Titus Serunjogi
5 October 2008
Kampala — SYLVER Kyagulanyi is one of the most obscure Ugandan celebrities. He rarely performs at concerts and is an equally rare sight in discothèques. However, this is the total opposite of his musical career.
His voice crooning love ballads is familiar to many. His latest single Olunaku Luno have become a sort of morning prayer for many. It has won him a couple of VIGA awards and also got him a nomination for the PAM awards.
He has also written music for many successful female musicians like Juliana Kanyomoozi, Iryn Namubiru, Blu*3, Sophia Nantongo and the Obsessions.
"A candle loses nothing by lighting other candles.
I do not become effeminate or a womanizer by writing love songs for female artistes. I am still a morally-upright and Christian family man," he says.
"The lyrics I write are not really mine.
My inspiration comes from God and He knows anyone's emotions. But if men are from Mars, then I am a man. I hate to be seen as effeminate."
He is a big fan of Dr John Gray's Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, as well as several inspirational books.
Born into a lower middle class family in Kireka on the outskirts of Kampala in 1979, Kyagulanyi spent part of his childhood in Nswanjere and Kisubi seminaries.
Then, all he desired out of life was to become a Catholic priest. He fell in love with playing the guitar while at the seminaries and soon gave up pursuing the priestly vocation because of something he says went wrong at the seminaries.
"I cannot say it and I am not blaming anybody for it. I know the church is always right but I hope God will forgive me for not having finished at the seminary," he says.
Having quit the seminary, he went to Kasasa Secondary School where he studied on bursaries, thanks to his wizardry on the guitar strings.
He remained a very disciplined Catholic boy but was more open to intimate relationships. After completing his A'level, he joined the Christ The King church choir.
His past in the seminary is evident. His office in Ntinda is spotlessly clean; with everything so meticulously organised.His office desk faces a huge cardboard pasted with verses from Ecclesiastes.
On the shelves, you will find bibles and inspirational books stacked in neat piles. Of course there are a couple of box guitars near his seat.
The maestro also looks up to his wall clock so religiously. He is so neat and clean that he does not roll down the windows of his Land Cruiser, to avoid dust sweeping in.
Behind the rigid look is a cheery, humourous person who even plays childish pranks on others. He is very emotional too.
"When I was writing Nabikoowa, I felt so touched and I could not help crying," he confides. Kannyimbe, another song that he wrote for Juliana drew a few teardrops.
His song, Guma is heart-rending consolation to a housewife who has to endure her husband's constant battering. Perhaps he begs her not to leave her home because he is a staunch family man.
"My family is very special to me. My wife Jalia is still a baby (she is only 23 years old) and I do not want her to distress herself with work.
I want her to have everything she needs on a silver plate. I also want my son Harvey to enjoy all the luxuries that I missed as a child."
Kyagulanyi always puts aside money for his family's pleasure even though he is not a workaholic. He gets home to his wife and child by 6:00pm everyday.
But he has learned to be more efficient and time conscious so as to take in all the job offers available for him. To Kyagulanyi, being poor is a sin punishable by God.
Little wonder his favorite books are The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, and Chief Nangoli's Why Have You Chosen To Be Poor?
Kyagulanyi spends much of the day locked away in his studio, Blak Hole Records in Ntinda, writing and recording music.
Blak Hole is like a shrine where stars and wannabes flock for Kyagulanyi's chartbusting lyrics.
"I have written songs for so so many musicians, sometimes even without coming to any agreement with them. Sometimes I am only helping to get a note right and I end up writing a whole track for someone because I like her voice and I think it would suit a rhythm."
He also does voice training, advert jingles for CBS FM before burying himself into the incredibly huge fan mail on his laptop.
Kyagulanyi also lectures at the Makerere University School of Music, Dance and Drama, a school that he once quit because: "They were not giving me what I wanted.
They only taught us classical music and yet contemporary music is more relevant." In the middle of his busy daily schedule, Kyagulanyi can afford to steal a moment to write manuscripts for his upcoming novels.
Soon, one will walk into Aristoc Booklex and find titles like If Love Is Good Why Does It Make People Cry; Through The Eye of My Heart, an Autobiography; and Amasengere: The Courtroom.
At the end of a long day, he is back again to the family guy. "I switch off my mobile phone from Friday evening until Tuesday morning. This is when I can shut out work and spend quality time with my Jalia and Harvey."
He has won many awards such as the Sinan International Award 2008 for positively changing the society and youth through music; Latin University Certificate of Musical Excellence 2007; VICA Awards' Artiste of the Year 2008; PAM Awards' Best songwriter 2006/7.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
