For a long time, Kenyan artists have been blaming the government for not empowering artists as it is with other countries where artists live largely.
Recently, Mzee Mwamba of citizen TV local drama, Mother in Law, revealed that Kenyan actors are famous but poor.
Government bodies like the Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) and Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) have been tasked with ensuring that artists flourish in the industry, but artists blame them for oppressing them by taking the biggest share of their revenue.
For these reasons, rapper Wangechi, RnB singer Nikita Kering, and dancehall singer KRG expressed their disappointment with PRISK after it send them their annual revenue of Ksh 1215 only.
Wangechi took to her social media accounts to express her frustration with the body. She posted the screenshot of the M-Pesa message from Prisk with a daring caption saying,
“Annual reminder that being an artists is still an extreme sport.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Nikita Kering, who replied to her post, expressing her dissatisfaction after receiving the same amount from PRISK.
KRG the Don decided to employ sarcasm in his expression. He referred to the Ksh 1215 as billions from the government, asking his followers to come to him for a loan. He went further to exclaim how Kenyan artists are proud of the president.
His sarcastic post read, “Sasa tumeongezewa hadi billions………. Nani anataka loan coz zile pesa tulikua tunangoja zimefika!!”
Adding, “Our President we are so proud of you!!”
Furthermore, hopes that the future will be better for artists have been squandered after former Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) boss Ezekiel Mutua became the CEO of MCSK.
Filmmakers accused Mutua of imposing regulations and standards that made it impossible for the film industry to nourish. Artists are afraid that Mutua may also be unable to fight for their rights.
Nonetheless, Mutua is positive that his reign will bring change, and he has claimed that is willing to work with musicians to see how his board can help them.
