A mystery surrounding the failure of singer Jose Chameleone’s television station, Leone TV, has resurfaced after the musician accused a consultant identified only as Isabirye of taking his money without delivering.

However, Joel Isabirye, the alleged consultant, later came forward with a public statement disputing Chameleone’s account and offering a different explanation for why the station never went on air.

The controversy began on Monday, 9 November 2026, when Chameleone, while on a TikTok live with Bruno K and Lil Pazo, shared what happened to his much-anticipated television station.

Chameleone claimed he paid a man he identified only as “Isabirye” UGX 250 million to establish Leone TV, only for the consultant to pay for a test signal and pocket the rest.

Chameleone further claimed that he dragged the man to court over this matter. According to his account, Isabirye offered to refund UGX 10 million, an offer Chameleone declined after consulting his father, Gerald Mayanja.

Fighting back…

On Tuesday, 10 November, 2026, media consultant Joel Isabirye released a statement titled Why Chameleone’s TV failed to take off: Consultant’s response, disputing almost every major aspect of Chameleone’s account.

Isabirye began the statement by asserting that the matter had never reached a commercial court, and by describing Chameleone’s claims of taking a consultant to court as false.

He then explained that Jose Chameleone approached him in 2020 to establish Leone TV, but the project stalled at UCC because the singer failed to meet the regulator’s financial capacity requirements.

He maintained that UCC documents supported his account, adding that Chameleone could still secure a licence if he had met the regulator’s financial and other requirements.

On the disputed UGX 250 million, Isabirye denied receiving the amount, noting that total spending on Leone TV was no more than UGX 70 million.

In the statement, the expenditure covered UGX 10 million for control room computers, UGX 23 million for UCC application and licensing fees, UGX 12 million in consultancy fees, UGX 17 million for renting an encoder and decoder, and UGX 4 million for studio and office space in Makindye.

Isabirye added that all transactions are backed by receipts and deposit slips, copies of which were shared with Chameleone’s now ex-wife, Daniela Atim, through weekly project reports at the singer’s request. He also questioned the source of the alleged UGX 250 million, insisting that Chameleone should account for the money if he received it.

Isabirye further suggested that the money could have been a government donation.

Defending his professional record, Isabirye cited another television project he had handled for a Ugandan politician. According to him, the politician’s Masaka-based television station went on air because the donor funding received was used appropriately.

Interestingly, the controversy comes as Jose Chameleone promotes his upcoming Unlimited: The Final Chapter show, slated for 4 December 2026.

Click here to read Part 1

#8. Gutamiiza
This song was recorded when the Ugandan music industry was writing off the Goodlyfe and embracing Fik Fameica and others. Radio was here to prove he was still the monster writer, and he did. Most listeners don’t capture the meaning of most lines, though they enjoy the output.

“Nga nefunyafunya nga omujaasi mu gonjo” means rolling like a soldier trapped in a fish-net. Helplessness.

“You and me love; we are star synchronise (unclear words) nyatiti kamba nane”

Nyatiti kamba nane refers to a traditional Kenyan 8-stringed instrument. Nyatiti means a stringed lyre, and kamba nane means “eight strings” in Swahili. How exactly “nyatiti kamba nane” fits into the lyric is genuinely hard to pin down with certainty, because Radio seems to slur or swallow the words connecting “synchronise” to “nyatiti kamba nane,” making the exact phrasing difficult to isolate by ear alone. Spotify’s official lyrics transcribe the line as something close to “I’ll change your edi kamanani,” but that phrase doesn’t correspond to any word in the languages Radio was known to sing in, which suggests a mishearing rather than an actual lyric. “Nyatiti kamba nane” fits both phonetically and thematically far better.

The likely words if you listened repeatedly are: “You and me, love, we are star, synchronise sound ya nyatiti kambanane,” meaning two lovebirds combining and aligning like how the eight strings of a nyatiti work together to produce a single, unified sound rather than separate notes. In other words, two people becoming one instrument to make something as beautiful as music.

“Nkwambalira mu kakufu kale darling nakukolamu mudaali… Negalira mu nyumba ya mayinja nakomelera misumaali”

These are hauntingly beautiful lines that read exactly like a dark fairy tale romance, such as Rapunzel, where characters perform impossible feats for love.

Here is a breakdown:

“Nkwambalira mu kagufu kale darling nakukolamu mudaali…”
(I wear you inside my necklace, darling. I made you into a medal…)

In folklore, a princess or a knight carries a magical token, a piece of their lover, to give them strength.

Radio elevates his lover to the status of a sacred prize or a royal honour. He is placing her directly over his heart. She is his ultimate achievement, a priceless treasure he proudly keeps close to his heart at all times.

“…Negalira mu nyumba ya mayinja…”
(…then I locked myself in a stone house…)

To protect this love, Radio willingly cuts himself off from society, friends, and reality. The cold, heavy stone signifies the lock strength. Like Rapunzel locked in her tower, he shuts out the whole world. No friends or family, just him and her.

“…nakomelera misumaali.”
(…and nailed it shut.)

This is the most tragic yet deeply romantic climax of the lyric. By nailing the doors shut from the inside, Radio ensures there is no escape and no rescue mission. The nails are reinforcing the guard of stone. He chooses to trap himself with her forever so that nothing will set them apart, not even themselves.

#9. Everything I Do
This is one of his most narratively complete songs, closer to Fred Sebatta’s full-scene, drama-leaning style. There’s an actual plot: Radio calls the girl who gave her a number (maybe it’s the girl whose number he asked for in Sweet Lady), but instead of her voice, it’s the automated network operator that answers, “the [subscriber] you are trying to call is unavailable.”

This is the person he calls “akawala akajibeelako…,” the cold, computerised rejection standing in for her own silence. He then threatens to move his bed behind her house so she dreams of him; he sends her a flower, and she refuses it. Each detail escalates the rejection until the song ends, not in an image, but in an emotional break; he screams, “eiyeeee…” and then Weasel Manizo comes in.

#10. Pollination
“Baby honey bee, it’s pollination time.” Radio uses biological pollination to convince a girl to allow him to be next to her. Bees don’t choose to pollinate; it’s simply what happens when the conditions are right. So, he’s wondering why she is declining when all conditions are right.

