Baraka says he does not tie himself to a specific genre because all he purposes to do is music. PHOTOS | COURTESY | FILE
If there is one thing local artists have aspired for over the years, it is sending Ugandan music beyond their borders.
From the years Bebe Cool teamed up with Kenyan duo Nazizi and Wyre of Necessary Noize to form the East African Bashment Crew, to the various collaborations by Peter Miles with Demarco, Elephant Man and General Levi and Radio and Weasel’s exploits were all aimed at taking local music to the next level.
Yet, even with all these efforts, it was only in the years between 2006-2013 that Ugandan music seemed to enjoy some love beyond borders.
Bebe Cool performed at Hyde Park during Mandela’s birthday, Navio was picking up random nominations almost for fun, then there was Tonix getting a surprise nominations.
Keko was winning awards across the continent, Maurice Kirya was winning in France, Chameleone was nominated for the Mobo Awards, Radio and Weasel were nominated for the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs), Channel O Awards and later the BET Awards, and that was almost it.
Uganda has not had consistent global representation after, of course, Eddy Kenzo did collect a BET Award, but it was almost an eclipse, totally unexpected.
Since 2013, global nominations and wins have eluded the local music industry. In fact, since Radio and Weasel’s nominations at the BET Awards, global nominations became a surprise featuring only a name, Eddy Kenzo.
Since winning his BET Award in 2015, Eddy Kenzo has gone on to scoop more awards and nominations. Some have been as grand as the MTV Mamas or the Grammy Awards, while others have been obscure.
Other awards have been established to celebrate African music yet, Uganda at times get a single nomination or none.
In 2023, the inaugural edition of the Trace TV Urban Music Awards was held in Kigali Rwanda at the BK Arena. Then, off the success of her much publicised debut album, African Music, Azawi was a two time nominee as a Best New Artist and Best East African Artist.
There were other nominees such as Levixone and Ghetto Kids for Best Gospel and Best Dance but that was it. All the three artists lost.
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