By Stevens Muendo
P: When did you start dating artiste Col Mustapha?
Marya: We met in a night gig in a Westlands’ club in late 2006. I never saw it coming. I thought it was just another club thing. As much as I kept resisting Mustapha’s advances, he wouldn’t give up. At some point, my sister suggested that I probably needed to give him a chance. The rest is history.
P: Surely he wasn’t the first man to hit on you. Did you have a boyfriend then? Why Mustapha?
M: I wasn’t dating any other man at the time. Mustapha is just a G, I mean, there is this gangsta touch in him that comes out in public and in his dressing. Yet under closed doors, he can be so soft, romantic and loving. He is a real gentleman.
P: Where was Marya before she joined Ogopa Deejays as a singer?
M: I was signed by Versatile Modelling Agency before I switched to music. I am also an actress. I did several commercials as a model. I was born and raised up in Nyeri. Three of my siblings live and work abroad and my foster parents —whom I consider and love as I would have loved my biological ones— live in Nairobi.My biological parents passed on when I was a still young.
Typical of human nature when things are looking up for you, there are scores who are busy trying to bring you down. This has not dissuaded Mary Maina aka Marya from a passion to succeed. |
M: Did I fall for him or we fell for each other…? Well, my modelling and acting skills are now incorporated in my music and that comes out in my videos. In this case, I would say am still a model and an actress —but in music.
P: Critics have it that because of Mustapha’s celebrity status you are just hanging on him, riding on his back to stardom. What’s your response?
M: It’s so funny. I have heard such claims that I would part ways with Mustapha after my music career takes off. That’s nonsense. I knew this guy long before I signed up with Ogopa where he also records. However, he neither influenced my singing career nor is he the one fuelling it. We are both independent artistes and that’s how we see it when it comes to music. Our love life is a different ball game all together.
P: One of your three big hits Hey Baby features him and the fact that you involve Mustapha in most of your concerts give critics the ammunition that you cannot sing without him...
M: Critics are entitled to their opinions. Hey Baby was a collabo just like the single Mahaba which I collaboed with Avril. I am working with Alpha Fakoly in my upcoming single and I wonder what people will say about it. My boyfriend does his shows and I do mine. And when situations permit, we complement each other.
P: How long have you been living under one roof?
M: Three years now. We have been dating for the last four years and I moved in after the first year.
P: In that case, do you consider yourself married?
M: Well, my parents know that we are an item and they are okay with that. I told them that we are in a serious relationship and that we are considering getting married. Can you hear the wedding bells?
P: Talking of marriage, you have been planning your wedding under wraps...
M: The truth is, we intend to wed soon but there is no fixed date to the big day as yet. We have been discussing the preparations with our parents and as soon as we finalise the arrangements, we will let you know.
P: Could the big day be sometimes…this year?
M: Let’s just say very soon!
P: Word had it that your relationship was on the rocks late last year. When did you make up?
M: I don’t know where those rumours came from. As much as we face the same relationship difficulties like everyone else, Mustapha and I have never failed to resolve our differences amicably. We don’t wash our dirty linen in public. All I can say is that he has never raised a hand on me neither have I raised my voice on him.
P: With such rumoured ups and downs, how do you manage to keep the fire burning?
M: Trust is the name of the game. Challenges come to make you strong and not put you down. True love wades through the storms of life.
P: With you both in public limelight —as a celebrity couple— what challenges do you face with fans looking up to you as role models?
M: It’s a bit challenging when your private life is under constant scrutiny. Knowing this too well, we just have to practise good morals and keep off controversies. There are a lot of sacrifices, which we had to make — from our previous lifestyles —just because we are a singing couple.
P: How do you describe yourself?
M: Simple, truthful, humble and ambitious. My looks can be flirty but the truth can be a different story.
P: Things are looking up for you with a CHAT nomination hardly one year after you hit the music scene. What does the nomination mean to you?
M: My nomination in the Best New Artiste category is an honour to me. It is a statement that it’s my time. My fans will decide.