#11. Ntunga
“Ntunga onzizewo bujja” (stitch me up, make me brand new again) and “Oli mpiso etaluma” (you are the sewing needle that doesn’t hurt) are some of the most mind-blowing lines ever written. The latter is an oxymoron.

“An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two words with opposite or contradictory meanings placed right next to each other, creating a small, self-contained contradiction, and the tension between the two words is exactly what makes the phrase memorable or thought-provoking.”

A Pass builds on these lines to say in Wuuyo: Njagala ontunge nzenna, onebase ku kyaalani (Here, I have lain on the sewing machine; I’d like you to stitch me all up). A Pass brings in the idea of the sewing machine, though Radio never specified where he preferred to be stitched: whether by the sewing machine needle or the traditional needle (perhaps the Ntunga video led him on). This is exactly what Radio did with his writing; he gave you room to find a picture in your mind and relate to it. A Pass perhaps related to it in his own way.

Note: Don’t be confused by the internet when it says Wuuyo was released before Ntunga.

“Smell ya Moschino, dress ya Valentino” (Moschino perfume/Valentino dress): Moschino and Valentino are high-value luxurious Italian brands. It is surprising that the girl who wears such expensive brands, most likely a rich man’s daughter, can prepare “empombo/oluwombo,” and use a needle to stitch. Maybe that line is there to depict her politeness and her gifted hands; the very reason Radio loves her and trusts her therapy.

Radio Mowzey often unapologetically used high-end but meaningful diction to perhaps show that he went to school; for instance, in Don’t Cry he drops the terms ‘Legato’ (pronounces it as Regato), ‘Sando’ and ‘Vibrato,’ and Ugandans go bananas!

#12. Nkwetaga
Nkwetaga sets Radio apart as the lyric professor; in the music video, he is teaching the community. He explains the value chain in the human ecosystem, the value of everyone and usefulness to each other. The chain, from the teacher, doctor, grandma, parents, animals, to the butcher, isn’t just a nice image. It’s as though Radio is saying this is how he really saw people connect: nobody starts the chain, and nobody is the last link either. Everyone in it both needs help and gives help.

The teacher taught the doctor. The butcher, who looks like the end of the line, is actually feeding the kids who will grow up to be the next teachers and doctors. And when you match that with the second verse, manure turning into fertiliser, then a harvest, then shared profit, the point gets even clearer: even the dirtiest, least important-looking thing in the chain is still needed to make the good things happen. The government benefits from a musician through taxes. No one is useless. No one can be cut out without the whole thing breaking.

The line “taata azimbe nyumba bbiri” shows the epitome of a wealthy family man; a wealthy African man typically has two houses, one in the village and another in town.

Radio mentions Asante and Abba; Asante Manzi Ssekibogo Nakintije is Radio’s son, and Abba Marcus Mayanja is Chamelone’s son. Mentioning their names hits differently because their fathers spent years doing the opposite of what the chain is about; instead of holding the links together, they were breaking them on purpose.

Lwaki Tokula (also called “Kanywamusaayi”) is widely seen as Radio and Weasel’s diss at Chameleone, and even inside that angry song, they still say “Tuli ba musaayi gumu,” we are one blood, and beg him to stop fighting and respect one another. Sitaani and Camilla carried the same kind of anger. On his side, Chameleone answered with songs like Bayuda and Byansi Byakuleka, and it didn’t stay in the music; the two camps actually fought physically too.

So, when Asante and Abba’s names show up in a song about how nobody can survive alone in the chain, it feels almost like an accusation. These two men proved, over and over, that they could break a link, could turn the ‘like brother, like sister’ saying into open war. But the chain doesn’t care who is fighting whom. Asante will need something from Abba one day, and Abba will need something from Asante, whether or not their fathers ever made peace. Fortunately, Chameleone and Goodlyfe made peace.

Compiled by Mwesigwa Joshua

Mowzey Radio, the second half of Radio and Wesel, wasn’t just Uganda’s most beloved voice; he was a monster writer. He spent his childhood listening to Fred Sebatta and inherited his writing style, dramatising feelings rather than narrating them. But where Fred Sebatta had 15 minutes to build a full scene, Radio often had one line. He made you feel what Sebatta would make you see. He did this with his lyricism, poetry and strong imagery.

When he asks Jennifer for a certain dance she performed at Julie’s wedding, as well as to sing Christina Aguilera’s song, it’s hard to understand that Julie is a made-up character and that Christina is a real person. And when he shouts a girl’s name like a Vuvuzela, you’re reminded of the World Cup in South Africa, but when he mentions Tshabalala, your mind can’t figure that out.

Think of Mowzey Radio as a poet, lyricist, mind-painter, manipulative scriptwriter and more. He drew something in your mind, and it made you cry or smile.

Radio delivered deep lines with magic that lived in the gap between what he said and how he sounded saying it. He was a trained community psychologist who had the skill to bring out of his listener all the emotions he wanted. Listening to Radio Mowzey and crying wasn’t accidental; it’s something he planned the moment he put his pen to paper, as a professional film scriptwriter would. See these lines;

#1. Zuena
“Unapendeza sana sana… Unaniumiza sana sana” (You are so lovely… you hurt me so much)

The intention of that line seems to have been creating a rhyme (-ndeza, -umiza), and this is where most writers would miss it; they want to rhyme but forget meaning and emotion. That line sets up the song’s whole engine in one breath: beauty and pain arriving together, inseparable. Then he escalates into something few songwriters would risk, trying to measure love using a measuring machine: “Zuena, lwaki tonteka ku minzaani… noopima nolaba akwagala y’ani” (Why don’t you put me on a scale and measure who loves you).

The line “Oli nga ekyuma ekipima obudde obwembela” (you are like a temperature-measuring machine) isn’t necessarily a romantic cliché; it’s a deliberate refusal to sound plain. An amateur writer would say, you are a thermometer! But to a common Ugandan who has ever had their temperature tested, he wanted to show that Zuena is like that device they put on your body to test your ‘hotness’; most Ugandans are not good at pronouncing ‘th,’ so he saved their day.

That’s the same instinct John Donne used centuries ago, comparing love to a compass or an astronomical instrument: forcing an emotional truth to justify itself in the language of precision.

The line, “Ku countdown y’omutima gwange gwe ali ku number emu” (on the countdown of my heart, you are at No.1), a radio listener understands what a countdown is and what a number one song on a countdown feels like.

