Saida has a feel-good rural voice

By Joseph Batte If you are a music buff, here is an easy one for you. What is the hottest hit in the country right now? Could it be Michael Jackson’s You rock my world or one of those boy bands with one of those hard-to-pronounce names like N’sync. Or is the latest from releases by our own backyard stuff like Paul Kafeero? Your guess is as good as mine. Among the usual R n’B Soul, Swing standards, the star who has been making the right noises is called Saida Kaloli from Tanzania. Her hotter-than-fire song is Maria Salome. The hit has set the airwaves on fire since CBS first played it on air a couple of weeks ago. Revellers are now cracking dance floors every time it is dropped by DJs in discotheques like Ange Noir and Club Silk. It has even swept the countryside like a wild fire. It is the kind of song that is even inducing tipsy, middle-aged bureaucrats to let loose at parties and the cringe at their behaviour the next day! Pirates have jumped at the opportunity to also make a quick buck. You can get a copy of the album at a peanut price of sh1,500! And now it has earned her a concert date on December 30, in Uganda. The subsequent success has been as much as a surprise to the programme director of CBS Abbey Mukiibi. “Maria Salome caught my attention when I first listened to it. We struggled to get a copy. We have been equally surprised at its reception by Ugandans,” he said. What is the formula behind the popularity of Maria Salome in Uganda? Firstly, this song offers an explanation as to why easy listening has such a continuing appeal. It is winner because it certainly sits very comfortably on one’s ears. If you are one who enjoys music with a live feel (Like Afrigo band) over one that has been studio produced to the point that is boring and predictable, this is for you. All the other hits, Bakuba Baizile, Alimu Atusile, Kaisiki, Iyondo, Oli Njoka Ki? and Ndombolo ya solo on the flip side are head-bobbingly hummable. Another plus is that save Ndombolo ya solo, all the numbers have that feel-good rural sound that is just great. You may think Percussion Discussion Africa band provided the accompaniments in the studio. And Saida Kaliisa back-in-the-throat and through-the-nose singing style does not sound like nobody. Most importantly is that a majority of Ugandans understand 90 percent of what Saida is singing about because the Luziba dialect she employs, is very close to Runyakitara. It also has a few Luganda-sounding words thrown in. However, dissenting voices heard on the streets of Kampala are that “Saida Kaliisa sounds and sings like a typical villager.” If you are of the same school of thought, then I suggest you re-evaluate your musical life because obviously you need a little more education both musically and socially. ends