Moses Serugo
14 July 2006
This weekend, a couple of Ugandan artistes will be in Nairobi on a quest for trophies at Kenya's Kisima Music awards. The gala takes place tommorrow at the Carnivore Grounds where six Ugandan musicians and one record producer will be flying our flag high.
Washington Ebangit is the lone Ugandan nominee in the Best East African producer category, which has seven contenders. "The nomination is a big step in my career," says Washington who has to beat off strong competition from Homeboyz Musyoka and the Ogopa DJs. "It shows that my production skills are felt across the region."
Washington's Midas Touch has graced songs like East African Bashment Crew's Fire Anthem, Wyre's Make A Choice and Bebe Cool's Lonely. With such a musical roster, he stands a pretty good chance at winning.
The rest of the Ugandan nominees will contest among each other in the two categories reserved for Ugandan artistes- Best Song and Music Video awards. Maurice Kiirya, up for the Best Song Award, will also perform at the awards gala. He will sing the Ugandan national anthem and he hopes to serenade Kenyans with his velvety voice and awesome guitar-playing skills on Beera Naabo.
"I feel good about being appreciated outside Uganda," says Maurice who enjoys quite a following in Dar-es-Salaam too. The other nominated songs in this category include Chameleone's Mama Rhoda, Ngoni's Nasiima Gwe and Obsessions Wekuume.
Obsessions have also been booked to perform at the Kisima gala. Troupe leader Ronnie Mulindwa has promised to leave a mark in Kenya. "Our nomination shows that our music is good considering that we sing in Luganda which the Kenyans probably do not understand," Ronnie asserts.
Chameleone and Ngoni's respective songs earned each an additional nod in the Best Music Video category, which also has Benon & Vamposs' Mumuleete and the little-known Oscar Muwonge's Murembo as the other nominees. Vamposs is over the moon.
Their Mumuleete hit was passed over by our own PAM awards last year but it now getting its due recognition in the region. "We are really big outside Uganda especially in Kigali and Burundi, Vamposs (a brother to Maurice Kiirya) brags. The song's video sprung the pair to MTV base where it received ample rotation. Mumuleete has been their biggest song after Nsazeewo.
Ngoni will travel to Nairobi on a wave of excitement. The male duo finds it odd that recognition has come from a foreign award before the one from home. Ngoni's Digi was a runaway hit last year but the song was missed out on a PAM awards nod despite its immense radio airplay. "I think Kenyans appreciate good music better," says Ngoni's Patrick Nyanzi a.k.a Pato.
Oscar Muwonge, a music new comer completes the list of Ugandans travelling east this weekend. Oscar's rise is similar to that of former Kora nominees Eddie Rush and Charlie Ti Wanditi. He is happy that he was steadfast about not conforming to 'kidandali' (contemporary Ugandan) rhythms. Murembo, which is Swahili for "beautiful", is a melodious fusion of R&B and zouk.
The Kisima Awards nominees are chosen by an 11-person academy comprising entertainment journalists, radio and television personalities. The awards, now in their sixth year, cover 25 categories and honour musical fields as diverse as the cultures of the regions. A Kisima is awarded by and to artistes and technical professionals for artistic, popularity or technical achievement, not sales or chart success. Last year Blu*3 brought home two Kisima laurels for Best Ugandan Artiste/ Group and Best Video.
In addition to the Kisima Awards, the Kisima Music Trust gives other honours- awards that recognise contributions and activities of significance to the recording field that fall outside the framework of the Kisima Awards categories. These include the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Community Awareness Advocacy Award and induction into the Kisima Hall Of Fame.
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