Dyana Cods-Set It hitmaker, a Nairobi-based rapper, has been in the industry for over five years. The fast-rising singer has never encountered the kind of reception and love, for her music, as she is currently enjoying.
Her Music Journey
The drill rapper, with a slight foreign twang, was born and brought up in Kisumu, Kenya. Her journey into music began at Statehouse Girls High School, where she would sing and play piano at the school during breaks.
Cods’ friends and schoolmates, constantly encouraged her to pursue her talent in music. As fate would have it, one of her friends, moved by her voice, paid for her first studio session.
Previously, she was in the R&B genre, before her current management, Zoza Nation. Her first single, in 2019, was in collaboration with Wakadinali, who first heard her singing in the booth next door and recognized her talent. They would later sign her.
Zoza Nation is a label associated with the Eastlands hip-hop trio, Wakadinali, who ‘Kenyanised’ her sound to widen her niche or target audience.
Despite the change of genre, she couldn’t manage a breakthrough. After many collaborations with underground rappers, she only managed a fraction of the hip-hop fans, which is male-dominated. Many could not get her gist and she ended up being a spice rather than a full meal.
The “Set It” Masterstroke
After earning a name in the Kenyan hip-hop circles, she tried experimenting with ‘international’ sounds again, to try out a different flavor.
During one of her recording sessions, the producer played her several beats, she stumbled upon one that resonated with her. She thought of a collaboration with Ajay, the half of the duo Buruklyn Boyz.
That move proved a masterstroke and gave birth to the club banger and popular dancehall hit ‘Set It’.
“I was sitting at the studio one time and the producer was playing beats. Then I heard that beat. I was immediately hooked,” she says.
“I listened to the entire beat while standing up. I immediately then got down to business and wrote a track right at the spot.”
When he sent him the track, Ajay immediately got back to her and within a day, he had already sent back his verse and vocals.
They recorded the song but after releasing it, despite its potential, it didn’t resonate with fans at first. No one paid attention to it, it sat on streaming platforms like her previous releases. Just a bit of fanfare and then nothing.
Then came along some Tiktokers and boom their Set It challenge blew up. And it would go on to be the biggest song in the country to date.
Set It Numbers
It is the most listened-to song in Kenya on Spotify and Apple Music streaming platforms.
It’s the most Shazam’ed song with the highest number of Tiktok hits.
Set It is trending at Number 1 on YouTube for music with over 5.4 million views and counting. These are such great numbers for her first achievement.
Future Endeavours
The rapper, whose debut album, ‘Rong Manners’, dropped in April, says she is looking to collaborate with some big names in the industry, both in Kenya and abroad.
She credits her saucy and bawdy lyricism to Wakadinali who has had the most influence on her. Since they’re male artists, their freedom of expression was off the hook, and that changed her pen game.
Cods, 22, admits that her sex appeal is also intentional. She is shy naturally and always taps into her alter ego to deliver flawlessly.
Her eyes are on the prize. Nothing can stop her now as she prepares to capitalize on her new audience and release a new album in October.