#2. Nyambula
This breakup song was, in a sense, a quiet jab at Jose Chameleone. Many Leone Islanders remember Chameleone as the demanding boss who would order his protégés to remove his shoes for him, barking, “Nyambula engatto!” (Take off my shoes!), which is how he earned the nickname “Nyambula” within the crew.

Radio took that inside joke and turned it into a genius disguise: although the song is titled Nyambula, in reference to Chameleone, he actually pronounces it Nyambura throughout, reshaping it into what sounds like a breakup song about a Kikuyu girl named Nyambura. The real meaning hides in plain sight, buried inside a name that sounds almost, but not quite, like the joke it’s actually built on.

“Bwewakaabanga nga nze gwokaabila, nga lwokubye enddulu wuuwi nzilukilira” (When you cried, it’s me you were crying for. When you raised an alarm, it was me who responded) is nearly non-metaphorical; it reads almost like testimony. Radio is describing himself, and likely the other Leone Islanders, as the ones who always showed up whenever Chameleone got into the fights he was known for picking. But the line also works as a broader truth about relationships: in most partnerships, one person ends up carrying the weight, always the one to step in, always the one to fix things. That person is usually left heartbroken in the end, because when their effort goes unnoticed, the other party eventually walks away.

“Naye nondekaawo, ogenda webigula n’abazungu. Abalina sente mpulira balingamu n’obubundu” (You left me alone and went running around with loaded foreigners… they had some guns too). On the surface, this line exists mostly for the rhyme (-zungu, -bundu), but it does real work underneath. It paints the picture of someone trading loyalty for a “high life” with foreign men, and the mention of guns adds a sting of helplessness: the image of a white man with a gun taking your girl, and there being nothing you can do about it.

#3. Where You Are
Radio was good at language mixology: mixing Luganda, English, and Swahili.

“Rohoni unanitesa kishenzi” (inside my soul, you torture me mercilessly) carries the raw emotional charge, and the song immediately code-switches into English for the plainer request, “find a place we can go… lost in your arms.” The Swahili carries the suffering; the English carries the asking. Radio may never have consciously thought of it in these terms, but his instinct, his genius, working beneath deliberate thought, arrived at the same result. And as listeners, we can still notice it, even if he never mentioned it anywhere.

#4. Ngenda Maaso
What happens when you go after a man with a thousand talented, poetic ways of hitting back? You end up on the receiving end of his pen. Chameleone, New Vision, and Bebe Cool all felt the sting of Radio’s writing in this song. “Elinya lyange olisiize enfuufu. Ogambye abantu ebyenyanja byange byentunda bivuundu” (You have smeared my name with dust, you tell people I sell rotten fish) and “Amagoba gange gakukwasa ensaalwa so nga maanyi gange lwaki oyagala okufuna amangu” (my profits make you jealous, yet it’s my hard work. Why do you want to make quick profits?) were both aimed squarely at New Vision, who Radio and Weasel accused of publishing false stories about them.

He used the simplicity of a fish business to depict just how envious the music industry was of Goodlyfe.

The honest context behind it: when Goodlyfe rose to fame, it stirred real resistance from industry gatekeepers blocking anyone from climbing past a certain point. Reportedly, the media itself had been influenced by powerful industry forces determined to hold back rising acts. Goodlyfe’s momentum caused such a stir that they ended up in direct conflict with Vision Group, Ange Noir (now Club Guvnor), DJ Shiru, Straka Mwezi, and other established gatekeepers of the scene.

In fact, Goodlyfe wrote separate songs as direct responses to specific rivals: Kiduula aimed at Ange Noir, Bakasitoma aimed at New Vision, and Camilla, Sitani, and Lwaki Tokula aimed at Chameleone, who, in Ngenda Maaso, is the target of the line “banoonya ng’ensowela” (they hunt for me like a fly), a reference to Chameleone reportedly hunting down and confronting Radio and Weasel in clubs. Other unspecified rivals were addressed in songs like Talk and Talk. Though Radio and Weasel were, on the surface, mainly known for love songs, they clearly made time to answer every attack thrown their way.

#5.  Enyimba Z’omukwano
This is one of Mowzey Radio’s most emotionally heavy writings. “Okwagala nabwo bulwadde olukukwatako tebiwona, mazima obelera ddala ng’eyalwala kokolo okulemala” (Love is like a disease that never heals; it’s like a cancer that cripples you) is about as far from a typical love song as a love song can get, and then he breaks the fourth wall entirely: “Enyimba z’omukwano zinyiiza. Ziwanawana nyo abagalana” (I hate love songs; they praise lovebirds.) That line is remarkable.

Enyimba z’omukwano is almost a direct echo of Ne-Yo’s So Sick, another heartbreak song where the singer admits he is tired of hearing love songs because they only remind him of what he lost, even though he sings love songs himself. Both artists use the same trick: turning the song into its own confession.

The line “Nze nebwenebaka n’enema okuzukuka” (even if I sleep and never wake up) reads less like poetic hyperbole and more like exhaustion with being alive inside the feeling of love. He made it appear like he was helpless and vulnerable to the point of wanting to die, the same way he did in Nkwagala when he said: “Esaawa bweliba etuuse ng’owulira okooye okundaba onyambanga mukwano n’ongamba nenoonya ekyokola” (In the moment when you feel tired of me, I beg you to let me know so that I look for what to do). The emotion that line engenders is that what he would do might as well be committing suicide; and since no one wants to be the cause of someone’s suicide, the person he was addressing would make sure he never gets tired of him.

#6. Machozi
“I am standing by the roadside hoping you’ll be passing by, come see me.” Every boy has stood at some roadside waiting for his crush to pass by.

#7. Bread and Butter
“Bread and butter” is an idiom that means a livelihood. So, this meant that the girl was Radio’s livelihood.

But here is the catch. Radio had to make this line work for listeners unfamiliar with the English idiom, many of whom didn’t even know what butter was, since it isn’t common in most Ugandan households, or at least they don’t know it’s called that. So, he translated it into Luganda as “Oli mugaati gwa butter,” literally (You are bread with butter). That direct translation carries a different meaning altogether. In English, the phrase is about necessity, something you can’t do without.

In Luganda, the meaning shifts to taste and sweetness; bread smeared with butter is simply delicious, so the line becomes “you are as sweet as bread with butter” rather than “you are essential to my survival.” That shift is exactly why local fans connected with the song so strongly: most weren’t decoding an idiom about necessity; they were hearing a simple, relatable compliment about sweetness.

