It’s such a pity that Ugandan artistes have never learnt to see themselves as brands and not just as mere artistes. And while it is quite the task to attain brand recognition as an artiste, it is also equally very easy to water down many years of toil and sacrifice with just one act of childishness. It’s what they call brand betrayal. The volatile and visibly angry Kenzo who rained blows on a one radio presenter called Kasuku could have known or not known about this.
Obviously, Kenzo and many other artistes may not be happy with the false allegations or rumours that they wake up to in our tabloids because of the amateurish style of journalism that is starved of facts and damaging to reputations but think of it this way, journalists are not the only ones whose role has been brought into question. We have seen quack doctors who serve their patients chocolate as painkillers and engineers who use cardboard to construct roads, so journalists can’t be the only ones performing their roles poorly.
Kenzo surely knows that by virtue of being a public figure, you are automatically thrust into the spotlight and you become a good candidate for praise and scorn by the media with the criticism being sometimes just or bogus. And of course with Kenzo enjoying peak success in his career at the moment, it is expected that his life is now a cause for public scrutiny and he will have people writing false stories or exaggerating things to test his character or see him fail. Thats life for you. Some people just never want to see anyone succeed. Period! Yes, I admit that once in a while a person will irritate you to your last nerve and tempers will flare but sometimes some reason needs to be considered because so much is at stake. Once one becomes famous, they lose their license to do whatever they want because everyone seems to be glued to their screen either learning from them or judging them. People like Kasuku will always be there just to start trouble but do you have to give them so much relevance? Do lions let opinions of hyenas bother them?
One thing that makes a brand stronger is consistency. Eddy Kenzo has always been known as a cool headed and calm individual but if a child who has always harboured dreams of becoming a star like him saw that video, all those dreams would be shattered. It would all seem like his hero betrayed him. Kenzo surely picked the wrong occasion to flip out in anger and certainly the wrong time as he prepares for his Sitya Loss concert that is on this evening. It was simply a needless and irresponsible act from the star singer.
But just like Kenzo and many people out there, we are all humans who are bound to make mistakes at some point in time but the beauty of being human is that you have a chance to make things right. Kenzo’s public image is bruised at the moment and he will now carry the persona of a savage for sometime but he can change that. If you ever feel like you want to be the next Floyd Mayweather my friend Eddy Kenzo, I have a list that includes some ex-girlfriends, money lenders and a few others to act as good punching bags for your training sessions.