Friends sank my bar business, had to sell land to relocate to U.S. - GNL Zamba

Born Ernest Nsimbi, the rapper joined the music industry in 2005 after participating in the Hip Hop Canvas, which was a talent showcase campaign organised by Platinum Entertainment, owned by music promoter Shadrak Kuteesa.

Kuteesa would become Zamba's manager.

In 2007, he released his hit song Soda and became a rap sensation. Money started coming in.

While speaking to YouTuber Kasuk8, G.N.L. Zamba said he would buy land every year from his big concerts. For the small shows, he said, "the money would never reach home". They would blow it immediately after the event, he confessed.

Away from acquiring land, Zamba opted to diversify his investments and one of his treasured businesses was a bar in which he had a partner.

Some of Zamba's friends used to frequent Zamunda Bar in Najjera II and they consumed on debt.

Before they knew it, the earnings were shrinking.

"They would come and drink... disrespect the business... we later noticed that weren't making money anymore," said Zamba during the interview.

Then he was shocked when he started having financial problems and most of his friends weren't ready to help.

"It's until that you are looking for a 10k that you understand people's true colours... oh, wow, I've been naive! All along people are like this," he said.

That's when he decided to sell off the assets and move to the U.S.

"... I had no money like I used to... but I had accumulated some reasonable assets that I would liquidate to make my next move. I sold the bar. I sold the land. I got my cash and left the country."

G.N.L. Zamba moved to the U.S. in 2014.

Born in 1986, he debuted on the Ugandan music scene in 2007 with his classic Soda.

The song was off his album Koyi Koyi, which also had other great jams like Mr. Right, Story Ya Luka, Ani Yali Amanyi.

Zamba, who holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Makerere University, married his wife, Miriam Tamar, in Malibu, California in 2018. They met at a bar in Kampala when Tamar was handling some projects in Uganda. This was in 2012.