Various stages of pain before you can make it

You have to go through hardships before you come out successful. [Photo: Courtesy]

I saw a meme going round last week that made perfect sense to me. It showed three contestants standing on a winners’ podium – you know, the one that shows positions 1, 2 and 3.

Above these contestants were the words: ‘What they see vs what really happens’. And then just below the podium were the things these contestants had gone through to get to their positions.

Some of what was highlighted there was planning, hard work, failure, late nights and motivation.

The album

I’m about to drop my fifth album. In my planning stages, I decided to do a university tour and share my growth story, my Eastlando roots, since my album is themed around my past and this royalty status that I’ve acquired.

The sessions are pretty simple. I tell my story and then there’s a Q&A section.

At one of these sessions, a student asked me if I would be willing to employ him as he had a passion for music.

I responded with a question: would he prefer immediate money or skill?

People have different approaches to life, yet I was still surprised when he said he’d go for the money.

Remember, the world is tailored differently; I might hand Sh100,000 to two people and one would make profits and the other would lose the cash.

I always insist when I’m talking to entrepreneurs: listen to my advice but apply only what works for you.

So in the Eastlando story that I’m pushing in all campuses, I’m putting an emphasis on patience and planning.

My story

I was in love with everything that I’d read about DJ Loop and his music dynasty. He was the producer behind rappers that I admired, from Chiwawa and Abass to Bamboo and Harry Kimani.

I started crafting a plan on how I’d meet him. I didn’t want to go empty handed. It was easier for me to paint than to record a demo in a studio since I didn’t have studio money. So I made a T-shirt that had his portrait, and he asked who did the T-shirt.

I said I did, and he asked for my number. A short while later, I was working for him.

The environment I got into really set the foundation that would cement my brand in the industry.

When we got together, I told him I wasn’t there for the pay but for the skill. Remember, the pay ends but skill is forever, if you use it well.

I was patient, and after eight months, DJ Loop taught me production since he was mostly in and out of the studio.

I ended up self-producing my first album, Tales of KaKa Sungura. And that one-year journey taught me the art of patience.

I remember going for a gig in Nakuru once, and sharing a stage with Abass and Chiwawa as their hype man – something that seemed unbelievable. But I had to plan, be aggressive and patient to get there.

You have to be aggressive because there’s someone else eyeing that same position you’re fighting for. Even though you should move at your own pace, keep in mind the world won’t wait for you.

If you see an opportunity, seize it. It’s no coincidence that companies ask for CVs and are keen on experience.

I’ve encountered many young people complaining that it is unfair to ask for experience as that locks them out. But at times we’re selfish. Ask yourself how long a company has been in existence, and if they’d gamble all those years by investing in you without just cause.

The ‘Frozen’ process

I read somewhere that Disney’s number one selling animated movie is its 2013 film, Frozen. It grossed a whopping $1.3 billion (Sh130 billion) worldwide. These figures are very impressive, but here’s what they don’t tell you.

Elsa’s hair is made up of 420,000 CGI (computer generated imagery) hairs that required new software to give that authentic look. Rapunzel had only 27,000 hairs.

The animators travelled to Norway just to get a feel of the cold and snow. One frame took 30 hours to render.

The scene where Elsa builds a castle, which lasts just 30 seconds, took 50 people to make. The film was worked on by more than 600 people over three years – yet it runs one hour 49 minutes long.

And that’s the information no one gives. The long studio sessions, the long hours of video production to deliver a three-minute song.

But sadly, the world doesn’t care about the process, they only want the product. So deliver and take your time before you do. All the best.

The writer is an award-winning artiste, entrepreneur and brand ambassador.