Meet Rio-D, The Rapper That Posed With An Ak 47! (Part 2)

I just shared with you the first part of that story, here’s the second bit of that interview.

Read part one of this interview here. Papergang’s first huge performance was in Tanzania, and that came about as a result of an EATV interview. The presenters really digged their flow and hooked them up with Fiesta event organizers. He has performed in many campus here, almost evry major town in Tanzania as well as a show in Uganda. 

Finally to the gun story, he vehemently denies any deliberate wrong doing! He innocuosuly borrowed a gun from his policeman friend, to shoot the video. He explains that on the ‘fateful’ day, they were policemen there as a formality, and the gun did not at any one point leave the premise. Posting the picture ellicted such a heated debate that he was ‘nabbed’ and interogated for hours! He narrated how he got a call from strangers requesting his assistance because they wanted to pursue a music career.

They turned out to be policemen, who arrested but he was later released with no charges pressed. He edited the gun part in the video thus you shall not be viewing that. That video will be released on the 25th of May. He is now part of the Boomba production company, it’s contactual though. He not only appeared in the Juliani Utawala video, he also shot it. He plans to release a documentary of the arduous journey that has been music. Some of the hurdles he has had to surmount include opposition from his family because he chose to do secular music. Others include music not getting played until you know the industry bigwigs, as well as lacking funds to record when starting out. He says he has taken all that in his stride.

He did throw in an intersting fact, that he performed with Camp Mulla before anybody knew who they were. And he does co-own a clothing company that dresses celebrities in Nairobi. Despite my incessant nagging, he declined to name the police station where he was held, he says that is behind him. His future projects include opening his own video production company, he however has no interest in being a music producer.

Here’s that picture again.