By Ian Nkera Ford
Keko did it. She broke the barriers and embarked on an international path that has bore fruit. She has won the most coveted awards on the continent and has performed with some elite artistes on the biggest stages, the most prominent being the Big Brother stage.
The Tororo gazelle has signed lucrative contracts with the biggest music companies like Sony Music Entertainment Africa Group and has continued to dazzle music lovers around Africa.
I love her for having raised the Ugandan flag so high but I have some reservations about her going international. I am of the notion that she is slowly becoming a sell-out.
What do I mean? I think she has lost herself.The Keko that burst on the scene in 2010 to announce herself on the scene with some of the deepest punch lines has been lost to a new Keko that is more hungry for commercial success. Keko was a revelation with that ‘How We Do It’ stomper and did some follow ups like Alwoo, Akello and many others. She had redefined Hip Hop .She combined street cred with swag and she won hearts doing it.
A rapper who would kill the likes of Navio, the Mith and The Enygma on any day. Her flow was the stuff that would make any hip hop addict proud. But now, her hunger to go global has presented us an artiste who seems to have lost her cred and is now doing pop songs to rake in the millions. Songs like Let Me Go and Naughty are good songs alright but not the rich, orthodox hip hop we grew to appreciate her for.
It’s almost unheard of to hear Keko these days perform on local concerts. Such is the extent that she has swayed from the hip hop darling we got to know of years ago. She is always South Africa bound and her core Ugandan fans have in a way lost touch with her.
There are artistes that have been accused of selling out like Florida and Nelly that have made it big but have kind of lost their identity. So, as much as I commend Keko for going international, I would love her to stick to her sound and identity of old.
Otherwise kudos to Keko for making Uganda proud.