Krept, also known as Casyo Johnson, is a famous grime artist and rapper, one half of award-winning duo Krept and Konan, and co-host of BBC TV show The Rap Game.
She created Nala’s Baby, a skincare range for young children, with her former partner, model Sasha Ellese. Krept, 34, lives just outside London.
How did your upbringing influence your attitude towards money?
I grew up in Gipsy Hill in South East London – there was a lot of violence in the area and my brother and I didn’t have the best of starts. My mother had separated from my father, who had done five years in prison for drugs. She did the best she could but the need to make money had been ingrained in me from childhood.
What was your first paid job?
He was handing out flyers for my local Indian takeaway. They knew me because I used to go there to eat. Actually, I asked them about this job and they agreed. I was getting around £2.50 an hour. It was 2005 and I was 14 or 15 years old.
Where does your rapper name Krept come from?
When I was a kid, they called me Kreps because of my coaches, but later they took the name Krept.
How did you achieve that as a rapper?
I was making music as a hobby and started writing lyrics in my youth club. Konan, who was a really good MC at the time, thought the songs were good and we made some songs that we shared via Infrared, which was the way people sent music before Bluetooth.
Our popularity increased which led to: [the late] Jamal Edwards lets us play on his YouTube channel SBTV: Music. It developed slowly, then we released our independent mixtape Young Kingz in 2013 and it took off big time. Our real game changer song was Don’t Waste My Time.
After Konan became homeless, we began releasing this song independently and being used in the movie Creed (2015). We signed record deals, won awards, got bookings, and started seeing money from shows and festivals. We filled the O2 Arena in 2019.
Then you had success with Nala’s Baby. How did that happen?
I always wanted to go into something different, not just music. I’m really interested in different sources of income. I also want to create a life for my daughter that I didn’t have. I don’t want her to go through the same things we did when we were kids.
Sasha was pregnant and worried about what she was putting on her skin, but when she checked the products on the Think Dirty app (which explains the ingredients), the ones that were chemical-free and completely pure were over £30 a bottle. None of the others were ‘clean’, so we decided to make one that was affordable.
I knew we needed to find the right people who could do this professionally, so I contacted someone I knew who worked in retail, and she introduced us to a manufacturer that specialized in skin and hair care. We met and said exactly what we wanted: a hair and skin product for babies that was zero-rated and ticked all the boxes.
How difficult was it to do this since you had no experience in this field?
The products took a year and a half to develop. I researched every single ingredient every day during quarantine. If it wasn’t for being stuck at home, I would never have had the time and probably would never have been able to do this.
It’s hard to find something that’s paediatrician and dermatologist approved, but also affordable, all in one bottle. We needed a minimum order quantity, so we pitched it to Boots, who loved it.
Suddenly Nala’s Baby was much bigger than our original idea. It sold very quickly and we were out of stock for a while. But these are good problems to have.
Did being famous help you get investment?
There were pros and cons to being famous. It meant I had a platform and some traction. Most of my angel investors came through my music network [Anthony Joshua and Jourdan Dunn are some of the most famous investors].
But when you’re a rapper who’s just starting out with baby skincare, people look at you sideways and wonder, “How can I trust you to do this?”
I had a lot to prove, but I always said: Once someone gets it, it will come back.
Which career has had the biggest financial impact: being a successful rapper or being the co-creator of Nala’s Baby?
Financially, the numbers projected for Nala’s Baby are much bigger than my musical work, and remember, you can make a lot of money from music. But in terms of business, scaling and becoming a national brand, Nala’s Baby is really going to be something.
We have sold over one million units since our launch in June 2022. Sales are up 55 per cent year-on-year and are expected to rise by a further 100 per cent this financial year. Last year the business was valued at £17 million.
Real estate or retirement?
Both. I have a buy-to-let property in Liverpool and it does get a bit stressful when things go wrong; the shower needs fixing or the tenant is unhappy with something. I am a really good landlord and if they have any problems I will make it up to them because I have been there too.
I now have a management company working for me. I am in the middle of refinancing a purchase and lease to buy again.
I’m also setting up a retirement plan for myself and my daughter. I can save between £2,000 and £3,000 a year for a few years, so he should have a £1 million pension plan when he retires. It’s as good as investing it in a property.
Has having a daughter changed your perspective on money?
Definitely. I think about my spending more in terms of what I can invest in or what might have a positive impact at a later date.
I got life insurance [Krept was stabbed after a Birmingham concert in 2019] so it automatically pays off my mortgage and my daughter gets the house. I also set up a trust for her and make sure she’s okay if I’m not here.
Are you a saver or a spender?
Savings. Absolutely. Every one of my friends says I’m a tightwad, which must mean I’m a keeper.
What do you like to spend it on?
I spend money on comfort. When it comes to travel, I don’t mind renting a Mercedes Benz Viano with a driver and a reclining seat so I can lie down.
Sometimes I’ll fly business class over economy. I don’t mind spending money on a watch that I love and that doesn’t depreciate, like an Audemars Piguet.
I travel a lot for work and I don’t get to enjoy visiting different countries as much as I would like, so I try to get away from work at least once a year.
Does money make you happy?
It’s not the root of my happiness, but it definitely helps. And I enjoy helping my friends and family, I really do. Money doesn’t change the reality of daily life or your health or relationships, but it definitely helps eliminate problems.
Nala’s Baby is available in most major supermarkets.