DJ Pierra shares on life in the Kenyan entertainment industry and what the business is really like

Pierra Makena is a DJ, actress, brand manager and online personality. Her acting and deejaying skills have taken her around the world, exposing her to the glitz and glamour the entertainment industry has to offer.

But to balance motherhood and build her brand, Pierra has had to sacrifice a lot to get to where she is. In this candid interview, she talks about life in the Kenyan entertainment industry.

Did you always want to be in entertainment?

Actually, no. My dad was a doctor, so what I wanted to be was a nurse. I liked the idea of taking care of people.

How did you go from that to the arts?

I used to act in school and in church. One day during drama festivals, when I was 17, I was spotted by someone from KBC who got me into a show called Kisulisuli.

The experience of being in front of the camera, being directed, seeing myself on screen – I loved it. So I thought, why not do this for a living?

Were you paid for this role?

Of course. The main characters were paid between Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 per episode. At 17, that was a lot of money. I wasn’t paying rent and my parents didn’t ask me for any of my salary.

I’ll confess I mostly used it to spruce up my wardrobe and my room in campus. Would you believe I had a doorbell – in campus?

What did you study in campus?

Communications. I loved acting, but I also knew I needed a backup plan.

 I particularly liked the idea of marketing and public relations because I figured it could help me advance my career as an actress.

How did you move from acting to being a DJ?

I wanted to diversify my brand and do something that had would put me in more direct contact with people.

I wanted to be a personality they could relate to, so I applied for a job as a radio host and got it. As my popularity grew, I got the idea to start doing live DJ gigs.

Was it a difficult shift?

It was a challenge, yes, but it was exhilarating to have a full house dancing and screaming to music I was playing.

There aren’t that many female DJs in Kenya – how did you deal with this?

I used it to my advantage. It helped me stand out. And I would always make sure my mixes were great, my fashion sense was on point and I added something different by dancing during my mixes.

That drew people in.

How did you turn yourself into a brand?

As an actress, I always tried to play roles in a way that was unique to me. I wanted people to hear my voice and know that that’s Pierra Makena; or to see my fashion and say, yes, that’s Pierra.

I built my world around my personality and allowed the world to see me for who I was.

What would you say your big break was as a DJ?

My first New York tour. I had been spotted by some Nigerian producers during a show. They asked me to DJ at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards in New York.

 I won’t lie – I was very sceptical, I didn’t know these people but I thought, what do I have to lose. I said yes.

What was the tour like?

I had never been to the States before, so it was a bit daunting. And then my producers didn’t appear at the airport, so I had to get myself to the hotel.

At this point, I was wondering if I’d been duped; I even called my sister who was in California to tell her to book me a flight to her place. But then the producers called me.

It turned out they were just late. The rest of the tour was eye opening and a life changer for me.

How much did you make?

At that time I was just starting out, so I was paid about $2,000 (Sh207,000 at current exchange rates), but I was happy with it. They took care of flights, food and accommodation.

What mattered most was the experience and the contacts that I made – I’ve come to learn that this industry is all about networking and positioning yourself.

Give me a practical example of how the contacts helped.

I was nominated for NAFCA (Nollywood African Film Critics Award) as the Best Supporting Actress in 2015.

The awards were taking place in Los Angeles, US. I honestly didn’t think I stood a chance to win because (American actress) Vivica Fox was also nominated in the same category, but I wanted to go for the experience.

Then I got the idea to do a DJ tour while I was there. I used the contacts I’d made during my first visit to the States to organise the tour.

How different was it to arrange your own tour?

It was exhausting. I would travel during the day and perform during the night. I started in Washington, while still jet-lagged, and then went to Dallas, went to see my family in San Francisco, drove down to LA for NAFCA, and then drove back to San Francisco with my family.

All this time, I hadn’t slept. So when I got to the airport on my way to perform in Kansas, I collapsed. I was admitted to hospital and treated for dehydration and fatigue. It was surreal, because at first they thought I had Ebola; it was during the outbreak.

That must have been scary.

Yes, but it also helped me see how easy it is for us to segregate people we think are a danger to us. As soon as they discovered I was from Kenya, the treatment at the hospital changed completely.

Fear does things to people. I try to keep that in mind whenever I react to anything.

What are some of your fears as an artiste in Kenya?

Right now, my biggest fear is being in a situation where I won’t be able to take care of my daughter. I hadn’t planned to get pregnant, not yet. The father and I are not together right now.

When you are a single woman in the entertainment industry and you get a baby, things inevitably change.

What changed?

I decided to focus on a full-time job as a brand manager and marketing executive. Being a DJ, while lucrative, can also be sporadic. I wanted something stable for my child.

Once in a while, I did DJ jobs. When I was pregnant, I played at this gig that was exclusively for expectant women. To have a woman DJ for them while carrying a child, I think that moved so many of them to know that being a mother doesn’t limit you in any way. Actually, it enhances who you are. That was a special moment for me.

What’s the way forward now?

My daughter turns 1 in a few months. I think I’m ready to get back onto the DJ and acting scene. I’ve booked a couple of films and two DJ tours.

One of the tours is DJ Pierra Live in Kenya, which will happen from the end of this month. The other is an international tour scheduled around the Rugby Sevens series next year.

Are you where you’d like to be?

Not by a long shot, but I’m well on my way. I work hard, I apply myself and when I set my heart on something, I make sure I accomplish it.