“Olinga enkuba etonya ekiro ku mabaati” (You are like rain that rains on the roof at night) means her presence gives him comfort in a quiet, steady way, like the calming, repetitive sound of rain at night when everything else is still.

“Oluusi ndoota nenkulaba nga otudde awo kumpi n’eddinisa, obufananyi nembukuba, negative neenzooza” (Sometimes I dream and see you seated by the window, I take pictures in the dream and develop the negatives) means he thinks about her so often that even his dreams are detailed and specific, not a vague image, but her in a clear setting, by the window. He treats the memory as worth preserving, the way you’d develop a photo to keep it permanently, saying the dream felt real and important enough that he wanted proof of it afterwards.

“Olina omusango gw’okuwoza mu kirooto lwaki wansooza” (You have a case to answer as to why you jeered at me in the dream) means that in the dream, she mocked or laughed at him, and he’s now confronting her about it as if it really happened, even though it only took place in his imagination. Treating something imaginary as a real offence is his way of joking about how much the dream affected him; he was bothered by something she never actually did.

Click here to read Part 2

6 October, 2026 – Uganda’s entertainment and tourism spaces are buzzing following a surprise link-up between American music mogul DJ Khaled and the newly appointed CEO of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Juliana Kagwa.

The “We The Best Music” DJ sent social media into a frenzy when he shared a photo on his Instagram account @djkhaled, posing with Kagwa. He energetically captioned the post:

“Bless up @julzkagwa Uganda @wethebest where its all love and respect Love is the only way ! bless #wethebest”

The post, which also features Jose Chameleone’s “Tubonge,” has attracted thousands of engagements and raises one obvious question: Is DJ Khaled finally making his way to the Pearl of Africa, perhaps as soon as 2026?

As of now, there hasn’t been any official announcement from either DJ Khaled or the Uganda Tourism Board confirming a visit, performance or tour. However, using Tubonge only added to the speculation.

The section of Jose Chameleone’s song used in the post includes the lyrics, “Njoo, nimesubiri sana lini tutaonana. Njoo, rafiki wa kweli, rafiki milele kweli,” which roughly translates from Swahili to, “Come, I have waited for you for so long, when will we see each other? Come, true friend, truly a lifelong friend.”

While the song choice doesn’t necessarily confirm a visit is planned, its message, combined with Khaled’s Uganda shout-out and his photo with Kagwa, certainly hints that a bigger announcement could be on the way.

It is also worth remembering that DJ Khaled was previously unveiled as the international virtual host for the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs), an event heavily promoted under UTB’s #VisitUganda banner but never took place.

There is a particular kind of silence that follows a golden age, not the silence of rest, but of confusion. Uganda’s music industry is currently trapped inside that silence. A country that produced Jose Chameleone, Bebe Cool, Bobi Wine and Radio & Weasel, and which gave the world Eddy Kenzo, now seems to be struggling to produce a single song that outlasts the TikTok-sound craze. The reasons are not mysterious. They are structural, economic and heavily political.

In this article, we look at one of the industry’s most persistent problems: the strained relationship between artistes and promoters, and the financial pressures driving them further apart, ultimately threatening the very relationship many artistes and promoters rely on for their livelihoods.

In most mature music economies, the relationship between promoters and artistes is governed by binding contracts and enforceable rights frameworks. In Uganda, it is largely proximity to political power and the ability to shout louder or stay silent longer.

Take Abbey Musinguzi, commonly known as Abitex Promotions, a huge music events promoter in Uganda. His philosophy, as observed over years, is one of artiste disposability. Many artistes argue Abitex is shrewd and financially tight-fisted; when an A-list artiste, say, Jose Chameleone, rejects a performance fee as inadequate, he does not raise the offer. He finds three B-list artistes for the price of one, then quietly circulates an instruction through the promoters’ association: do not ever book Chameleone. Let him feel the desperation of an empty calendar. Belittle the artiste financially, own him, pay him what you think he deserves, and destroy his bargaining power.

Ugandan artistes, including Chance Nalubega and Weasel, Alien Skin, and Pallaso, all claim to have experienced this machinery. On one or two occasions, he has even publicly called them ‘off-layers.’

Spice Diana’s story within the system is not a collection of incidents. It is a pattern, and the recent Bukomansimbi episode is only its latest chapter.

Spice Diana has spoken publicly and repeatedly about promoters undermining her, refusing to pay after performances, calling fellow promoters to discourage bookings, questioning her relevance, and working to make her appear commercially unviable.

However, to understand why Ugandan promoters play cat and mouse with artistes, you first have to understand what they are walking into every time they organise a music event. A concert in Uganda is not, by default, a profitable venture. It is a high-stakes gamble staged in an environment designed to make losing money easier than making it.

The cost structure alone is punishing. A promoter must secure a venue and various licenses, hire a PA system and production crew, pay for police security, print and distribute tickets, run media promotion across radio, TV and social media, and then pay the artiste’s booking fee, often partially upfront. None of these costs warrants a successful event. They are committed expenses. And then, yawzzaahhh…URA comes knocking.

URA taxes 18% of gate collections from entertainment events. This is not a profit tax; it is a revenue tax, taken from ticket sales before the promoter has had a chance to offset the costs incurred. Musa Kavuma of KT Promotions says: “There are times when you have not yet made a shilling, but URA is already at the gate demanding tax.”

In a bid that will bite artistes deeper and sour their relationship with promoters further, an additional 6% withholding tax on payments to local artistes was recently approved in April 2026, with promoters required to deduct it at source on behalf of URA. Fundukululu hitmaker, Phina Masanyalaze, like most artistes, has called this “insane,” arguing that the industry cannot be milked before it is fed.

This is the context in which artiste fee negotiations happen. A promoter is not sitting across from an artiste from a position of financial strength. In many cases, they are sitting across from them already counting potential losses, trying to manage the single largest controllable variable in their budget: the artiste.

This should not excuse coercion, cheating or blacklisting. But it explains why the pressure to suppress artiste fees is so constant, and why the promoter’s first instinct when an artiste pushes back on their offer is not generosity; it is the search for a cheaper replacement.

