I have a conspiracy theory... yeah, once in a while, I go down the rabbit path. My theory is that Rema and Eddy Kenzo simply never ever dated. He was simply her business manager, and her handler, as far as his record label, Big Talent something, is concerned.
But date? Nah.

It was a carefully orchestrated marketing gimmick, which conveniently ended with her landing in the arms of her gynaecologist. (I will admit at this point that I am not sure if Dr. Hamza was, indeed., indeed her gynaecologist). But the entire process nicely set up what is indeed Rema's biggest hit to - date – Siri Muyembe.

https://youtu.be/miihY4GJFp8?si=VioR5Oz6Kqg8oEDE

The song Siri Muyembe was designed to cause a buzz. That is not to detract from Rema herself as a singer – she has an interesting intonation to her vocals. They carry a certain warmth, a girl-next-door essence to them that has seen her labelled Uganda’s Sweetheart’, which is somewhat ironic – from the folks that have interacted with her, the words that are often used to describe her include ‘standoffish’ and ‘scathing’.

However, we must agree, and all agree – girl can sing. Also, on its own, the song’s musicality stands up to close scrutiny.

Paddyman was at the top of his game on this one (he was at the production boards). The song goes all in with session musicians, giving it a live band feel that is carefully curated, the main instrumentation being covered by s midrange electric guitar that gives
her vocals something comfy to sit on.

The production is important because her lyrics need to be heard – and boy are they scathing, and then some.

The song is snide, provocative, and inevitably hugely popular with the urban population. It is also catchy as hell, and the harmonies are neat, almost ironic.

Rema was already a household name before this track dropped, but after it dropped, it ensured she had legions of fans amongst urban females about the age of 18 who decided they were not mangoes waiting to ripen.

Siri Muyembe is without a doubt her signature tune and has ensured that Rema became the figurehead for female agency. The fact that the entire process was possibly neatly orchestrated, according to my conspiracy theory (I might add), literally never comes up.