
02/05/2025
“I have never seen my dad,” Zambia’s celebrated singer Elton Mulenga, popularly known as Yo Maps, has revealed, opening up about his upbringing and disclosing that he was raised by adoptive parents.
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Yo Maps may be basking in the glory brought by his golden voice, but his journey has not always been easy.
“I have never seen my dad. He died. We left Kasama with my mum and moved to Lusaka. After some time, my mother also passed on. There’s a long story behind it. The people I now call my parents are the ones who adopted me,” he said.
Speaking on Thursday during an appearance on the Kenny T 1 on 1 Podcast, the singer shared how life became difficult after his mother’s death, leaving him with no place to stay.
He said he owes his life to his adoptive parents, with whom he has lived for more than 20 years.
Meanwhile, Yo Maps revealed that he made over US$205,000 [K5.7 million at today’s rate] from the sale of his Komando and Try Again albums and continues to earn more than US$20,000 (K560,000) in royalties every two months.
“There’s more money in royalties than from shows. I have made much more from royalties than from live performances,” he said.
Yo Maps explained that the Komando album alone earned him US$80,000 (K2.2 million), while Try Again brought in about US$125,000 (K3.5 million).
On top of that, he earns over US$20,000 which is K560,000 every two months from royalties.
As a result of his fame and financial success, some of his relatives have taken to social media to accuse him of neglecting them, the claims he chooses to ignore.
“I saw a couple of them on social media saying ‘anatilekelela’ and stuff, my cousins but I don’t really pay attention to that because I’ve been living with my adoptive parents, and nobody else called. So for me, those are the people I consider my real parents,” he said.
(Mwebantu, Friday, 2nd May, 2025)