Kanambo Dede, a 17-year-old girl from the Santon neighborhood in Kasarani, Nairobi, has had a difficult life. Instead of attending school like other girls her age, she had to support her family. She attended Bridge Primary School and started secondary school but had to drop out in Form Two.
Growing up in a ghetto with a single mother was tough for Kanambo and her sibling. She had to witness her mother struggling to provide for them. Kanambo dropped out of school when she was 14 after a disagreement with her mother. She then had to face the hostile world and traveled to Kayole with a friend to rent a home. She secured a job at a ‘supu base,’ but the pay of KES 250 per day was not enough to meet their needs. Her friend later left, leaving her alone, and she had to find another job. She found work as an attender selling the illegal brew “Chang’aa.”
Kanambo’s situation worsened after she became pregnant at 16 and had to move back in with her mother. She had to find a job to sustain her newborn child since her mother couldn’t afford it alone.
One day, while searching for something to feed her child, Kanambo met Kasaboss, a Youtuber performing random freestyles. He gave her an opportunity to showcase her talent as a rapper, and the clip went viral, attracting prominent personalities.
King Kaka, the CEO of Kaka Empire record label, was impressed and offered her his backing. He took her to the studio to record her debut song and sought permission from her mother to bring her into his family. Kanambo resumed her studies and covered her school education and child’s care. She is now a signed artist under Kaka Empire.
