Zambian music sensation Yo Maps has opened up about the humble beginnings of his career and the unwavering support of his longtime friend and manager, Kandeke. Speaking on the Kenny T Podcast, Yo Maps revealed a touching story of brotherhood, sacrifice, and resilience that played a huge role in shaping his rise to fame.
According to Yo Maps, the pair first met when Kandeke was working as a radio DJ. Their connection was instant. “When I met Kandeke, he was working at a radio station and really liked my songs,” Yo Maps recalled. “He told me, ‘Boi, ulichikali give me all your songs and I’ll play them on radio.’”
But Kandeke’s passion for promoting Yo Maps’ music came with a cost. He played the songs so frequently reportedly every two minutes that station management viewed it as unprofessional and eventually fired him. “They thought he was being biased,” Yo Maps explained. “He lost his job because of me.”
Despite that setback, Kandeke didn’t walk away instead, he doubled down. “We started from scratch,” Yo Maps said. “We used to move door-to-door putting music on people’s flash disks, just trying to get heard.”
The duo’s hustle extended to local concerts, where they would find creative and sometimes risky ways to get Yo Maps on stage. “We would bribe DJs with K50 just to let me perform one chorus,” he said. “Sometimes we were even slapped. But we never gave up.”
This raw and heartfelt story highlights the incredible loyalty between Yo Maps and Kandeke a friendship built not just on ambition, but on shared sacrifice and belief. It’s a powerful reminder that behind every star is a story of struggle, and behind every success is someone who believed from day one.