Adokwuni shining
Jan 13, 2005
His distinct voice, native rhythms and lively dances have always driven crowds wild
By Titus Serunjogi
His distinct voice, native rhythms and lively dances have always driven crowds wild. Adokwuni Jimmy, lead singer of Adungu Dynamic Troupe has transformed cultural music in Uganda.
His recent album Africa na Jembe was a hit. His band represented Uganda at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.
They were also nominated for a PAM award last year.
Born in Parombo, Nebbi in 1974, Adokwuni grew up in a musical family. His grandfather organised an Alur cultural music gala every year; his father always played the adungu and his mother sung him Alur folk songs by the fireside.
Jimmy began singing when he was eight years old and has never looked back since then.
For the past fifteen years, he has performed with some of Uganda’s best artistes. He first sung with the Inner Space band, an offshoot of Diplock Segawa’s Wrens. He also danced alongside Tony and Rachael Senkebejje of the Simba Sounds band. Somewhere during his career, he hit upon the idea of marrying Alur beats to modern hip-hop, rap and reggae. And thus was born the Adungu Dynamic Troupe, which became an immediate sensation.
Adokwuni has courted fans at Grand Imperial Hotel, National Theatre, Nakivubo Stadium and Speke hotel.
Every Saturday at Mammamia (Speak Hotel), Adungu Dynamic entertains fans from across the word. When I attended, I found a German mother with her teenage son, a Korean family, an American expatriate with his Ugandan wife and many other native fans.
Adokwuni picked up a couple of sticks and stuck up a tune on the xylophone. It was a wonderful tune that rivetted our attention to the stage. Soon, we were treated to magnificent instrumentals accompanied by Luo, English and Swahili lyrics.
The German mother stared at the goatskin-clad dancers, apparently enrapt by the African fantasy. Every song drew excited handclaps and applause from the audience.
Money Leads The World is one of the tracks that were played that night. The song is about the worldwide scarcity of money and how it’s the root cause of all joys and evils.
Pearl Of Africa, another track, praises the beauty of Uganda’s people and natural resources. “Africa is a good continent with lots of God-given wealth, abundant resources, good weather and strong people,†says Adokwuni Jimmy. He quickly adds that all this has been marred by tribalism, jealousy and envy, which make our motherland a place of endless strife.
This is, fortunately, not the maestro’s only insight. Africa na Jembe, a title track, censures laziness. It also praises farmers for sustaining our economy.
“Adokwuni understands cultural music-its nature and uses better than any of his contemporaries,†says Pierre Bussiere, Cultural Coordinator at Alliance Francaise.
By the time Adokwuni came into the field in 1990, many musicians were performing a replica of Congolese, Zouk and reggae music. Only the ‘Kadongo kamu’, Afrigo Band and the traditional drummers kept to some originality.
Today, there are various dance groups that imitate warriors, hunters, farmers, wild animals and birds in their movements. Adungu Dynamic may or may not have an edge over the rest but one fact is for sure; when it comes to passing on meaning or emotion, Adokwuni’s eight-man troupe cannot be beaten.
His distinct voice, native rhythms and lively dances have always driven crowds wild. Adokwuni Jimmy, lead singer of Adungu Dynamic Troupe has transformed cultural music in Uganda.
His recent album Africa na Jembe was a hit. His band represented Uganda at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.
They were also nominated for a PAM award last year.
Born in Parombo, Nebbi in 1974, Adokwuni grew up in a musical family. His grandfather organised an Alur cultural music gala every year; his father always played the adungu and his mother sung him Alur folk songs by the fireside.
Jimmy began singing when he was eight years old and has never looked back since then.
For the past fifteen years, he has performed with some of Uganda’s best artistes. He first sung with the Inner Space band, an offshoot of Diplock Segawa’s Wrens. He also danced alongside Tony and Rachael Senkebejje of the Simba Sounds band. Somewhere during his career, he hit upon the idea of marrying Alur beats to modern hip-hop, rap and reggae. And thus was born the Adungu Dynamic Troupe, which became an immediate sensation.
Adokwuni has courted fans at Grand Imperial Hotel, National Theatre, Nakivubo Stadium and Speke hotel.
Every Saturday at Mammamia (Speak Hotel), Adungu Dynamic entertains fans from across the word. When I attended, I found a German mother with her teenage son, a Korean family, an American expatriate with his Ugandan wife and many other native fans.
Adokwuni picked up a couple of sticks and stuck up a tune on the xylophone. It was a wonderful tune that rivetted our attention to the stage. Soon, we were treated to magnificent instrumentals accompanied by Luo, English and Swahili lyrics.
The German mother stared at the goatskin-clad dancers, apparently enrapt by the African fantasy. Every song drew excited handclaps and applause from the audience.
Money Leads The World is one of the tracks that were played that night. The song is about the worldwide scarcity of money and how it’s the root cause of all joys and evils.
Pearl Of Africa, another track, praises the beauty of Uganda’s people and natural resources. “Africa is a good continent with lots of God-given wealth, abundant resources, good weather and strong people,†says Adokwuni Jimmy. He quickly adds that all this has been marred by tribalism, jealousy and envy, which make our motherland a place of endless strife.
This is, fortunately, not the maestro’s only insight. Africa na Jembe, a title track, censures laziness. It also praises farmers for sustaining our economy.
“Adokwuni understands cultural music-its nature and uses better than any of his contemporaries,†says Pierre Bussiere, Cultural Coordinator at Alliance Francaise.
By the time Adokwuni came into the field in 1990, many musicians were performing a replica of Congolese, Zouk and reggae music. Only the ‘Kadongo kamu’, Afrigo Band and the traditional drummers kept to some originality.
Today, there are various dance groups that imitate warriors, hunters, farmers, wild animals and birds in their movements. Adungu Dynamic may or may not have an edge over the rest but one fact is for sure; when it comes to passing on meaning or emotion, Adokwuni’s eight-man troupe cannot be beaten.