Jua Cali

Jua Cali whose real name is Paul Nunda (born September 12, 1979) is a MC from Kenya. Together with producer Clemo he founded Calif Records in 2000 and has been with the label ever since. He performs genge style of Kenyan music. Jua Cali raps mostly in Swahili.

His first recorded track was Ruka, released in 2001 and was followed by "Nipe Asali" in 2002. In 2004 He collaborated with Pilipili in track "Kamata Dame". Like most Kenyan artists, it took several years before his first full album was released. His album "Juacali Sekta" reached the stores in 2006, containing mostly previously released singles.

At the 2006 Kisima Music Awards, Jua Cali won the Boomba male award for his song "Kiasi" [Kisima Music Awards [http://www.kisimaawards.co.ke/kminner.asp?cat=winners 2006 Winners] ] . At the 2006 Chaguo La Teeniez awards (CHAT Awards) he was nominated in three categories, but won none of them [The Standard, May 5, 2006: [http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/mags/pulse/articles.php?articleid=1143952035&date=5/5/2006 The chosen few] ] . At the 2007 CHAT Awards he won two prizes: Best Male and Celebrity categories [The Standard, April 20, 2007: [http://www.eastandard.net/archives/index.php?mnu=details&id=1143967549&catid=123 Chat Awards drama] ] . At the 2007 Kisima Music Awards Jua Cali won two categories: best male artist and boomba male [ [http://www.kisimaawards.co.ke/kminner.asp?cat=winners07 Kisima Awards winners 2007] ] . In August 2007, he was among 100 most influential Kenyans as selected by The Standard newspaper [The Standard, August 21, 2007: [http://www.eastandard.net/arts.php?topic=375&img_topic=376 100 most influential Kenyans] ] [ The Standard, August 21, 2007: [http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143973204 100 most influential Kenyans - Entertainment] ] . He has toured the US and other countries [The Standard, January 26, 2006: [http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/mags/pulse/articles.php?articleid=35563&date=27/1/2006 Tour gripes] ] .In 2007 he was internationally nominated for the MOBO Awards [MyNaijaNews, September 6, 2007: [http://www.mynaijanews.com/content/view/605/86 Celtel sponsors MOBO’s Best African Star Award category....Tu Face, D’Banj gun for award] ] and MTV Europe Music Awards. His hit "Kwaheri" (featuring Sainapei) was a major hit in Kenya that year [Daily Nation, December 29, 2007: [http://xymbollab.net/stories/200712310126.html Kenya: 2007 - the Year in Which Local Music Boomed] ] . He was nominated for three categories at the 2008 CHAT Awards, and won them all: Favourite Male Artiste, Best Live Stage Performance and Best Collabo Song (Kwaheri) [The Standard, Pulse Magazine, June 20, 2008: [http://eastandard.net/mag/index.php?id=1143988767&catid=212 "Chaguo La Teeniez" awards] ] .

His stage name Jua Cali, is derived from California, an estate in Nairobi (as is the name of Calif Records). It also resembles "Jua Kali", a Swahili term meaning informal sector.

References

* [http://www.africanshome.com/epk.php?band_id=89 Biography]

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/juacali Juacali Myspace profile]
* [http://www.califrecords.co.ke Calif Records]