Was Bongo Flava’s hero forgotten? Mr. Nice talks about becoming famous, losing it, and getting it back

Many people born in the 2000s know the name Mr. Nice, but not many know about his singing career or life outside of music.

One of Bongo Flava’s most famous acts, Mr. Nice made a name for himself with hits like “Kikulacho” and “Fagilia,” which made him famous all over the world.

Mr. Nice was born Lukas Mkenda. He became famous with his TAKEU style (Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda), which ruled the music scene in East Africa in the 2000s.

People of all ages liked his music, which made him famous all over the area. Despite being wealthy at one point, Mr. Nice later went bankrupt and moved to Kenya, saying that his Tanzanian friends had left him and the living conditions were too hard.

He says that things have changed for the better now, and he’s loving life again while still working in the music business.

This photo shows DNA, Mr. Nice, and Refigah of Grandpa Records at the Florida 2000 festival. While people listen to music, they don’t see the people who work behind the scenes and help the artists make good music.

Mr. Nice told Rhobi Chacha some interesting facts about his personal life and what he thinks about the music scene right now. Check it out:

Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows.

My favorite thing to do is draw. I draw all sorts of things, like people, animals, birds, and more. Truth be told, I’m better at drawing than playing music. Drawing was how I made money before I got into the music business.

To whom it may concern, are you still making songs in Kenya?

Respond: Yes. Tanzanians no longer like my music, but Kenyans still do, so I moved my business there. Tanzanians these days seem to be more interested in love songs, music with bad language, and music that the National Arts Council, which is commonly known as Basata in Kiswahili, doesn’t allow.

Compare your life now to how it was before.

My life is a lot better now than it was when I was broke in Tanzania. But now I feel like the nice Mr. Nice I was before things got really bad.

It was said that you were in fights with other artists when you were at the top of your game. Is that legitimate?

Because I had a lot of money at the time, I was a little cocky. I believed I was strong enough to fight, party, and act tough. But I never really got mad at other artists because my work was different from theirs.

Ask yourself why your songs were so popular with kids.

The truth is that only God knows. I wasn’t trying to make music for kids or make it for them. Since I used to sing in a church choir, rap, R&B, and other types of music didn’t feel right to me. My fans liked the TAKEU style of music I just happened to be making.

Tell me about something you don’t like.

I don’t like how Tanzanians act like they don’t remember my songs, even though they used to like them. I would have probably died of stress if I had stayed in Tanzania any longer. I don’t like gossip or false stories either.

Who did you compete with in the music business?

Answer: Other artists did their own thing and became famous at the same time as me, so I wasn’t really competing. I shared the stage with singers like Inspector Haroun, Crazy GK, and Juma Nature, but while I became famous around the world, they mostly stayed in Tanzania to sing for their own people.

What advice would you give to artists today?

Answer: Make good music instead of depending on cool publicity stunts. You can do well without making a fuss. It bothers me when artists fake crashes or suicidal thoughts just to get attention. Does that mean they’re no longer creative?