Munyenga shines from shadows

May 16, 2004

It is 9.00pm. We are seated in the cold at Kayibanda’s fundraising concert at Hotel Africana. We are hungry and in a disillusioned mood because the ‘Kayibanda Awasa’ gig has moved into dimensions the groom-to-be did not foresee— crashing under the heavy weight of crass commercialism.

By Joseph Batte

It is 9.00pm. We are seated in the cold at Kayibanda’s fundraising concert at Hotel Africana. We are hungry and in a disillusioned mood because the ‘Kayibanda Awasa’ gig has moved into dimensions the groom-to-be did not foresee— crashing under the heavy weight of crass commercialism.

After sitting patiently through yawn-inducing sets of the first and second tin-pot acts, MC Patriko of CBS introduces a fresh face on the stage called Winnie Munyenga.
Without wasting time, she rolls her glorious eyes heaven wards, flashes a killer million-shilling smile.

She then proceeds to mouth ‘Nsasira,’ her biggest mid-tempo rumbatic hit that has helped her get a good vibe on the local music scene. The catchy groove almost forces me to put down my notebook and gallop to the dance floor!

Although she barges on the stage with processed hair, we commonly call the wig, you can tell there is a noticeable difference, or call it class about her. She is a conscious artist to watch.

Her authenticity, humble demeanor and even singing sets her apart from some of the cats that went up on stage, but ended up doing nothing spectacular apart from showing us their bedroom techniques!

After the belated concert I kept wondering who she was. Where has she been all our music lives? And what took her so long? I soon found out the next day.

Munyenga is the daughter of Martin Munyega, former band leader of the defunct Super Rockets that used to rip Kampala nightlife apart in the late 80s and 90s.

“I have been singing almost all my life as an infant at Mengo infants, Namirembe PS and in Bulange Anglican church choir. But I naturally picked these music genes from my father and late mother,” she says.

Although she had been singing for quite a while, she says her desire was always to sing live. “During my S.6 vacation, I asked my father for permission to sing in the band.

He readily accepted and let me join his Super Rockets, but being young, I did not like to be identified with their Lingala (Soukous) repertoire. I preferred R n’ B and the likes of Whitney Houston. So, I left them and joined Tony Sengo’s Bandidaz Band, where I met others like Prossy Kankunda, Titi and Akiiki Romeo.

She reveals it was the incomparable Sengo who smoothed out all the rough edges.

“Sengo is the one who really groomed me into a wholesome singer I’m today. He taught me how to open my mouth, sing the right notes, on key and discipline. He said a good singer should never take booze before going on the stage.

“After the collapse of Bandidaz, Munyenga together with Titi, Akiiki and Kankunda were recruited by Kamukama to his new band called Kads. I was actually one of the pioneers of Kads Band, but at the time I was mostly relegated to singing backup vocals and copyrights in the band. I only featured on the first Kads album where I sang backup vocals.”

Munyenga quit Kads Band in 2001 and joined Splash band but she soon fell out of the Splash line-up citing personal problems that seemed to detract her from music.

“I was so disappointed and distressed that I decided to abandon singing completely and join the business world. With the help of my husband, I opened up a mobile phone-selling shop at City Center Complex on Luwum Street called Phones@Fonez. I only kept in touch with music when I went to attend concerts.

However, despite my success as a businesswoman, I could not let go of music completely. Deep inside me, I knew I had to get back to singing. But I vowed if I had to, it would be as a solo artist like Jose Chameleone and not in the band circuit again.

Munyenga says she talked about her comeback with husband who gave her an enthusiastic ‘go-ahead.’ She then happily dusted her songbook, picked out the best songs that her late mom had written for her then hired the services of Dan Kabenge of Diamond Production to arrange the music. Next stop was BK digital studio in Namasuba, where producer Joe Tabula gave them some cute beats.

Munyenga has now stepped out of the shadows with a force of a hurricane and is soon zooming into our lives with a complete album featuring tracks like Nsasira, Newaddeyo, Bwana Yesu, Mummy wandinkomyewo, a tear-jerking tribute to her late mom and Manichu.

She says she likes the attention her new album is getting. The gospel-flavoured Bwana Yesu is burning the airwaves on Christian radios.

She says she will continue wearing two hats-one for the artist, the other for a businesswoman.

Well said indeed. And to that we say: welcome aboard Winnie Munyenga.

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