite all that drama,” Mfalme said, bursting into laughter.
Mfalme would still work with Homeboyz should an opportunity arise again, though he states that the pay he used to receive from the station before he was pushed out didn’t have an impact on his general income.
“Sometimes we do what we do out of love. I mean, what they paid me monthly was a good amount, but it is an amount I make from one of my Wednesday night gigs,” he said.
The scandal also grew his social media numbers tremendously, something he says is a plus, especially in this era of digital marketing and influencing.
When they were dismissed, Shaffie, who had worked for the Homeboyz parent company, Radio Africa Group, for 18 years, threatened to sue, demanding Sh21 million for unlawful termination. But for his part, Mfalme felt it wasn’t necessary to go down that route even though he believed he had a strong case.
“I moved on to other opportunities. For instance, that same week we got fired, I landed a gig to play a set on an international show on (American rapper) Eminem’s Shade45 radio station. A few individuals tried to bring the saga to the organisers to have me removed, but they were told that wasn’t the right place for that.”
Marshall Mathers, alias Eminem, one of America’s greatest rappers, pioneered the station to play uncensored hip-hop music from across the world. Mfalme got an opportunity to play a Kenyan African Hip-hop set.
Mfalme’s journey to fame began in Meru at Club Dimples, where he would sit behind the booth and admire deejays’ handworks on the decks. He later moved to Nairobi and participated in the Pilsner Mfalme DJ Competition in 2008 and finished second.
He later won the coveted prize in 2010, adding Mfalme to his stage name. He was just 23 then. The win opened doors for him to work with big corporates like Safaricom, EABL and former employer Capital FM where he was a resident deejay for years.
These moves made him even more famous as they also helped him gain experience and discipline on how to manage and grow his brand.
“To be honest, fame has never affected my conscience. As long as I’m making the paper (money) with my craft, the rest don’t really matter. I see myself as a service provider, not a famous Deejay. I am not shy of getting my hands dirty as long as my paper chase is legit.”
To better his brand, Mfalme says he doesn’t only offer deejaying services; something that has made his brand attractive to many clients.
“I am never on time, I’m always ahead of time. Most clients appreciate that. I also don’t just come to play music. I give added value to my services like digital engagements and emcee, among others, as well as sticking to clients’ briefs,” he said.
Having successfully transformed his name to a brand, DJ Mfalme, a name he already trademarked, has in the last couple of years been venturing into property investments.
In 2020, despite the country being in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis and on lockdown, Mfalme surprised many when he ploughed millions of shillings into the launch of his sports bar and nightclub, The Tap, on Nairobi’s Baricho Road.
He recently acquired Red Berry DJ Academy to mentor up-and-coming deejays. “I have undertaken a number of investments but like keeping that private. For those investments that I went public about, there was the reason for that — for the purposes of marketing,” said Mfalme.
Away from the showbiz dramas, Mfalme always runs home to his wife, Ephy Preston. They have been together for over three years.
“Marriage is amazing, but the most important thing is to settle down with your best friend; someone who respects you and what you do. It’s not complicated as it looks, but people will definitely have different opinions. But in my case, so far so good,” said the deejay.
