In 2022, Kenyan singer and nominated Senator Crystal Asige took popular music group Sauti Sol and their label, Sol Generation Records, to court, accusing them of discrimination, exploitation, and violation of her intellectual property rights.

Asige says she joined the label in 2019, moving from Mombasa to Nairobi at her own expense after being promised mentorship and a recording contract by Sauti Sol.

According to Asige, she worked on songwriting and recording sessions without pay or a formal agreement, even as her music began attracting national attention. She cites the success of Extravaganza, where she featured prominently, claiming her rising fame was used to boost the group’s image as champions of young artistes and inclusivity.

These include hits like Extravaganza, Ukiwa Mbali, and 1919 to Forever. She alleges that the label and band used her likeness, disability, and image as a marketing tool, positioning her as a pioneering artist with disabilities while sidelining her financially.

“They used my disability as a selling point for their PR campaigns. It was portrayed as if the label was championing and supporting me as an artist with a disability,” she testified before Lady Justice Margaret Mwangi at the High Court on Thursday, October 21.

However, she alleges that once she started questioning the contractual terms offered to other artistes, she was sidelined, her calls and messages were ignored, and she was eventually excluded from meetings, performances, and projects.

She claims her lyrics were taken and used in the group’s 2020 album, ‘Midnight Train‘, specifically in the track ‘Intro’, where she was listed as a co-writer instead of the sole author.

Sauti Sol and Sol Generation have denied the allegations. In a written testimony, they state that Asige was treated with care and respect, especially during her medical procedures.

This case has sparked significant public interest, not only because of the high-profile nature of the parties involved but also due to its broader implications for the Kenyan music industry and disability rights.

The court proceedings are ongoing, and the outcome could set an example for how artist-label relationships—and issues of inclusivity and intellectual property—are handled in Kenya’s entertainment sector.