Ugandan songstress Spice Diana has weighed in on the ongoing dispute between songwriter Sheena Skies and DJ Roja, urging creatives to embrace professionalism and clearly separate business from friendship.
The debate erupted following a recent interview in which Sheena revealed that she was the songwriter behind More Of This, the hit collaboration by Rema Namakula, Slick Stuart and DJ Roja.
According to Shena, she was paid only Shs20,000, money she claims was labelled as fuel facilitation.
“They only paid me Shs20,000 for fuel. Things are not as simple as they look,” Sheena said, adding that despite the glamour associated with song writing, many creatives behind the scenes struggle financially and lack job security.
Her remarks, however, were swiftly dismissed by DJ Roja, who accused Sheena of spreading falsehoods. He maintained that she was fairly compensated, insisting she received Shs1.5 million for her contribution to the project.
“I am shocked by her claims. Sheena was already a big brand at the time, and there is no way she would walk away with only Shs20k. No way! We paid her Shs1.5m for the project,” DJ Roja said. “She should stop spreading lies. I honestly wonder why she does such things.”
READ: “Put a price on your talent” — Ray Signature on Shena Skies’ songwriting claims
ALSO READ: Shena Skies reveals she was once paid only shs20,000 for a song
With both parties trading accusations of dishonesty and disrespect, Spice Diana has called for calm and mutual understanding, stressing the importance of professionalism in creative collaborations.
“Writers need to be professional and stand by their word,” Spice Diana said. “No one can perform a song you wrote without your permission. If you agree on Shs500,000, it should be documented in a contract. If you want a percentage from caller tunes or royalties, it must be put in writing.”
She cautioned that publicly airing unresolved disputes could damage a songwriter’s reputation and discourage future collaborations.
“If you keep talking about these things without proper agreements, you risk killing your brand because other artists will fear working with you,” she added.
Spice Diana concluded by advising creatives to clearly separate friendship from business, noting that this principle has guided her career. “That’s how I operate,” she said. “Friendship is friendship, but business must be handled professionally.”
Don’t want to miss out on any story? For updates on all Sqoop stories, follow this link on Telegram: https://t.me/Sqoop and Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel
