The Weekly Observer (Kampala)
Diana Nabiruma
9 July 2008
opinion
Ever spent an evening watching some troupe play drums? Boring is what most of you would think.
That is what I thought too, but failing to get a way out of it, I begrudgingly set off for the KCC Lugogo grounds.
"I will stay a short while and be off," I thought. But much as I tried, my little feet could not carry me away for the performance was superb.
Apparently, Uganda has never had a sound of its own and Kika seeks to create this sound. Ugandans were ardent listeners of Congolese music, then it was South African music and after this, it was time for the Halima Namakulas to shine. But there was no beat or rhythm that defined "music from Uganda".
Kika troupe decided to fill that gap by creating tunes from tribes of Uganda.
Whoever thought the sound of drums could make one throw all caution to the wind and get out there to pull some rare strokes? Not I, certainly.
First came these tiny girls who hit the drums so hard and rhythmically. Then the boys gave a great show of their own, fusing Bakisimba, laraka raka and Orunyenge. Amazing and beautiful.
It was entertaining watching people pull off Beyonce's strokes to the sound of drums. At the end of the show, Kika troupe got a standing ovation.
This group of disadvantaged young people definitely has something new to offer and is worth watching out for.
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