2 June 2008
The second Ugandan contestant to leave the reality show music academy wants to do collaborations with Master Blaster of the Teacher track fame, writes Edgar R. Batte.
The second Ugandan contestant to leave the Tusker Project Fame (TPF) contest, Asha Naava, is back and ready to launch her music career. One of the people the self-confessed comedy fan revealed she would be contacting for the possibility of musical collaborations is Master Blaster of the infamous track, Teacher.
"I like his style. He is good at his free style....it makes him unique," Naava told journalists early this week. Her other option for a collaboration could be with Kenyan contestant, David Ogola, whose skill at the guitar would compliment her vocal abilities as well as booking her a place on the Kenyan market. But more interesting are her tales from the house.
"The beginning was no easy walk; meeting new people from different places and having to adapt was stressful. There is this discomfort of trying to act around people because you know the cameras are in your face and people are watching your every move," Naava tells of her TPF in-house experience. As such, this gave her reason to change something about her character.
"Before TPF, I was the kind of person who didn't like to socialise but getting in there changed a part of me. I learnt I could not avoid people. It taught me how to be cooperative," she adds before telling of how much she missed her one-year-old daughter she had to leave behind with her partner, artist Henry Brian "Mzili" Musunga.
When on stage and not chatting away, she found time off to do musical compositions that would launch her on the scene when she finally returned home. That was slightly before the probation tension started mounting by the day. Confidence eluded her knowing that fans back home weren't (actively) voting.
"The Ugandan audience let me down. It is stressful and deadly in there. It is a game of rivalry. Everyone is on their own because at any one point someone has to leave. In the last two weeks, instinct told me I was leaving. It is too tight and you have to be strong and consistent," Naava further says.
However, she has no bone to pick with the judges. According to her, they are doing their job and keeping the competition on the go. "They are fair. Their comments remodel you. When you're put on probation, it shapes you to work harder. You have to be up to it," the former contestant who considers herself a tomboy candidly adds, lauding Ugandan contestant Esther Nabaasa who's not been on probation and continues to enjoy the judges' favour.
Nonetheless she decries the unfairness in the demographic share where Kenya and Tanzania have bigger numbers compared to Uganda.
Asked what it would be like if she had to return to the house, Naava would give it another shot with more focus and concentration plus, she would make sure she is herself. For now though she is grateful TPF opened the world for her. At the time the musical calling came knocking, she was in the process of setting up a computer bureau and joining university. These plans might have to change though as she discloses plans to concentrate on her music career, to break out as an Rn'b and soul artiste.
Music has always had its place in her life and you will catch her anytime with her earphones plugged in. She draws her inspiration from artistes like American soul, and neo soul singer-songwriter India Arie and Alicia Keys.
TPF, a reality show which started in 2004 and was first produced in South Africa, is sponsored by Tusker Malt lager- a premium quality brand produced by East African Breweries Limited.
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