By Ian Ortega
Gone are the days when Ugandan Entertainers had to board buses to Kenya in order to refine their art. Those were the days that sent somber moods down the hearts of many in Uganda who wanted to make it whether in the music industry or in the film industry. Kenya for many was the Alpha and Omega of Entertainment in East Africa. It is thus no surprise that Bebe Cool and Chameleone started their musical journeys from that country.
Yet, the tides have changed; Uganda is the new entertainment order in East Africa. It is an undeniable fact that Uganda now runs East Africa’s music industry. You can mention millions of judgment criteria or indicators and the other East African countries will all pale down in comparison to Uganda.
You could speak of comedy, where Kenya has Eric Omondi, Uganda has tens of comedians that are probably ranked the best in Africa. Uganda has Patrick Idringi Salvado, it has Anne Kansiime, and it has the Daniel Omaras, Pablo just to mention but a few.
Kenya could then brag about Sauti Sol, for every Sauti Sol, there are tens of Ugandan bands and music groups that would see Sauti Sol hide in fear. It’s only in Uganda where an International Artiste has a high probability of having a flopped show in the event that a local artiste organizes their show on the same day.
Uganda is the New York of the music industry. It has been said, that if a music artiste can make it in Uganda, they can make it elsewhere in Africa and in the world. The competition is so tight that some of the former best Ugandan music artistes have been forced out of the kitchen as more and more talent gets churned out. Tanzania at the moment can only brag of Diamond Platinumz. Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan can’t even speak out. They don’t have a single artiste or entertainer to present.
If there’s only one thing that Uganda has not mastered, it’s the aspect of professional management. Aside from that, Uganda’s music industry leads on all fronts. It’s only in Uganda where tens of Entertainment websites have cropped up, yet they all, never run out of content. At this rate, the number of Ugandan entertainers could be surpassing the number of fans.
How a country so small in size, with a smaller population compared to Tanzania or Kenya, how a country named Uganda could manage to upstage the former elephants of this game will be a study worth carrying out for researchers.
To be continued…
