Do things differently: To be like Kirya, you have to do the opposite of what people think of you. This guy just flips the script of what a musician is supposed to be, writes Ian Ford Nkera
“In Loving Memory of Maurice Kirya’s career.” These are seven words that could have summed up a talented singer’s story when he did the unthinkable and switched from the mainstream kidandalish Rn’B genre to something more subtle and not popular with your average Ugandan music fan. The Beera Nabo crooner called this new sound Mwooyo or music of the soul.
There and then his fate in Ugandan music had been sealed and stamped. It was the perfect career suicide. The radios were stubborn to embrace this sound and neither did guys like Suleiman vending Irish potatoes in Nakasero Market. He had fed himself to the sharks and down went the career of the young talented Maurice Kirya, so we thought. With a guitar strapped around his back while trotting on Kampala’s streets, Maurice Kirya could have gotten swayed by the jeers and the pity that followed him everywhere he went but he soldiered on. With time, the resilient Kirya saw his hardwork pay off when he won the 2010 RFI Discoveries Award across Africa, beating over 500 musicians. Sheer genius, if you asked me. Here’s how you can be like him.
Be Insane
Take insane risks. Be crazy enough to walk out of your comfort zone and try out new things. Its only men of character who could have done what he did by switching from mainstream music to something more conservative. Maurice shunned the crowded profitable genre of music to venture into the yet to be popular world music genre. And for the drunkards out there, I don’t mean trying new bars when I say get out of your comfort zone. Even the Sportsman diehards will now think Rex is a good option.
Patience
Maurice Kirya waited for eternity to get his breakthrough. His peers like Micheal Ross were churning out hits (yes, this guy used to be that big back then) while Maurice continued strumming his guitar for his almost non-existent fanbase all in the name of Mwooyo. Somehow, one fan became two and then we had a household name on our cards. If you have sat at your desk for over 20 years with hopes of a promotion and your new supervisor is 10 years your junior, do not despair because that promotion is coming soon. Be supportive when your wife enters her 15th year of marriage without a child. Be nice guys.
Maurice the hardworker
Maurice Kirya is a hardworking guy. You listen to his music and you can sense a great deal of effort. The production is always crisp, lyrics precise and videos quite good on the eye. The hard worker in him has been able to venture into business as well. What business would you expect a man of Kirya’s business acumen and big musician reputation to venture into? You might think of a huge real estate business or bar business but you would definitely be wrong. This guy actually sells coffee for a living. Yeah, the whole teabag, sugar thing is his thing. Clap for yourself Maurice. If you want to be like Maurice, have a bone for business. Even better, outsmart him and put up a bushera hub at Garden City. That’s creativity for you.
Ladies man…..as if
Maurice Kirya’s looks are passable really. Not that I would know but I have seen a couple of girls confess that they had a soft spot for him basing on how his facial attributes present themselves. Poor Maurice never goes too far with them though. There is something always short-term about his liaisons with women that begs the question. Is he all that? A pastor’s daughter would know I guess. She left him, then we saw his mwooyo (soul) crumble. In these kind of things, please do not be like Maurice Kirya. Treat women right and have your relationships last longer than an Android battery.
Spending phobia
For all the gifts, Maurice Kirya was blessed with, spending definitely wasn’t one of them. He had a Siamese attachment with his old beloved Beetle which he drove to its extinction. It decayed, withered but Kirya held onto the steering wheel like a drug addict on a heroin syringe. This guy guards his wallet jealously that many exes have been rumoured to have jumped ship because of his stingy ways.
Maurice Kirya studied his Economics pretty well that you won’t find him on a Sangoma-kind of lifestyle. Mise everything from your wifi connection to Bluetooth services then I can tell you that you are getting there.
There you have it. Go ahead and be like Maurice Kirya
DISCLAIMER
This is a humour column and the views expressed henceforth may not neccesarily be an objective assessment of the individual.