Still sulking from the exit of his protégé, crooner Dre Cali, Ykee Benda of Mpaka Records told XFM that it forced him to revisit how he does business, right from signing to managing the talent. And now, going forward, an artiste must have a solid background before getting behind the Mpaka Records banner. 

“What happened with Dre Cali helped us revisit how we do business. When you fall, you pick yourself up. I did. One mistake was not going to derail my plans,” said Benda. 

Dre Cali left the music camp in early 2022 and fled to Canada, leaving Benda seething with anger and embarrassment. He later claimed the stage name Dre Cali belonged to Mpaka Records and implored Cali to drop it, which he did, but for just two seconds. 

The Munakampala singer also claimed that his label has struck a distribution deal with San Francisco, US based Empire Records that will put him head-to-head with Nigeria’s Don Jazzy whose Mavin Records is working with Universal Music under a similar arrangement.