Fellow musician plunged me into depression — Laika Music

Singer Laika Umuhoza (Laika Music) has opened up about a painful experience that left her heartbroken and battling depression after a fellow musician, whom she had invited to feature as a video vixen in one of her music videos, failed to turn up for the shoot.

Apparently, the unnamed artist had given Laika all the assurances she needed, even responding with an enthusiastic “of course” when she checked on his availability a day before the shoot. Unfortunately, when the cameras were ready to roll, the musician was nowhere to be seen.

Recounting the incident, Laika said she had agreed on everything with the artist and even went out of her way to establish what he needed to make his appearance comfortable.

“There’s an artist; I won’t mention the name, and he knows himself. I asked him to be a video vixen in my video shoot. We agreed on everything, and I tried to make sure he was good.

“I asked what he wanted, and even the day before the shoot, I asked him whether he would be present. He replied using the words ‘of course’, but on the day of the video shoot, he didn’t show up,” she revealed.

And before anyone starts writing a romantic script around the incident, Laika was quick to clarify that she was not dating the musician. This was strictly a professional arrangement, although the disappointment that followed was anything but business as usual.

She said she swallowed her disappointment, put on a brave face and went ahead with the video shoot. However, the emotional impact caught up with her about a week later, plunging her into depression.

What apparently hurt even more was the artist's silence. According to Laika, he never bothered to check on her, explain his absence or even offer an apology. He simply carried on with life as though the entire incident had never happened.

The experience, she added, left a permanent dent in their relationship, with the two no longer communicating.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Laika has found herself in a war of words with a fellow musician.

In 2025, she and singer Biswanka were involved in a heated exchange during a radio studio interview, with both questioning each other's standing and contribution to the music industry.

Biswanka took offence at Laika's apparent claim that she had never heard of him, arguing that it was arrogant of her to dismiss his name.

Laika, on the other hand, was hardly impressed by Biswanka's credentials. She argued that he still had a long way to go before reaching a wider audience. Biswanka, however, was not ready to accept the junior-in-the-industry treatment, insisting that he was bigger than Laika.