What a good year! Every year, the entertainment industry gets new kids on the block and while some may make a name, others may have their dreams crashed or shelved just as they start out. Isaac Ssejjombwe and Lawrence Ogwal look at some of the people who broke out this year and made us believe the future is bright for them.
DJ Fikie
We have seen the entertainment industry grow over the years and back then when it was only about music, other aspects have joined in. In the past, DJs were not considered as part of the entertainment industry because no one talked about them.
Lately though, the industry has gone and has seen DJs headlining events and artistes coming in as curtain raisers.
The live example is KFM’s DJ Roja and Slick Stuart who have organised the Mixtape party three years in a row and all the events have sold out. DJ Fikie, one of the youngest DJs, also saw 2016 ushering him on the list of DJs to watch out for.
He was last month unveiled by veteran disc spinner, DJ Shiru at an event that was held at Laftaz Comedy Lounge. DJ Fikie was also a DJ at WBS before it was kicked out of business. His speciality is local music, and this has won hearts of many Ugandans.
MadRat and Chicco
Many criticise them for being local because their comedy is in Luganda. Yes, comedy duo MadRat and Chicco do not…no, cannot speak English to a point that even when they try to, it is funny and many will take it as a comedy punchline. But it is that shortfall that has made them.
MadRat and Chicco broke out at the end of last year when they performed at Laftaz weekly Comedy show and the crowd loved them. The crowd then asked management to continue bringing them for different performances and during this year’s Africa Laughs Comedy show they proved that they were the best comedy duo in town. Note that Africa Laughs is a pool of comedians from different parts of Africa and so the comedy is usually in English, so to imagine that they were the best performers at this year’s edition gets them a huge pat on the back.
Feffe Busi
For four consecutive years, LugaFlow singer Gravity Omutujju has been winning the hip hop awards. It is time he stepped aside because there is a young rapper threatening to give him a run for his money. Feffe Busi has been in the industry but he did not seem to make much impact, until this year when he collaborated with Sheebah on Nsekula, a song that forced her to throw in a little rap. This guy has a sound that reminds us of the gem that was GNL Zamba. Busi has gone on and released songs such as Ntondo, Julianna Kanyomozi, Mbuza Biriyo and Kako, among others. He is signed to Jahlive, a company that manages artistes, shoots videos and does audio.
Chozen Blood
When they tell you Jeff Kiwa is one of the best talent managers in the country, deny not. The Team No Sleep (TNS) boss is the reason Jose Chameleone, Radio & Weasel and Sheebah are who they are. And at the beginning of the year, Jeff Kiwa signed long lost singer Chozen Blood to TNS. It was hard to have hope in someone who tried the same career four years ago, only to disappear off the radar with one hit, Pressure Ya Love.
In the hands of Kiwa, Chozen Blood bounced back with Wadawa which he sang with Sheebah and he has other songs such as Byakyaalo and Byebyo among others..
Ykee Benda
Farmer is probably still topping the charts on many countdowns and the DJs won’t be dropping it from their playlists soon. Thanks to Ykee Benda. Sheebah may have helped popularise it in the remix but Ykee Benda had done the song at the beginning of the year. The singer had recorded other songs such as MunaKampala, Eva ft Roja and Slick Stuart and Budumbu. Funny thing is that most people think MunaKampala came after Farmer. We see a bright future ahead of this guy because that “One two nenkukabala” hit is not one we want to only be a memory.
Deedan Muyira
Deedan is a multi-talented person. She is a radio presenter on Radio City, events MC and actress (Beneath the Lies). She was born in Kenya but cut her teeth on Uganda’s social scene. Her confidence, energy on stage, audibility, as well as fluency in all the languages she speaks have earned her a name on the Uganda social scene. She has been the longest serving emcee for Blankets and Wine and is not about to be replaced. Every event she hosts ends up a success. Deedan Muyira deserves a place among the top new emcees on Uganda’s social scene and we are watching her next year.
Kent and Flosso
Real names Kent Koojo and Michael Flosso, the singing duo Kent and Flosso are what may beat Radio & Weasel to their game. These guys started singing in 2013 but their breakthrough came this year when they signed to Voltage Music. 2016 has been a fruitful year for the duo because they have performed at huge functions such as the Club Mega fest at Sheraton, Club Dome Gulu, Reggae sound splash festival and Ice Cream festival, among others. Their video Pull Up, which could be mistaken for a Jamaican ridim, has pushed them far too, so has Budget and Some More with Nutty Neithan,.
B2C
In full, B2C stands for Born 2 Conquer and the group consists of three budding musicians; Bobby Lash, Delivad Julio and Mr Lee. The group that linked up in high school have been riding high on Tokigeza, track that scooped them a Rising Star award. The track also earned them a slot to perform at the KCCA carnival, Club mega fest and Purple Party. They even featured on Sqoop’s Top 10 for a month. Besides Tokigeza, the trio also has a collabo with Maro called Nkwagala and under their management known as Andy Events, they are surely ending this year in high gear.
The B2C trio say they are ready to take the industry by storm.
Roden Y
He may seem new, but Roden Y has been in the game for a long time. His professional music career started at Monster Records but all the songs he produced never went far. After a couple of years, he decided to join Team No Sleep, and now he is one of the popular dancehall artistes with songs such as Kabako, Ndeku and Nanfuka remix. Besides his ability to sing, he has another X facto about him; His stage performance! Whenever he gets on stage, he leaves everyone excited because of his antics and people love him more for that. So clearly if he fails in music, he could beg for a slot in Amarula Comedy group.