Nakaaya was born in the Arusha region of Northern Tanzania on September 3, 1982. She is the oldest of five children.

Both of her parents are business people in Arusha. Nakaaya grew up in Arusha and Nairobi, Kenya where she went to school. While a youngster in school Nakaaya fell in love with singing and performing, participating in various school shows and plays.

After finishing school she moved to Dar es Salaam. While in dar she worked in various administrative capacities before getting a chance to begin pursuing a music career. Nakaaya has always loved singing and dancing, and in 2004 she was invited to sing with the Tanzanite Band. Performing several nights a week while still working her day job, Nakaaya was forced to step away from singing so it wouldn't interefere with her work responsibilities.

In 2006 an ad in the newspaper offered Nakaaya a new opportunity. Project Tusker Fame was holding auditions at the Dar Cinemas. Nakaaya went and wowed the judges, quickly passing on to the finals and eventually being accepted as one of the housemates for East African Project Fame.