With fifteen years in the industry, one can agree that some artistes really need to take a break and possibly concentrate on other business ventures. The Mith is definitely one of those. Not that he’s a bad Hip Hop artiste, after all he appeared on some list of Uganda’s all-time Hip Hop artistes, but he needs to pave way for other mushrooming talent.
With a new initiative by A Ka Dope, perhaps we are seeing that happening as the former Klear Kut musician during the seventh edition was chosen as a mentor for three upcoming Hip Hop musicians. Last Friday at One ten in Industrial area, we were able to witness how far he took those artistes (Lamu, Shirley May and Lamu, Shirley May ) as far as the music industry is concerned.
The Mith, real names Tom Mayanja must be a happy man after the three he mentored didn’t disappoint and proved they are ready for the big stage. They know how to interact with the audience, know stage presence and the choice of songs to do and for which particular crowd.
They all had 30 minutes of performance but it was Shirley May who impressed most. With jams like ‘Weekend party’ and ‘Drink Leeta’, she stole everyone’s heart and most agreed that she’s one for the future. When she did a fusion with The Mith on ‘I’m so UG’, most revealers said that she gave him a run for his money and so did ‘Competition is dead’ alongside Essie. The Mith did ‘Lighter’ with Riddym but that was after performing his solos like ‘Amen’, ‘Go hard’ and ‘I hustle’ among others.
All performances were supported by A Ka Dope band who also took the audience down memory lane with oldies jams that forced most people off their comfortable seats to shake their bodies. Some of the songs that they performed included; ‘Return of the mark’, ‘Dance party’, ‘Africa typic collection’, ‘Gaou’ and ‘Selfie’ by by Koffi Olomidde. To some, this was the headlining bit of the Uganda Waragi event that had taken a three month hiatus.
This was the 1st episode of the 7th Season which will have 3 episodes, where artists will be mentored during their episode. At the end of the season, artists from all 3 episodes will battle to find the winner.
A Ka Dope, an initiative started in order to provide a platform for local artistes to showcase their talent and garner support from the general public featuring a well-mixed variation of performers such as Musicians, Painters, Poets, and Actors.