There was a time when Shola Ama's Still Believe was more than just another song on Kampala radio stations.
Released in 1999 off her In Return album, the track quietly attached itself to a generation, playing through school dormitories, parties, taxis and dance floors, long before many listeners fully understood the heartbreak it spoke about.
On Sunday evening at Mezo Noir, however, none of that seemed to matter. The crowd knew every lyric anyway.
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As the chorus floated through the venue during The Singleton Old School RnB Brunch, hundreds of voices rose with it, some passionately, others dramatically, all fully committed to reliving an era when RnB soundtracked both romance and emotional turmoil.
Curated by The Singleton, the globally celebrated Old School RnB Brunch transformed Mezo Noir into a giant singalong arena where the audience became just as important as the DJs.
According to Simon Lapyem, Brand Manager for The Singleton East Africa, that emotional connection made the partnership with the brunch a natural fit.
"Old School RnB Brunch is more than a party, it is an experience built around connection, nostalgia and shared moments," he said. "The Singleton believes in creating spaces where people can slow down, savor the moment and genuinely connect with each other, and music has always been one of the most powerful ways to do that."
Unlike conventional nightlife events where revelers simply dance and drink, this experience demanded participation. Microphones moved freely through the crowd as patrons took turns singing like headline performers, sometimes confidently, sometimes terribly, but always enthusiastically.
And Kampala responded.
The brunch attracted many of the city's familiar faces, including socialites, influencers, creatives, media personalities and DJs, most of whom had simply come seeking a good time and a heavy dose of nostalgia.
But there was another layer to the celebration that evening.
Arsenal Football Club had just secured a major Premier League victory after a 22-year wait, and the celebrations had clearly spilled into the party. Red jerseys appeared across tables and dance circles, turning parts of the venue into what occasionally resembled a North London supporters' gathering, complete with cocktails.
Even football celebrations, however, had to pause once the music took over.
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From one record to the next, the DJs carefully controlled the mood of the room. They knew exactly when to raise the energy with hits from Ashanti, TLC and Michael Jackson, and when to slow things down enough for the crowd to surrender fully to nostalgia.
At one point, Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You echoed through the venue, prompting ambitious attempts at her famously difficult high notes from nearly every corner of the room. Later, Michael Jackson's Human Nature softened the atmosphere into a collective slow sway, with strangers singing side by side like old friends.
That balance between chaos, nostalgia and emotional release has increasingly become the defining formula behind the rise of old-school RnB experiences in Kampala.
In recent years, brunches and nightlife events centered around nostalgic music have steadily grown across the city, attracting audiences increasingly drawn to curated social spaces where connection matters just as much as entertainment.
For many such events, there is often a thin line between RnB and mainstream pop. A Soul and RnB celebration can easily drift into playlists dominated by Taylor Swift, Madonna or Katy Perry.
This, however, remained one of the rare nights where RnB stayed firmly RnB throughout the evening.
Perhaps that is the real magic behind the Old School RnB Brunch.
For a few hours inside Mezo Noir, adulthood appeared to pause. Bills, deadlines and Monday anxiety briefly disappeared beneath slow jams, harmonies and questionable crowd vocals.
By the end of the night, nobody really cared who could sing and who could not. What mattered was that everyone tried anyway.
