Namatovu lashes out at best friends

Apr 20, 2006

Two years ago, Irene Namatovu was riding high with Naye Abasajja, a song which lashes out at married men who chase after girls.

By Titus Serunjogi

Two years ago, Irene Namatovu was riding high with Naye Abasajja, a song which lashes out at married men who chase after girls. Naye Abasajja was so popular that it climbed to the number one chart spot and saw Namatovu rising to headline status at music festivals all over Uganda.

Namatovu has now waltzed back with Best Friend, the title track of her new album. It is already getting tremendous airplay on FM radio stations.

In Best Friend, Namatovu warns women that their best friends could seduce their husbands. Like all Eagles’ Production tracks, Best Friend has all the hooks that concert revellers love — groovy and catchy, it will catch any listener’s attention right from the start.

The song was recorded at the GL Studios and all portents suggest that Best friend is set to hit the same heights as Namatovu’s 2004 album.

Namatovu’s new album is a six-track compilation of songs that explore the less flowery faces of marriage. “I have heard much of this stuff in girl-talk. I have also experienced some of them myself,” she says. No wonder she sings with such heartfelt conviction.

Kyesilabyeeko is one of the most popular tracks on the album. In the song, a wife sings that she knows her husband sleeps with other women. But, unless she catches him red-handed, she can withstand his adulterous ways. There is a certain realism about Kyesilabyeeko that has endeared it to many women. The song recently hit the No.1 chart spot on the African Top 20 on CBS FM.

The song opens with a groovy mix of sax, drums and bass that is unmistakably Eagles’. Somewhere midway, it crystallises into thrilling zouk instrumentals that would sweep anyone off their feet. And that is exactly what happened at Gaba Beach on Easter Monday. Hundreds of people stood up to groove and grind as Namatovu sung.

Tubileke is more mournful. Here, a woman laments that her husband had dumped her, even after she had toiled with him through thick and thin. Namatovu’s voice flows with the slow simmering frustration and anyone would be moved with emotion for the housewife. Namatovu says Tubileke was inspired by the woes of one of her girlfriends.

Namatovu came onto the entertainment scene as a dancer in the Afritalents when she was 15 years.
She only turned to singing in 2000, sweeping over hearts with Njagala Mukwano, a collabo with Mariam Mulinde. The song not only made her a major fixture at music festivals all over the country; it also became a radio favourite.

Namatovu’s follow-up solo CD Love y’okuvuganya was a fast selling album in 2002. Now, all portents suggest that the new Best Friend is set to follow the same successful path.
The album will soon be officially released by City Music stores.

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