The more troubling issue is what happens when that pressure is the norm. The financial justification for low fees hardens into an attitude that artistes are replaceable and their bargaining power is something to be broken. Yet promoters and artistes depend on each other. A promoter needs artistes who can attract audiences that will bring a return on their investment, while artistes need promoters who can put them on stages and get people through the gates.

They can, but the financial risk and logistical burden that comes with putting on a show can be just as daunting.

In the music industry, artists get the fame, but it’s the producers who often build the sound. They are the ones who turn raw talent into radio hits and influence the direction of the entire industry.

From the golden days of Kadongo Kamu and live bands to the digital Afrobeat era, these are the producers who left the biggest fingerprints on Ugandan music.

#1. Steve Jean Sserunkuma
If urban Ugandan music has a patriarch, Steve Jean is probably the closest thing to one.

In the early 2000s, his studio Fenon Records became the finishing school for some of the biggest names in Ugandan music. His production helped polish Rasta Rob MC, Shanks Vivie’D, Red Banton, Juliana Kanyomozi, Iryn Namubiru and Blu*3 into household names.

But Steve Jean’s biggest achievement may not even be the number of hits attached to his name; it is the family tree of Ugandan musicians and producers who continue to draw inspiration from him.

Once upon a time, a young Benon Mugumbya, before becoming one half of the Benon and Vamposs duo, walked into Fenon looking to learn both singing and production. Under Steve Jean’s mentorship, Benon developed into a producer himself and later, after leaving Fenon Records, founded Swangz Avenue.

Through Benon, that influence continued to spread to producers such as Just Jose, Big Nash, and Banger Boi.

#2. Dr Tee (Trevor Kazibwe) and Silver Kyagulanyi
Before digital production took over, Ugandan music was built around live instruments, bands and songwriting. Few people shaped that world more than Dr Tee and Silver Kyagulanyi.

Dr Tee became one of the key figures at Kasiwukira Studios, producing and writing countless songs for some of Uganda’s biggest traditional and band musicians, including Mesach Semakula, Geoffrey Lutaaya, Ronald Mayinja, Betty Mpologoma, Angella Kalule, Afrigo Band, Sophie Nantongo, and the like.

What separated Dr Tee and Silver from many producers was that they were not just engineers pushing buttons. They were songwriters, arrangers and musicians who understood the culture behind the music.

A practising lawyer by profession, Silver Kyagulanyi also played a major role in developing artistes through Sauti Media, helping create names like Abdul Mulaasi, Mamuli Katumba, John Segawa and Kazibwe Kappo.

Together, Dr Tee and Silver remain among the biggest influences in the band and Kadongo Kamu world, respected even by producers such as Daddy David of DMS Records and Producer Jonah.

Other producers who worked at Kasiwukira Studios at some point include Steve Jean, Timothy Kizito, Henry Kiwuwa, Paddyman, and Ken Lubwama.

#3. Paddyman (Paddy Kayiwa Mukasa) and Tony Houls (Tony Bikumbi)
During Uganda’s famous Big Three era, when Bebe Cool, Bobi Wine and Jose Chameleone’s rivalries dominated industry conversations, Paddyman and Tony Houls occupied a unique position. All three superstars recorded some of their biggest hits with the pair, making them the producers behind one of the most competitive periods in Uganda’s music history.

Paddyman and Tonny began at Eddy Yawe’s Dream Studios, producing their initial hits. Tonny Houls later joined Bobi Wine at Fire Records, while Paddyman formed his own Audio1 Studio. Coming from a gospel background, Paddyman, whose stage name was crafted for him by Bobi Wine, developed his craft around church music and even shared studio space with Kadongo Kamu legend Elly Wamala. That influence could be heard in his sound at Audio1.

Most of Jose Chameleone’s most inspirational songs, like Valu Valu, Badilisha, Katupakase, Tubonge, Kuba-bulunji, Nzigulira, etc are produced by Paddyman. He also produced for artists including Eddy Kenzo, Judith Babirye, Rema Namakula, Chosen Blood, and Pastor Wilson Bugembe.

#4. Washington David Ebangit – The Goodlyfe’s Lifeline
Washington started at Dream Studios in the early 2000s, working with a young Bobi Wine before moving to Black-Hole Studio, where he became one of Bebe Cool’s main producers. It was a significant breakthrough, with Bebe Cool no longer needing to travel to Kenya to record with Ogopa DJs.

Washington’s defining moment came during his time as the in-house producer for Radio and Weasel at Goodlyfe Magic studios in Neverland, Makindye home. Much of Radio and Weasel’s catalogue carried Washington’s signature sound: guitars pushed to the front of the mix, powerful drums, and basslines inspired by South African sounds.

#5. Jose Chameleone (Joseph Mayanja)
Most people know Jose Chameleone as one of Uganda’s greatest singers, but many forget that he is also a talented producer. Do not mistake him for his nephew Mayaja on da Beat.

During Chameleone’s years in Kenya, he absorbed lessons from the Ogopa DJs camp and returned with a sound influenced by South African instrumentation. Back home, he produced many of his own early songs while also working with upcoming artistes such as Weasel, Lizard (later Pallaso), Radio and Ragga Dee.

As his career evolved, he began working closely with Paddyman, Producer Madder Kayz, Diggy Baur and Yaled.

#6. Diggy Baur (Galabuzi Andrew)
The modern Ugandan sound owes a lot to the rise of Kidandali, and Diggy Baur was among the producers who helped shape that movement. Baur started at Sound Cava before setting up Sabula Records in Makindye.

He peaked at a highly competitive period, surrounded by talents such as Producer Kusseim, Producer Jonah, Producer Crouch, Yaled and Dr Fizzol.

Jonah brought modern touches to Kadongo Kamu; Crouch became known for smooth zouk-inspired arrangements; Yaled transformed David Lutalo’s sound; while Dr Fizzol helped shape the early sounds of Spice Diana, Geosteady and Maro.

Yet Diggy Baur remained one of the standout names. His ability to combine Kidandali melodies with polished Afrobeat production was something he might have borrowed from Producer Madder Kayz, Producer Rinex and Bless Touch.

Diggy Baur was also respected as a skilled mixer, blending live instruments and digital sound with a clean finish. Eno Beats claimed that spot.

#7. Nash Wonder (Enock Kubeerwa)
Some producers dominate for decades. Others burn brightly for a shorter period but leave behind unforgettable work. Nash Wonder belongs to the second category.

