Who Composed Embooko?

Jan 24, 2008

HARDLY has the dust on the controversy about the song’s meaning is settled than another storm is kicking up about Master Blaster’s Embooko (teacher). This time, it is over who its rightful owner is.

HARDLY has the dust on the controversy about the song’s meaning is settled than another storm is kicking up about Master Blaster’s Embooko (teacher). This time, it is over who its rightful owner is.

Eddie Kigere, another upcoming artiste, has accused Master Blaster of stealing the song from him (Kigere), but Master Blaster has denied this. “I have been an MC at karaoke shows in bars around town for some time now,” says Master Blaster. “I have been singing Embooko for about four years but had not recorded it.

I used to perform it on the track of Ragga Dee’s song, Empetta. After recording and distributing the song in July last year, I started hearing rumours that Kigere was performing it as his own in karaoke clubs.”

But Kigere, a member of the Amarula Family, says: “I composed Embooko about the time we started Amarula Family. It was not a real song, but comedy for our karaoke shows. I used to do Embooko on the track of Empetta by Ragga Dee.

In 2006 I got a job as MC at Wallet Time pub in Rubaga. Master Blaster belonged to a karaoke group called A C club, which performed at Wallet every Sunday. He contacted me about doing something together. I agreed and suggested we record Embooko with him.

“To my surprise, after two weeks, people started telling me that Master Blaster was performing the song as his own in bars.
“He had even recorded it already. It is clear that he did it in a rush because the audio quality is very poor. I was shocked that someone who approached me to work together could instead do this.”

He adds that Master Blaster had the backing of his gang from Bwaise.
“I can´t fight Master Blaster for betraying me, but I know that my fans know me as the rightful owner of the song.”

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