Cashy tells it all on tumultuous relationship with Khaligraph Jones

 Cashy and Kaligraph during the Micasa Sucasa collabo

In her new track, Naitwa Cashy, Karimi Muriungi aka Cashy spits the bars hard, some lyrics seemingly aimed at her former boyfriend Khaligraph.

“…I listen to so many things ni ka wasee wananipima, but me nasimama wima. Mastory zitajizima. Noma ninaitwa Cashy…,” She raps, going ahead to throw shade at AFRIMMA awards, an award that Khaligraph famously won in the rap category last year.

She also attacks promoters who secure artistes for shows that they don’t pay for.

It’s been five months since Cashy gave birth to a baby boy, after her bitter break-up with Khaligraph, whom she maintains put her through an abusive relationship. And even as Khaligraph introduced his new pregnant lover to the world about a month ago, Cashy released the new track, her first since their Micasa Sucasa collabo. And this was followed by a verbal war between the two that does not seem to be ending soon.

 Khaligraph and Cashy Photo by David Gichuru

“Me and Cashy are separated, we are not together. You are the first person I am telling this. We haven’t been together for the past couple of months. We are not together right now and that’s how things are. I need to move on with my life so people should stop asking me where she is,’’ Khaligraph said as he broke the news nine months ago.

...in this interview, Cashy talks to Pulse about the love affair gone sour:

Pulse: Who is Karimi Muriungi?

Cashy: Karimi is a firstborn in a family of four who grew up in Dagoretti and Lavington, where I schooled at Precious Blood Riruta and later proceeded to Strathmore and most recently University of Nairobi. I graduated with my second degree and will be enrolling for my Master’s in August

P: With all that, why music?

C: First of all, as a kid, I wanted to be a doctor, which later changed to being a DJ but that too was overcome by my liking for being a sound engineer but I’m here as a rapper now. My love for music finally trumped over. I was listed in the freshmen list of 2014 by Homeboys Radio and that gave me the psyche to prove my unrivalled vocal prowess

P: Does your family support your career choice?

C: I have very blessed and supportive parents who understand my wish and they actually push me to do better. They have all through supported me and always correct me where I go wrong, especially my sister who has stood by me all through the tough times.

P: You are an uptown girl. How did Lavington meet up with ‘1960’?

C: There was this time I was looking for a studio and a friend of mine took me to a studio in Umoja and that is how we met with Khaligraph. One thing led to another, we became friends and the rest, as they say, is history.

P: After Micasa Sucasa, which was a great success, you took a very long hiatus until the other day…

C: I am one person that has never been in a hurry to sell my face at every opportunity. I prefer sitting back, watch and get my priorities right. This I might say was the biggest works I have done up to date but I still had school to deal with and I was also in the family way.

 Miss Cashy

P: Of late there has been so much talk about your break up with Khaligraph. What is your response?

C: People actually think that I was talking about our relationship to promote my music but honestly speaking I felt this was the right time to come out and speak. Healing is progress that one goes through and at times you are judged negatively by people. People mostly focus on gossip than real issues affecting society. This is what I have been trying to express but still, people think I’m out to tarnish someone’s name.

P: Did you anticipate it all, both the resistance and support, you have gotten since coming out?

C: I have gotten immense support from my genuine fans but on the flip side, I have received major resistance to a point that my life was threatened by a faction of people who didn’t want me to come clean and say as it is.

P: Have you consulted any concerned authority?

C: Yes. I already reported the matter to the police who are looking into the matter.

P: What created all this enmity between you and Khaligraph?

C: I had undergone some very troubling times when we were together and mark you when we met things were just OK. With time I got fed up as the celebrity notion got into his head and he changed for the worse. When we met we were youngsters trying to grapple with the usual daily struggles but when I drew the line was when I found out there were other older women who were bankrolling his lifestyle and the abuse escalated.

 Cashy with ex-boyfriend Kaligraph Jones

P: Abuse? Word is that you cheated on him…

C: The truth is that I called it quits and moved on. But because of his bitterness, he decided to take it a notch higher, which I may say was very predictable of him. In as much as everyone thinks I cheated, I would very much like to put things straight. I never ever cheated even once. Some people are out here to just invalidate my existence.

P: He dropped a song, which was allegedly directed to you. How did you take that?

C: Although many expected me to clap back I decided to take the high road and not necessarily flow with the vibe. I am not that kind of a person who would hit back since that would have been a personal low. For me as a person, I believe in people regardless of what they are in the inside. That is probably my biggest flaw, which made me endure an abusive relationship for that long.

P: You are back with the ‘Naitwa Cashy’ project. Tell us about it.

C: The song has elicited mixed reactions but my main point was to just clear my name and for people to know me as a person. It was a way of reintroducing myself and letting people know Cashy as Cashy and what she stands for. To top it up, my team and I have come up with an initiative dubbed #Naitwa, which is an initiative to assist everybody out there that is in an abusive relationship.

P: It looks like you are taking this issue head-on.

C: Since I have a platform that I can address the issue, we have decided to take it head-on and assist everybody out there undergoing any form of abuse be it physical, emotional or financial manipulation. Many people like to dwell on what happened in the past, which usually is based on gossip instead of discussing real issues affecting real people.

 Miss Cashy

P: According to you, why do girls fall for celebrities?

C: At times I also don’t understand. Some like their bling and the flashy lifestyle they see on Instagram and they think it’s real. Some of these people are downright monsters and live an ordinary life. That is why I would tell any young girl out there not to be fooled by what they see. These people live to impress others and do not necessarily stand for anything substantial.

P: What is the biggest lesson you learnt from all this?

C: People smile at you then stab you in the back given the first opportunity but I have learnt and grown to be a very confident, intelligent strong woman with my new found freedom.

P: So, what next for Cashy?

C: I have a fire collabo dropping soon and am trying to be the best mother in the world to my five-month-old son. I want to leave a legacy that when he grows up he will be proud of his mother. I believe in what I am doing and I have gotten tremendous support from my music and people who actually believe in my cause.

P: Talking about the baby, is the father someone in the entertainment circles?

C: When the time comes, I will introduce him to the entire world but I will say that he is a good person who is understanding and supports me all through. And no, he is not in the entertainment world. He is an engineer. That is all I can tell you for now.

P: Wedding bells anytime soon?

C: (Showing off her ring) Let us just say we are doing pretty fine.