Jesse Sekatawa
During the two years of Covid, entertainment was among the most hit sectors in Uganda as artists didn’t know of any other way of earning apart from stage performances and endorsement deals. This was an eye-opener for them.
According to gospel artist, Jesse Sekatawa, every artist, especially those abroad should embrace online platforms. We find out more from him.
Who is Jesse Sekatawa?
Jesse is a down-to-earth person, gospel artiste that loves God, people, music & most importantly Rolex with nyanya embissi.
Why are you into gospel music?
Gospel music is a reflection of my life, I love God & music so it was always going to be that way. I just love music & something I like to do, I am a person of faith so it’s always easy to find myself doing gospel music.
It is said there is no money in gospel compared to secular music. What’s your take on that?
Well, it depends on many variables but just like any other genre, you have to find your audience, find a niche that sets you apart from anyone else, and market pretty well & the rest will flow, it depends on the strategy.
And what is your strategy based on the fact that you are not on ground?
Not being on ground is hard because many times you have to rely on a network of people which many times takes a lot of money and people do not do their roles because they know you’re not on ground to follow it up. But I’m grateful because of these challenges as I was pushed to find other ways around it like targeted online promotion to demographics that are more likely to stream music and it has been a more successful model that I recommend for any diaspora artist.
How many songs do you have so far?
I have 25 released songs that make up my debut and Sophomore albums. I have two albums, ‘Hope & Restoration’, and ‘Too Blessed to stress’ albums.
We have so many gospel artists. How different are you?
I stand out from the rest because they usually do singles while I work more on Albums. I also play a little bit of everything with the guitar, drums & the keyboard are my main ones but I can always do a good show on bass guitar or trumpet.
Tell me more about yourself?
I come from a traditional Ugandan Christian household. My music is a fusion of Afrobeat, Pop & inspirational lyrics. The easiest way to put it is to call it AfroGospel.
What qualities should a good musician have?
They should be open to learning something new every day, open-minded, & learn as many languages as they can because it comes in handy when you travel.
Which artistes would like to work with?
Not any at the moment but this may change with time.
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