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Remember Maurice Bianju alias Zikki? The one-time promising star singer.
The singer has now come out of the fold to claim Main Switch Production record label associated with former MP singer Jaguar swindled him out of the proceeds of his hit song ‘Take it Slow’ that earned him proper recognition in the Kenyan music industry.
Released in November 2015, nine years ago, the record became a hit elevating Zikki to the echelons of stardom.
But Zikki says, the song which has so far gained over 7 million views on YouTube, remains one of his most painful and traumatizing experiences in his musical career.
“I never want to speak about that song, it’s always traumatizing for me whenever I speak of it. Yes, people love it to date but all it brings to me is pain. The thing is, I never made anything from that song not a single coin as royalties’. I was conned,” Zikki claimed in a recent YouTube interview.
According to the singer, the manager at the time at Main Switch Production was out to exploit him and his team and swindle all the proceeds from that song.
His nightmares he says began when he was introduced to Main Switch.
“I used to play live with my band at our church in Donholm (Nairobi) when one of my friends said he could introduce me to a music studio where I could record. That’s how I ended up at Main Switch.
Zikki recounts when he and his team recorded ‘Take It Slow’, everybody at the studio loved the music including Jaguar.
“My team and I wrote the entire song including Jaguar’s verse he never had to add anything. When he heard the song because most of the time he was never bothered with the running of the label as there was a manager, he wanted a piece of it,’’ Zikki adds.
What Zikki claims to have hurt him the most and even caused a rift between him and his team, was how the song was released.
“I was playing at a gig with my band when phone calls started coming in thick and fast of people telling me they have just heard my latest release and were congratulating me. We had never agreed on any release dates, I wasn’t aware they were going to release the song. We hadn’t signed any split sheets,’ Zikki further claims.
Split sheets are a binding written agreement between song contributors outlining ownership percentages and how publishing royalties will be divided.
He says with the song now out, his efforts to have the split sheets agreement turned out to be a wild goose chase.
“The manager would take me into a circus always threatening me that he would block my music from distribution platforms and media. I was young and naïve then, just 21 years of age and so I didn’t pursue it further,”
Zikki also blames Jaguar for not doing anything to protect him as a young up-and-coming musician under his guidance and allowing him to be exploited.
“I am convinced he was aware of all these gimmicks by the manager. I mean Jaguar owns Main Switch. Initially, he wanted us signed to the label but the manager was against it because then the conversation would have been different. The manager knew he wanted to use me and my team, which he did. So we were never signed.” Zikki adds.
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