By Bash Mutumba
I was and still one of the few people that think King Saha is being falsely accused of conniving with Weasel to produce late Mowzey Radio’s music and take credit for it. However, his recent claim on National TV that he wrote Jose Chameleone’s Swahili classics; Valu Valu and Badilisha, is downright unbelievable.
During the Horizon Vibe show hosted by UBC TV’s seasoned presenter, Calvin Da Entertainer, King Saha maintained that he wrote the two songs for his then boss. “Yes I did. While at Leone Island, I did a lot of stuff. I might be bad at some things, but music isn’t one of them. I am very good at music. I went through many hands, but in the end, my talent never wavered.” He stressed, despite the shock-wave that covered the entire room.
When Dr. Chameleone was contacted about the issue, he couldn’t conceal his disappointment, “I can’t believe even a seasoned TV presenter couldn’t attempt to save the viewers from such blatant lies. If it’s true that he wrote the songs, why doesn’t he have any other which sounds like them? Leone Island nurtures talent, so Saha is good, and he is my friend and brother. But I don’t know what made him say such lies.”
In a personal point of view, I will give you one reason why I believe Saha is falsely claiming ownership of writing rights of the two songs. They are both Swahili songs, a signature of Chameleone since 1999, way before King Saha started singing. And also, he(Saha) has never released a known Swahili song, needless to say we are not sure if he can even speak the language.
I would like to think that perhaps there was a miscommunication and King Saha meant something else. Perhaps the rumored scenario that involved Chameleone’s late brother Akay 47 during the production of “Owakabi” is what happened with the former Leone Island singer. It is said that while Chameleone was recording the song, Akay reportedly came in and suggested the word “Owakabi” to be used in the hook, and so it was, but it doesn’t mean he wrote the song. Perhaps something similar to this is what happened with King Saha.
