Krept said his brand Nala’s Baby was last valued at £17.5m and has grown rapidly since launching two years ago
One half of the UK rap sensation Krept & Konan has opened up about how diving into the business world has eased the stress on his music career, cautioning that cash flow for artists can be fleeting.
Krept, also known as Casyo Johnson, proudly shared that his venture Nala’s Baby is now worth £17.5m, having seen rapid growth since its inception two years ago. The brand, which he launched with co-parent Sasha Ellese, offers skincare and haircare products for children and babies, and is stocked by major retailers such as Boots, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s.
Inspired by their four year old daughter Nala, the duo wanted to create baby products with natural ingredients. Reflecting on his transition from music to entrepreneurship, Krept highlighted the lack of financial guidance for young, suddenly successful musicians. “There are so many examples of artists that come, they have everything, and then they don’t have anything,” he explained to PA news agency.
“You’ve not really had time to learn to manage your money. It can go as quickly as it comes. I think it’s good to set examples for them to see that when you get money, invest it or do other things with it… if you want to maintain what you’re doing.”
At 34, Krept contemplates the longevity of his rap career: “How old am I going to be continuing to rap? I don’t want the pressure of music,” he said. “I would rather build things that I can work on, there’s no pressure on the music side of it, I can do music freely how and when I want.”
Krept has been named as an ambassador for Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition, which is on the hunt for innovative business ideas from 16 to 25-year-olds in the UK. The winners will have the opportunity to work with industry experts to develop their ideas further, with the deadline for applications being January 12.
Krept shared that he relied heavily on the support of friends and contacts when setting up his own business, and was introduced to a skincare specialist early in the process. He said that networking was his “number one” tip for budding entrepreneurs, stating it had been “crucial” to the growth of Nala’s Baby.
“I had to do presentations to friends even though I’d known them for years… I was doing back-to-back presentations for weeks, pitching the business idea to loads of people,” he said. “I was able to raise that investment from my network of different people.”
Nala’s Baby boasts high-profile investors such as sports stars Anthony Joshua and Marcus Rashford, and model Jourdan Dunn.
Krept, who is due to release a new album with Konan in 2025, said Nala’s Baby is on track to quadruple its first-year sales in the current financial year.
