By the time the music video was pulled down, over a row with an artiste, Dyana Cods, the 23-year-old Kenyan dancehall star whose song 'Set It' has become an East African sensation, had over six million views.
In the past two months, the audio alone has 1.6 million views, and the song keeps going viral. On TikTok, the “Set It” electrifying dance challenge has quickly gained traction.
She opens up about dropping out of school to pursue her passion, how she is dealing with the challenges of the music industry, and the viral success of "Set It."
People know your song, but not everyone knows the musician behind it; how would you describe yourself?
Diana is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and performer—sexy, talented, and shy at the same time. But when I am on stage, it is savage mode; it is crazy. Basically, shy and savage. That is Diana.
I am 23. I dropped out of the University of Nairobi along the way to pursue music. I was studying journalism, but at some point, I realised it was not my dream.
I have been in the music industry for about five years now. The journey has been a wild ride. The first time I made a mark was with a freestyle on Homeboyz Radio. My breakthrough came with my recent song, Set It.
What inspired the song?
The beat, I was inspired by the vibe of the instrumental. When I heard it, I just knew it was fire, and it brought out the savage energy in me.
The instrumental always dictates my vibe, and this one was pure magic. I am signed under Big Beat Africa, so they own the beat and the song. I featured Ajay from Buruklyn Boyz [Kenyan group], but the song is owned by Big Beat.
How does it feel to have a big song you don’t own?
It feels amazing, to be honest. Sure, there are challenges in terms of ownership, but the recognition and the growth that have come with it are unbelievable.
It is overwhelming, but in a good way. The only issue that has taken a toll on me is that the song was pulled down from YouTube. That got me off-guard.
Did you write the song by yourself?
I wrote the chorus first as soon as I heard the beat, but I hit writer’s block and left it for a while. Later, I went back to complete the verses.
At some point, I felt like I needed to add another artiste for more clout, so I sent the song to Lil Maina, but he delayed sending the verse. I thought he did not want to feature in the song.
I then sent it to Ajay, who responded the next day, and I knew that was it. We recorded it and released the audio on all platforms, but it did not pick up at first.
Once the song became big, of course, Lil Maina wanted to do the remix, but, you know, the management was like, let us do another song, you know? The remix needs an international artiste who can take the song worldwide.
The first week, it did nothing in terms of numbers. That is when I decided to promote it on TikTok. A few dancers picked it up, and that is when it blew up.
We then rushed to scout locations. We got a video director. We paid for everything and then released the video. It did better than the audio. We shot the video in Jericho [a low-middle neighbourhood in Nairobi], which is where I lived when I moved to Nairobi.
It is a place full of art, and many people love shooting videos there. It cost about Sh100,000 for the logistics, but the record label took care of everything. I could not afford that. In less than a week, we hit a million views!
Have you made any money from the song yet?
Not really. I had not monetised my YouTube channel before the song blew up because my previous channel got hacked. I was in the process of monetising when this song took off.
Dyana Cods, the 23-year-old dancehall star behind viral hit song 'Set It'.
Photo credit: Pool
It takes about three months to get YouTube verification, so I have not made any money from streaming yet, just from gigs. To be honest, I do not see myself making money anytime soon.
Why was the song pulled down?
Ajay and my team had an agreement to split 10 percent with him, but after the song became a hit, the distribution company he had initially signed to had unfinished business with him, so the distribution company saw that this guy (Ajay) had featured in a top song, yet he owed them, so they came for me.
They started bullying me. They wanted me to give them my song to put up on their site, because they thought that being a small artiste, I had no one on my team.
That is how the song ended up being pulled down from YouTube. The case is in court.
What advice would you give to upcoming artistes based on your experiences?
My advice is to make sure you sort out your split sheets before releasing any music.
No matter how close you are to other artists, have everything in writing. People will come back asking for more after a song blows up, and that can lead to a lot of drama.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as an upcoming artiste, especially as a woman?
The biggest challenge has been getting gigs and revenue to fund my lifestyle. And to look like an artiste, it is very important to look a certain way. Getting constant money to fund that lifestyle is not easy.
There is this idea that female artistes have more opportunities, but many of them are just for show.
It is hard to tell what is real and what is fake. Another challenge is the lack of mentorship in the industry, which can lead young artists to make wrong choices, like falling into drugs and alcoholism.
Who has mentored you?
I have been fortunate to have people like Wakadinali and Big Beat Africa guide me.
They have been serious about music and have always advised me on who to hang out with and who to avoid.
I have an upcoming project with Femi One. I am very excited about it because you find there is not much female collaboration in the hip-hop industry.
What’s your style of music?
I am versatile. I don’t like being boxed into one genre. If it is dancehall that is trending, I will do it. I adapt to the trends. I would like to work with Bien, Nviiri, Ssaru, and Femi One. Internationally, Burna Boy, and Wizkid, are dream collaborations.
Lastly, what’s a day in your life like?
My day starts with prayer because I am very spiritual.
So, the funny thing is, my parents, don't push Christianity on you.
I didn't have that basis; this is religion, and I didn't really care. At some point, I was an atheist until in high school when I had an encounter with God, you know, and it changed everything, and I became a true believer.
The next thing I do is hit the gym, which helps with discipline.
I work out for about an hour, four times a week. After that, it is either writing music or handling other aspects of my career.
I am all about balance, spiritual, physical, and creative.