During his Monster Studios era, Nash Wonder influenced the rise of artistes including Ziza Bafana, Sheebah Karungi, Khalifah Aganaga, and Pallaso. His run may have been shorter than some others on this list, but his impact was massive.

#8. Nessim Pan Production
Born Isma Mukuzza, Nessim became the Steve Jean of his day. He polished the urban Benon-like sound heard in Radio & Weasel/GNL Zamba/Navio with a soft, clean, radio-friendly sound that he orchestrated through Ykee Benda and A Pass.

Nessim began his journey at Badi Musik before founding Shotgun Studios. He credits Tonny Houls for introducing him to production.

Nessim’s sound shaped the early careers of A Pass, New Chapter Africa, Ykee Benda and Levixone. At his peak, his smooth production style set him apart from rivals such as Danz Kumapeesa, Andy Muzic, Aethan and Producer Hannz.

#9. Artin Pro (Martin Musoke)
Shortly after joining the music industry in 2015, Artin Pro and T.O.N helped introduce a fresh wave of artistes between 2016 and 2018, including Fik Fameica, Rickman Manrick, Karole Kasita, and Latinum, who embraced the Nigerian-influenced sound.

Their sound defined an era in Uganda’s music scene, where digital production, infectious melodies, and youth-driven songwriting began shaping the mainstream. The simplicity of their lyrics became part of the appeal, turning everyday phrases into hooks that listeners could easily sing along.

In 2019, Artin Pro launched Axtra Nation Studio after leaving Jahlive Studios

#10. Daddy Andre (Ojambo Andrew)
Every era has its leading producer, and though we have trending producers like Trapex Booming, Producer Genee, Chemical Beats, Hey Sekret, Banger Boi, Bass Boi, and Producer Horace, Daddy Andre’s influence still exists.

Whether he eventually reaches the legendary status of Steve Jean will depend on time, but for now, he is the producer defining and influencing the current Ugandan sounds.

Music is a nostalgic memory that never fades; you’ll agree with me after reading this article. You will also detect a trace of pain in my heart that I am trying to lay bare. A pain that, after many years of listening to fine and addictive music on Ugandan FM stations through the late 1990s, it rubs my heart the wrong way that most of my favourite oldies artistes never feature in today’s old-is-gold events and radio mixes. Uganda only seems to appreciate Philly Lutaaya, Elly Wamala, Paul Kafeero, Fred Ssebatta, and Herman Basudde.

My feelings are hurt that every time Kampala announces a Kikadde concert, you already know the line-up before the poster even drops: Afrigo Band, Eagles Production, Maddoxx Sematimba, some surviving Kadongo Kamu artistes, yuck yuck! Same names, same nostalgia, recycled year after year until it starts to feel less like a celebration of oldies and more like a closed shop.

But ask anyone who actually grew up glued to a radio in the 90s, and they’ll tell you the “soup of oldies” is a lot bigger than that. A whole other Kampala was happening outside the audience of CBS, that was the Capital Radio and KFM audience, and the music they listened to never quite made it into the Kikadde canon, mostly because of where it was playing, not because it wasn’t loved.

A lot of this music traces back to Peter Ssematimba; Pira is known to Gen Z as the ‘process by process’ protagonist. But to older generations, he is the pioneer of Valentine’s Day in Uganda, and the man who made Capital FM sound the way it does, you know, the accent and whatnot. That’s not all, though. He is a Ugandan music root too. A tap root, to be specific.

The story goes he came back from the US after his own Michael Jackson dream didn’t pan out, linked up with Steve Jean, and they started building Shanks Vivie’D, Rasta Rob MC, Red Banton, etc with a template like this: fuse simple African proverbs and lyrics from folktales with rap and rhyme.

They also created the Americanized girl-group wave that was huge in the States at the time, pasting it onto Kampala. That wave gave us I-Jay (Iryn Namubiru & Juliana Kanyomozi duo), later Blu*3, Obsessions, and the rest of that generation of girl groups.

Peter Ssematimba did this almost immediately before Bebe Cool and Jose Chameleone left for Kenya; and knowing that Bafudde and Atakogga-atagejja looked up to Shanks and Rasta Rob, perhaps they felt the space at the top in Uganda had been filled with lots of Shanks and Rasta, and seeing as they did that they could not topple them from their high horses, they deemed it necessary to poach a virgin land in Kenya. And we all know what that trip to Kenya did for our industry. It changed it 360-degree-ly.

70% of the names below came straight out of the Ssema-Steve pipeline. A few didn’t, but the important observation here is they all got swept up and forgotten in the same wave.

Here are 20 oldies that should be headlining shows, not footnoting.

#1. Fiona Mukasa: Before Judith Babirye and Pastor Bugembe, there was Fiona Mukasa, daughter of Elly Wamala. She’s the voice behind gospel staples like Ekilibeera Mu Gulu, Tambula tambula Yesu, and Mweyambise. Most Gen Z either know her name and not her music, or her music and not her name. Even the music they know is the recent singles she released long after she had given us the hits of the 90s. Here are her hits of the 90s.

Fiona and David Bweyinda were literally the first gospel artistes a whole generation ever heard. David Bweyinda, who is now known for Egologosa, was then barely 11, singing alongside his mother, Nakafeero Zelubabel Sifa, on the Birigwawo album that included songs like Yagulawo and Silimu. Sadly, most of David’s songs are not available online. David Bweyinda is also a brother to the famous Betty Namaganda.

#2. Betty Namaganda: This Gospel legend, alongside her husband, Pastor Robert Ssenyonga, graced our hearts with untold musical benedictions. They hit a few years after Fiona Mukasa. Betty’s signature songs, Nali Ntambula Mu Kubo and Yesu Anatela Okuda, have been church gospel staples since 1994. Sadly, she is known for only these songs now and a few others, but she has a whole bunch of 90s hits that we don’t hear today. Get some of her other hits here, and Robert Senyonga’s here.

#3. Betty Nakibuuka: Sadly, Nakibuuka is now mostly identified as the mother of Baby Gloria. At age 14, Betty was working after school with her mother to sell second-hand garments to generate funds to support the family. When her mother began experiencing joint swelling, Nakibuuka worked alone.

