Legendary Tanzanian singer Saida Karoli says Diamond Platnumz has not honoured his promise to give her 25 percent of total revenue that the song Salome would generate.
Speaking exclusively to eDaily, Saida Karoli said she was not expecting to be paid by Diamond Platnumz for the Salome Remix, but her manger had negotiated on her behalf the deal with Diamond Platnumz’s manager Sallam Sharaff.
“I easily trust people, even without signing contracts. When Diamond Platnumz requested to compose a remix of my song Salome, I gave him the go-ahead without asking for much – financially. So, when they struck a deal with my manager, I was elated. However, I am yet to receive a penny from Dimond Platnumz,” Saida Karoli said.
In a September interview with Clouds FM,Diamond Platnumz revealed he got permission from Ms Karoli to do a Salomerendition, adding that he paid her management for the rights to re-do the song.
“Before releasing the song we had to consult her management and we gave them cash plus the additional 25 percent of the total revenue that the song will generate (from the track),” Diamond Platnumz said.
Of desire for Kenyan husband
Saida Karoli also that she would not mind to get a husband from Kenya.
Ms Karoli, who was on a media tour in Kenya, said that Kenyan men possess admirable qualities that she cannot resist.
“Actually, I would not mind to get a partner from Kenya. Kenyan men are really good – they are responsible, hard-working, and loving. I would really love to get one (Kenyan man) for a husband, one who would dabble as my manager,” Saida Karoli said blushingly before bursting into a thunderous laughter.
Karoli, who is the original composer of Diamond Platmunz’s hit single Salome, thanked Kenyans for giving her a warm welcome.
“I appreciate how Kenyans received me – all the way from the Kenya-Tanzania border to the capital Nairobi. They were so happy to see me. Were it not for the errands that I am currently running in Tanzania, I would gladly live in Kenya,” she said.
Beautiful, famous, successful…yet single?
Many would ask why Saida Karoli is still single, yet she is famous; beautiful and talented.
She narrates: “I was widowed after my husband, the father of my last born child who turned 3 recently, died after suffocating inside a gold mining shaft where he was working,” she said.
“His death demoralized me from getting into a new relationship. Nonetheless, I made up with a man whom we’d had a child with in a previous relationship but the reunion did not work out because he was jealous and over-protective,” Saida Karoli said, adding: “Every time I would go out of town to perform, he would get angry, thinking that I was going to cheat on him.”
Due to the nature of an entertainment industry job, Saida Karoli said that marriage is often tricky for female artistes.
“When a female artiste is married to a man who is not her manager, it often poses difficulty for the union to succeed… When you and your partner are beside each other most of the time, I don’t think jealousy and trust issues will creep in,” said the feted singer.
Based on her personal experience, Karoli had one nugget of wisdom to offer female artistes about relationships: “I advise women who want to pursue music actively to ensure that the man who they are in a relationship with is their manager, such that you are able to go on performances, media interviews and celebrity events with him. If that does not happen, you are likely to see artistes getting temptations to engage in sexual relationships with multiple partners.”
The seasoned Salome hit-maker also advised young women to embrace modesty if they’d want to attract good, deserving men.
“Young women should wear decent clothes because decency triggers respect from men. It convinces men that you are ‘wife-able’. A decent dress is one that covers your body, and is not too tight to reveal your figure for all to see. A woman’s body is her husband’s pride and property,” she said.
“Women should adopt, if not have, good manners. They should not smoke cigarettes, engage in binge-drinking or abuse drugs,” Saida added.
And what is the secret to Saida Karoli’s youthful looks?
“I do not indulge in alcohol, I do not go out often, I do not smoke cigarettes,” she says.
Saida Karoli says her five children are her rock – and she would not trade them for anything or anyone.
“I like to spend time with my children – Amina, Fidhuri, Joswam, Happy and Fadhila. It leaves me fulfilled. I like to plait their hair, comb their hair, look at them, bathe them, cook for them – all by myself without soliciting services of a house help. They comfort me when I am sad.”
