When Madoxx sneezes, Ugandan reggae catches a cold. Finally, the godfather of reggae music in Uganda decided to shoot the video to his popular classic, Namagembe. The video is shot in a way that sets a balance between the old and the new. It is as though the director did not want to strip the song bare of its attachment to the early 2000s. And as such, it is set back in time right from the valencia colour and lighting effect.
The video begins with a man leaping into water and splashing past. There is that feeling of cinematic anxiousness that immediately grips the viewer. Visuals of decrepit cars, one ironically with a Uganda government number plates, are showed. And soon, with feet heavily stamping on the ground like a cowboy, the reggae maestro, Madoxx makes his way to a run-down warehouse setting the scene for the Namagembe story.
It is here that he nails it, with those doves flying away and the drums immediately hitting away, the viewer has been captured. All the powers are then granted to the viewer to make out their own story of Namagembe. And this was a clever part to it. When you take over a decade without a video to a song, the worst thing you can do is try to impose a certain storyline in a viewer’s head. Fortunately, the Namagembe video doesn’t.
Please be warned that this video will induce nostalgic effects. It will set you in lock and take you on a trip down the lane. Above all, it will sell you to the Madoxx cult. It is a video that is kept simple, yet very artistic. It will require a certain finesse to appreciate the attention to detail that is on display in this video.
Too good to be true, only a music legend and a great video director can out such excellence.