In 1991, while carrying out her regular trade, Nakibuuka encountered preachers who convinced her to “entrust all her burdens to Jesus Christ.” She encountered admiration for her singing talent, and her story shaped the direction of Luyimba Lwange, an album that brought a different sound to gospel music: young, beautiful and smooth.

Some of us first heard Betty Nakibuuka’s music, much of which is not known to Gen Z, on those famous light-green cassette tapes!

#4. Akiiki Romeo: No Parking won him the Pearl of Africa Music Award for Best Live Band Single back in 2003. That record was inescapable on Capital and KFM in its time. He also had other classics like Garuka and Genda Mpora, for which Capital FM-groomed fans never get a proper concert. Here is Akiiki Romeo’s nostalgic music.

I used to think Capital FM’s Olanya Columbus of the ‘I am not a fool’ fame and Akiiki Romeo were the same person.

#5. Sylvia Kyansuti: She should have been crowned queen from Busoga, going toe-to-toe with Racheal Magoola, except her lane was completely different. While most Basoga acts were into traditional mbaire and band music, Sylvia Kyansuti’s sound was groovy, danceable, made for the dance floor rather than the village square. Her duet with Bebe Cool, Okunsunasuna, was a national anthem in 2002. Then she had Kitumbugulu and Kadalidali.

#6. Saida Karoli: Technically Tanzanian but coming from a Luganda-like language in TZ, Uganda claimed her the way it did Mr Nice. Saida Karoli’s breakout hit, Maria Salome, was so beloved here that she picked up the nickname “Wanchekecha” from Ugandan fans.

#7. Emperor Orlando: His 1997 duet with the late Menton Summer, Sirikawo Baby, was hot. He later gave us Nakonkona and the 2005 Mama Wange with Jose Chameleone and Nsaba Onsonyiwe with Saida Karoli. Emperor Orlando is one of those names that lived on the airwaves and never made the leap back into the concert circuit. We sure need a one-man concert from Emperor Orlando.

#8. Mega Dee & Menton Kronno: Long before Firebase’s In A De Dance and Ate Oba Wankyawa, Gen Mega Dee had In Heaven No Beer and Lwali lumu nga bbiri under one of the most iconic dynamic duos in Ugandan dancehall and reggae history with Menton Kronno.

#9. Yvette Sseguya and Queen Bella: Before Dodo, Queen Bella had Anekutte with little-known Yvette Sseguya. Yvette had another monster hit titled Ngenda Mukyaalo.

#10. Steve Jean: This is the MVP who worked with Peter Sematimba to make half the magic on this list. He is a soft-voiced RnB producer who could sing as well as build, with his own hits like Osobola Otya, and collaborated with Shanks Vivie’D on Bundu and Kakokolo.

Steve Jean also produced and co-wrote, alongside Silver Kyagulanyi, A Little Bit of Love, an all-star song on AIDS struggles.

Steve wrote and produced half the hits of that generation: Blu*3, Juliana Kanyomozi, Michael Ross, Halima Namakula, Iryn Namubiru, Akiiki Romeo, and also the Dole Y’omwana album by Fred Ssebatta.

#11. Felippe PIF: The one-hit wonder behind Niiwe Magara Ganje, a song he reportedly wrote in 25 minutes for a couple’s studio dedication before Capital FM turned it into a regional hit for the Soroti-born artiste. It’s not every day that a Soroti artiste sings Lunyankole.

#12. Obsessions: The Weekume singers were the second biggest gal group, and it’s not that their name isn’t known to Gen Z; it’s just that the song House Girl, a monster hit, is never mentioned among their popular hits, the same way Abalongo, Bageya, and Gwe Wange are to Chameleone.

#13. Ronnie Kavuma: Do you remember Mujune, that everyone still remembers even if the artiste’s name never quite stuck the way the song did?

#14. Mad Melon & Mountain Black: These are not even Ugandan artistes, but Kampala embraced their song Kpolongo, that even Red Pepper coined the term “Gologo” for what the paper was best known for.

#15. Pastor George Okudi: This is the man behind Wipolo, and arguably the reason Bebe Cool and Jose Chameleone made Talimba Yesu and Yesu Bwomwekwata.

Pastor George Okudi was named Best Male Artist in East Africa at the 2003 KORA Awards in Johannesburg, where the two superstars lost badly. After that KORA Night, Bebe Cool and Chameleone started rethinking their own direction enough to try gospel themselves.

#16. Red Banton: An artiste Jose Chameleone genuinely looked up to, alongside Shanks Vivie’D. His 1998 breakout hit and album, Noonya Money, was recorded by Steve Jean and made Red Banton the biggest name in Ugandan music that year; he even became the first Ugandan artiste to travel to the UK on an Artist Visa. For years, he was the go-to voice whenever WBS needed a station anthem. Remember WBS Eyange? Here are some of Red Bunton’s hits.

#17. Sseku Martin: Basically, the father of dancehall gospel in Uganda, he taught us that Christians could also do a few acrobatic dance moves. Pretty sure Father Anthony Musala borrowed a leaf or two from him. Sseku Martin’s two hits were Koona Endoongo and Siritya.

#18. Rose Muhando: Tanzanian too, but her gospel cut straight through Ugandan audiences, energetic dancing and all. Rose Muhando’s Uwe Macho album opened Ugandans to this energetic gospel diva.

#19. Rasta Rob MC: Do you know a song called Kirikiri Mabero?

#20. Chance Nalubega: At a time when women were mostly relegated to backing up Fred Ssebatta and Kafeero rather than fronting their music, she was here in full force. Following Chance Nalubega’s 1999 debut album Guma Omwoyo, she graced Uganda with anthems like Yiga Okwagala and Abakyakala Mukyakale, Okomawo Nebase and Abatesi ft Radio & Weasel. It’s genuinely strange that her music barely gets radio or TV rotation today, let alone a proper concert.

If there’s one name on this list that deserves an actual honorary award for sheer nerve, it’s Chance Nalubega.

Compiled by Mwesigwa Joshua

Some songs define a career, and some define an era. Jose Chameleone’s Valu Valu is both. The 2012 Swahili-laced love anthem became one of the defining records not just of Chameleone’s catalogue, but of East and Central African popular music at large. Yet what makes it truly remarkable is not just the song, but the fact that it got two music videos, and the story behind tells you almost everything about where African music was headed at the time.

