Singer Coco Finger (L) with his fan Jimmy Katende whom he told about his plans and why he has been off the radar. PHOTO by Isaac Ssejjombwe
Coco finger: He is one of the notable dancehall artistes in Uganda, although he has been a little quiet lately. Coco Finger met his fan Jimmy Katende, who he explained to what he has been upto, and they also talked about his music.
Hi Coco, you have been quiet lately. What have you been up to?
Thanks for being an ardent fan and loving my music. I am not lost, I have been having events all over; upcountry, Germany, Amsterdam, and other Asian countries. And that happened, especially last year and it is not long since I returned. Even the election period made me put a hold on my music.
When did you start doing music?
I started doing music when I was still in primary school. I remember I used to be a very good dancer and played drums but became serious with music in my Senior Two (1997) by rehearsing, training my voice and working towards that, but then I also had to finish school and in Senior Five I started writing serious songs. I recorded my first song after my Diploma in Social Work and in 2003, I left for Tanzania for three years. I returned and did my first hit Emikono Wagulu, which I translated into Luganda from Luo. Then I kept releasing other big hits such as My Miss, Never Never, Don’t Break My Heart, and Private Number among others.
I heard about your WhatsApp song. What inspired the song?
WhatsApp is my latest single and I am shooting a video for it soon. I basically looked at the latest trend in Uganda and realised that WhatsApp is now in control. People have broken up because of it, hooked up and it has in a way taken over people’s lives. Many promote their businesses on it, make programmes, news and so on. It plays a vital role in relationships, businesses and social life. Putting all this into consideration, I decided to come up with this song.
There is this talk in town of how some artistes are illuminati. Do you have any idea about it?
I don’t believe in such and I wouldn’t advise anyone to follow those things because they don’t exist. However, there are some people who take this matter too seriously because I receive calls from people asking me how they can join illuminati. They always associate it with people who have achieved something yet our achievements are all out of working hard.
Now that you are settled and the elections are done, what are you cooking?
I have a lot in store for you guys that I cannot start mentioning now. I have events coming up, I have an album with four singles out already; WatsApp, No body, Wanno Waka, and Entebbe, which is a dedication to the area I was born in. I have collaborations with artistes from Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Jamaica, among others.
Rumour has it that you are under new management. Can you tell me more about that?
Because of my busy schedule, I decided to team up with Richard Flavor of Spotlyte music Africa to help my music career. He is now in charge of everything to do with my music, promotion, interviews, and performances. We have achieved a lot together already and a few days ago, we were part of the ‘Save Carol’ campaign where I participated in mobilising the media, my fellow artistes, posting on Facebook, Twitter, video clips. I brought my two cars for washing, washed other people’s cars and made an encouraging song for her.
Should we wait for a concert this year?
Yes. We have plans, especially after the album is done.
How different are you from the rest of the other dancehall artistes?
I am a dancehall ambassador and an energetic stage performer.
What are your top songs at the moment?
Work by Rihanna, Shoulder Back by Red San, Musawo by Winnie Nwagi, Royal by Eddy Kenzo and Patoraking and WatsApp by myself.
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