‘If he consulted spirits like others, Kabuye would be a star’

HE is the stuff that living musical legends are made of. Some even belief he should be carrying on the mantle of the late Philly Lutaaya, yet today, many do not even know who Kabuye Semboga is. Joseph Batte writes.

If you were asked to draw up a list of top musicians in Uganda today, a mild-mannered singer with a crew cut and winsome grin should appear in the top 10.

If you listen to his music you will agree that Kabuye Semboga is one of the most talented and profound song writers Uganda has ever produced.

His turbo-chorused, reggae- powered, heart-warming songs like Ebisanyi and Fahima are some of the songs that made us notice that he is a benchmark by which other Ugandan artistes should be judged.

There have been comparisons with the legendary late Philly Bongoley Lutaaya with whom he worked in Elly Wamala’s Mascots band in the late 1970s. When you listen to Semboga, it is easier to tell the influence Philly Lutaaya had on his singing. His vocal technique is a carbon copy of Lutaaya.

Like Lutaaya, he writes songs with sweet melodies and furious passion that grip the listener. He creates a different mood with each song he writes, whether it’s the joy of falling in love in ‘Ebisanyi’ or the sorrow of a broken heart.

“I admit Lutaaya is my mentor. I liked his unique wailing voice which, you can tell, was moulded to the Congolese style of singing. Like Wamala, he wrote songs with lyrics that were not artificial.”

But Semboga has never made it. He is overshadowed by the likes of Bebe Cool, Jose Chameleone and Bobi Wine, yet he has more talent in one strand of his hair than all the three ‘celebs’ lumped together.

Semboga’s music is hardly played on radio. He has failed miserably to carry the torch that late Philly Lutaaya unofficially passed on to him.

A letter in The New Vision late last year by one Berna Nakanja summed him up well: He is “a musician in his own class and a music icon....” But what drew my attention was the last sentence in the letter: “his music is more popular than his name.”

There is a feeling that Semboga is a wasted talent that promised to deliver a lot but ended giving us little.
There are many theories that are bandied around as to why. Critics say music in Uganda has grown and Semboga’s folly is failing to grow with it.

Others claim that although he has one of the sharpest music brains in the country, booze, got in the way of his career.

So, is he’s music too old school for today’s tastes?
“I don’t need to change my style. Afrigo Band has never changed their style either but they are still popular.”

He describes most of the music he hears today as “redundant, unoriginal, crap.” What we consider as artistes are not real musicians, he says. When they fail to sing they improvise by using Autotune.

“They are copycats. They get songs from other parts of the world, go in the studio, deconstruct them and sing their own lyrics over them. We call it kwozaamu; it is stealing.

“In the studio you have to be careful when recording a song nowadays. Somebody can steal your song using a mobile phone. The next thing you know it has been recorded.

Why I have failed to be a superstar
But if Kabuye boasts more talent than young contemporary artistes, why isn’t he a superstar himself? “I’m one of the most exploited artistes in Uganda,” he says.

He says his slide to obscurity began when he joined Kato Lubwama’s Diamond Ensemble. “I was a major attraction with Betty Mpologoma. But I was paid sh20, 000 per a show. That is what demoralized me, so I left.

With the help of Geoffrey Lutaaya, a director in the Eagles Production band, Semboga attempted to join the band. “They promised to pay me over sh50, 000 a day and buy me a car.

They also offered to organise a huge concert and donate all the proceeds to me. I was thrilled but my happiness was short-lived. When Kato Lubwama heard I had switched to Eagles, he threatened to ‘deal with them’. They cowed and reneged the deal.”

Feeling dejected, angry and frustrated, Semboga teamed up with other ex-Diamond Ensemble band members like Doreen Mutiibwa and formed Jungle Production which however folded after three years.

But Kato Lubwama argues: “Most Ugandan artistes succeed after consulting witchdoctors. Kabuye has failed because he does not believe in consulting the spirits of our ancestors. I consult our ancestors; that is why I built a shrine at home.”

Kabuye scoffs him off saying instead: “I think the main reason I have not exploded on the music scene is because I lack a serious manager.
I’m a singer, songwriter and arranger.

I cannot juggle my singing and song writing duties with promoting myself. I need somebody else to manage me; to finance me; pay for power play of my songs on the radio and studio for my recordings.”

“All the managers I have worked with have either been weak or interested in making money out of me instead of investing in my talent.” Semboga says he needs every penny he makes because he has two kids at university. The youngest one is in secondary school.

So, what is he up to latey?
“I sing at weddings. I charge a modest fee for my services. Sometimes, I’m hired to sing at Jam Sessions where I get transport fare.

During my free time in the evenings, I go out and meet friends, have a drink or two then go back home.

“I’m still hoping that somebody will offer to manage me and point me in the right direction. At 54 years old, I don’t think I’m too old yet. Afrigo Moses Matovu is 60-years-old but he is still going strong.”
Are you that person? Get in touch with Semboga and help re-launch the career of a distinguished Ugandan.

Who is Kabuye Semboga?
He was born Joachim Kabuye Semboga Mitala in Kituntu, Bulemezi. His father, who was a teacher, passed away when he was aged five years before he could start school.

He attended St. Joseph Primary School in Entebbe, Blessed Martyrs, Rubaga, and finally joined Nyenga Seminary in Mukono District.

“I trace my love for music to my childhood. I was in the school choir. But the turning point was on the day I broke the school band’s guitar which at the time cost sh180. I was sent away from school and told to buy a new one.”

His mother bought a new guitar for the school band. “I took the one I had broken to a carpenter. He fixed it. I retained it and started practicing and honing my playing skills with it.”