I used to own a cyber in town- Senator Sakaja recalls rap career

By Davis Muli | 3yrs ago | 3 min read

Nairobi County Senator Johnson Sakaja has opened up about a little known phase of his early life. Speaking during an interview with rapper Nyashinski, the lawmaker briefly talked about his rap career and the trick he used to get his songs played on the radio.

The senator revealed that he was a rapper and would personally push his songs to play on the radio by opening different email addresses to vote for his songs. This was possible as he also owned a cybercafé in town back in the day, making it easier for him to create multiple email addresses per one sitting. According to the vocal youth leader, the trick worked because every time he created the accounts and voted, his songs would get some airplay.

"I used to own a cyber in town, and I opened approximately 300 email addresses to send requests. The days I would skip work, I'd find that my songs had dropped off the charts," Sakaja admitted amid laughter.

ALSO READ: Sakaja drives man who was dumped for being broke to wedding

Although he rarely talks about this side of his past life, this year, it emerged that he was also a member of a rap group identified as Mission Driven rap group. Sakaja's talent was revealed after a video of the lawmaker rapping in an underground group surfaced online, wowing his fans. The said music group had released a song dubbed Save me Saviour (Forgive) in September 2006.

In the video that made rounds on social media, the Senator was seen in the company of media personality Dan Mwangi among others. The video was first shared on Tik Tok by @stanguru, saying that it dated back 15 years ago. "Did you know over 15 years ago, Dan Mwangi (presenter at NTV) was part of Mission Driven, a rap group alongside, yeah, Johnson Sakaja? Now you know," read the caption.

In March this year, Sakaja and his two sons excited netizens on Twitter after posting their coronavirus rap song. In the 57 seconds rap video, the Senator encouraged Kenyans to stay safe and comply with the government's directives to avoid further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While putting on caps like most rappers, Sajaka was captured in the video using his hands to make beats by drumming on the table as the three kick off the song by introducing themselves.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus rap song featuring Senator Sakaja and two sons goes viral

This particular act caught the attention of Kenyan Film Classification Board (KFCB) boss Ezekiel Mutua who revealed that he would award the Senator for inspiring content amid COVID-19 in the country. Through his social media handle, the KFCB Boss named Sakaja and his sons for the most creative art piece. "Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja & sons are the winners of the most creative piece of art in raising awareness on COVID-19," said Ezekiel.

Netizens also commended the Sakajas for using their creativity to spread awareness on coronavirus.