Wilson Radido popularly known as Willy Paul is a renown Kenyan contemporary gospel artist. He was born and raised in Mathare slums in Nairobi. He came into public limelight in 2010 after his *sitolia* hit. Some of his popular songs include *kitanzi, sitolia* and *you never know.*
*Ten facts about Willy*
10. He has a diverse history of origin.His father Paul Radido was of Ugandan descent. His mother is an immigrant from Tanzania. Willy himself is born and raised in Kenya.
9. Gloria Muliro is his mentor. His first song *sitolia* features Muliro. Gloria is the musician who held his hand to the national music stage. He has also collaborated with her in recording another hit called *kitanzi*.
8. He has established a philanthropic foundation in Mathare slums. Born and raised in Mathare, Paul has initiated philanthropic programmes to support the needy in the area. The programme also assist children to get better health care and basic education.
7. He dropped out of school in 2011 due to his fathers death. He was forced to do all sorts of jobs including working at *juakal*i to generate income for the family. At that moment his mother was also bed ridden. He later went back to high school to complete his high school education.
6. Willy Paul and his fellow gospel artist Bahati had a heated enmity in 2015 over copyright infringement claims. They hurled war of words at each other.They later reconciled.
5. Due to his fame in contemporary gospel music, he toured USA in 2014. In the US, he visited various churches in 12 states. Among the states he visited includes California, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Nevada.
4. He won the male artist of the year 2012 groove awards.Their collaboration with Muliro in recording *sitolia* brought them to fame as Muliro scooped the female artist of the year award.
3. He had wedding plans in 2016, unfortunately the plan crushed. This after the break with his then fiance Sara. Willy claims he is tired of being disturbed and wants to change his marital status
2. In 2015, he launched a programme dabbed Make Someone Smile. The organization aims to sponsor the audio track for talented musicians. One only needs to send his audio voice and then he/she shall be considered by the team.
1. He had only one Sunday Best trouser. The trouser had a hole at the back. He wore sandals of different colors,during the days he was still living in living in slums.
By Felix Vincent
