Sitya Loss was first despised in Uganda – Eddy Kenzo

BET award winner and Grammy nominee, singer Eddy Kenzo has expressed disappointment with Uganda’s music consumption culture, claiming it is rigid, with rules as if written on rock, leaving no room for creativity.

He used his global hit song, Sitya Loss, to illustrate his point. Appearing on a Digital Cultural Initiative, Uganda Space on X, he argued that the song didn’t carry the sound that the ears of Ugandans are accustomed to, so they decided to bin it instead of appreciating the creativity in it. It was not until it got appreciated outside the borders of Uganda that people here warmed up to it.

“Sitya Loss was judged here, and to become a hit, it came from outside Uganda. It was playing in different countries, clubs, football players in the Premier League, and other influential figures dancing to it. That was when Ugandans started appreciating it. It was not a big hit here at home. Artists here are limited in creativity, you can’t add local instruments,” explained Kenzo.

And to his critics who have called his success luck and not a result of talent or quality, he reminded them that Sitya Loss was released a decade ago, but he is still booked to go perform in faraway continents.

“Here they call my success luck. Sitya Loss is 10 years old today. I still go to America on tours. I even cancelled my tours to start the UNMF [Uganda National Musicians Federation] initiative. Cancelling tours after 10 years, do you still call it luck? Give the person a platform to explain to you how,” Kenzo fumed.

Crafting a unique sound, he stated, is the recipe for his success. “For me here, I captured the audience by selling them sound. Songs like Sitya Loss, Zigido, Maria Rosa. I try to be musically unique. But you see here people abused Sitya Loss, questioning what it was about. They expected me to use specific words.”