The Observer (Kampala)
David Tumusiime
8 July 2009
A few months ago when Xenson Ssenkaaba announced he was working on an album that would launch his musical career, few people took the talented painter seriously.
Better known for his colourful graffiti whose signature can be seen on some public toilets on Kampala road, a musical career seemed one of Xenson's jokes.
The Muwe Blow video playing mostly on EATV proves this was no joke.
Directed by Dedda's Donald Mugisha who also directed the movie Divisionz, MuweBlow is one of the most original music videos you will ever see on television.
Shot around Kyambogo University and some parts of Banda in black and white with a restrained dash of colour, Muwe Blow immediately brings to mind Sin City, an epoch defining Rodgriez movie that used some of that same technique. But though Rodgriez's movie seemed straight from comic book cartoon, Muwe Blow is all Xenson and ribald humour.
"We are always complaining about our families, disagreements in marriage, diseases, yet we have the power within ourselves to change the situation. I wanted to say let's try and do something," Xenson says.
The song's video shows this message but not in any boring, hectoring, preachy way which we too often have to put up with in do good songs.
"I used to be a boxer when I was in school so I came up with a symbol of using boxing gloves to show how we can
fight poverty, fake politicians, cheating husbands. That is why you see those kids chasing the Diikuula man with boxing gloves on."
The Diikuula character was no accident. "People think the Diikuula man is funny. But not everything that is funny is good for you. You have to ask yourself, what does the Diikuula man want while you are busy laughing? He could be a thief. I wanted to show that behind surfaces, there can be other things going on."
The artist who coined the now popular phrase, 'Kampala Si Kibuga Kya Bafala.
Bwoba Fala ofa oli yala,' that
was used in Divisionz confesses he sunk almost three million in recording Muwe Blow which was shot over seven days. The continuing freshness of the video leaves one speechless to discover that Muwe Blow was shot sometime in August 2008.
Xenson attributes the organization of the video to, following the rules of having all the people you need to shoot a good video.
"Many people ignore people like the artistic director but this is a key person."
Xenson was able to pull off this video despite being discouraged.
"Someone told me that 'You are too creative. That video has too much art. Ugandans don't need too much art'." There is art in abundance in Muwe Blow but far from being a bad thing, Xenson has actually thrown down a gauntlet of challenge for future Ugandan music videos to match his level of creativity.
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