Is there a single time Jose Chameleone has released a song and come off as bad, as if played in the wrong key? Isn’t it about time this music genius earned himself a monument of sort? Like, they erect it in the heart of this dusty town where tourists will come and take selfies near the reptile-like monument. Anyone near parliament to notify the law makers?
Having said that, I have a problem with Chameleone. He is a genius, yes. He is a doctor of music and all the superlatives he wears on his sleeves, but his music, sometimes, hits a plateau and comes off as irritating. It is startlingly the same. He sings in the same key, same style and, well, in that same hoarse voice that has become his signature over the years. Surprisingly, he delicately comes off as genius as never before. Every song he churns out, it comes out reeking of sheer class with his craftsmanship roped on it.
What do we have now? Wale Wale! For the love of gods, I don’t know what Wale Wale means. And Chameleone is as brilliant and mysterious as they come; he beats your brain and never for once will you predict him, or wing him. Never! Wale Wale stems from the famous Lingala music with sprinkles of urbane ingredients peppered on it. He sings completely in a different language, shouting away lyrics that would obviously need a well-paid translator to interpret for the masses. But heck, it is the beat that sells it out. The beat is irresistible, people.
Wale Wale is a prayer against that catchy, afro-beat instrumentation, delivered in a mixture of English, Luganda and Kiswahili. It is like a musical prayer request. He looks up to different people in life and he mentions them in the song–Kaguta, Kagame, Kenyantta, Kabila, Silva Kiir, Mubutu and the likes. It has a flavor of West African and Congolose and for the love of music, we shall dance to this because we are Ugandans, we dance. We love music. Good music and Wale Wale, besides the language barrier, is a good song.
Listen to the song below:
Reviewed by BigEyeUg Staff
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