The first video was shot by Lukyamuzi Bashir, head of BADI Films, one of the most accomplished music video directors at the time. Known simply as Badi, Bashir broke through around 2007 with Aziz Azion’s Nkumila Omukwano and went on to direct works for Goodlyfe Crew, GNL Zamba, Eddy Kenzo, and Keko. He was a music video revolutionary, reconciling the then-new-in-Uganda R&B/Hip Hop sound with a US-like RnB/Hip Hop visual picture. He was the guy you went to if you wanted a Chris Brown-like video. He, Kim XP/Seasonz Filmz, Grate Make, KingdomFilmz 3X3, and Plazma1 were the gods of urban music videos before Swangz Films and Jahlive Studios came into the picture. But the BADI entity was more than a music video production outfit; it was a music label outfit that nurtured A Pass and Ykee Benda.

The First Music Video for Valu Valu by Jose Chameleone
Bashir’s Valu Valu video followed a storyline of romantic conflict, a cheating woman (who cheated on his boyfriend with Chameleone), a drama that unfolded scene by scene and a piano-playing Chameleone. It was accomplished work. But Chameleone’s question, it seems, was not whether the video was good; it was whether it was good enough for where he wanted the song to go.

The Channel O Standard: When a Video Could Open or Close Doors
By 2012, three channels, Channel O, MTV Base, and Trace Music, had become the gatekeepers of pan-African musical ambition. Getting your video onto these platforms meant reaching a continent-wide/global audience; failing to meet their standards meant staying local. When MTV Base launched in February 2005, one of its earliest challenges was the shortage of high-quality videos from African artists that met its technical and aesthetic bar. The channel responded with workshops and initiatives, but the underlying message was blunt: if your video did not look right, it would not play.

Nigeria’s P-Square had figured this out early. Their polished videos were regular Channel O fixtures, and even winning big at the Channel O awards with Bizzy Body. Their subsequent collaboration with Johannesburg’s Godfather Productions on Do Me became one of the most requested videos on MTV Base Africa. That benchmark, cinematic, stylish, not-so-much-plot, was what East and Central African artists should have been chasing.

The Radio & Weasel camp documented that the Talk and Talk music video, shot by BADI for a global audience, was submitted to Channel O and rejected. The duo re-shot Magnetic, which already had an okay video, in South Africa, and it was accepted. Subsequent videos they wanted to push internationally, Fantastic, Home to Africa ft PJ Powers, Breath Away, were all redirected to South Africa thereafter. The lesson had been learned at cost, and it was one that the wider industry absorbed quickly.

Chameleone, with Valu Valu already a continental hit and a song he clearly believed had the legs to go further, took that direction too.

South Africa & the Visual Economy of African Music
South Africa, Johannesburg and Durban in particular, had become the de facto production hub for ambitious African music videos. The country’s developed film infrastructure, professional-grade equipment, experienced crews, and photogenic locations meant that videos shot there simply looked different. It was about resources, technology, and a production culture built over decades of formal film and television work.

Tanzania’s Ali Kiba understood this too. His Sony Music-era hit Aje (and other videos) was shot in Cape Town by director Meji Alabi. Diamond Platnumz, who would become the most decorated artist in East and Central Africa, famously took out bank loans to finance shoots in Lagos and South Africa, collaborating with Mike Ogoke of Godfather Productions, who shot Utanipenda, Ntampata Wapi, Kidogo, etc in Johannesburg. Until 2019, when he founded Zoom Productions, Diamond’s works and those of his Wasafi label-mates were shot either in South Africa or by South Africans, or both. The formula was established: go south, get international.

Bebe Cool, Chameleone’s long-time peer, grasped the same reality. He is spoken of as having invested in high-quality video cameras and collaborating with Sasha Vybz, a Ugandan director who trained at City Varsity College in Cape Town alongside the likes of Clarence Peters, and would get into the practice of flying Sasha Vybz to the United States for shoots. His experience on Love You Everyday video (short by Clarence Peters’ Capital Dreams Pictures) and the videos he did on Necessary Noise, which were highly pitched on Channel O, was a leaf to be picked.

iKind Media, Matt Nefdt, & Valu Valu Video Review
The production house behind the second Valu Valu music video was iKind Media, a Durban-based digital creative agency founded by Michael Nefdt. The director was Matt Nefdt, trained in Video Technology at the Durban University of Technology and experienced across directing, filming, and editing through early work at LA NEFDT Productions and iKind Media itself. The company’s portfolio extended beyond music, including the internationally noted ‘Africa For Norway’ campaign production.

The contrast between the two Valu Valu videos crystallises the broader shift. The BADI video gave you a plot. The iKind video gives you sensation: light, water, texture, movement, skin. No narrative arc, no characters with clear intentions. The edit is driven by feeling. This was not a stylistic accident; it was the precise language that Channel O, MTV Base, and Trace had established as the currency of international African music video production. Videos that travelled well prioritized mood over message, aesthetic over story.

Durban’s Coast, Slow Motion, & Moyo
The locations chosen for the second Valu Valu video are breathtaking: the warm Indian Ocean coastline, Durban’s sweeping beach vistas. And yet Matt Nefdt makes a deliberate, almost contrary choice: he refuses to let you settle into them. Rather than lingering on wide shots, the camera moves close. Face tracking, close-up on details such as hands breaking through water and the texture of a wet surface. The grand backdrop is blurred into a dreamlike wash of colour while the lens fixates on the tactile and the intimate. A lesser director might have made a travel postcard. Nefdt uses the landscape as atmosphere, something you feel rather than simply see.

Slow motion is the video’s primary tool, applied to semi-nude bodies in water, droplets breaking the surface, and movement against light. It forces the viewer to sit with moments that would otherwise blur past, giving the video the same unhurried emotional patience as the song itself.

A significant location detail: Chameleone is seen walking into Moyo, the iconic restaurant and beach bar on the uShaka Marine World pier. Moyo is the Swahili word for soul/heart, embodying the meaning in the second verse, “Moyo wako ufungue.” Open your heart.

Styling, Credits, & the Full Visual Package
The video’s YouTube description credits include a ‘Special Thanks’ to @thesocialitesa. @thesocialitesa’s Facebook handle, which we chose to look up on Facebook because it was the social media when the video came out, identifies it as a brand focused on fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment.

In a music video context, such a brand’s role would typically involve styling the artists and models on screen: the clothing, accessories, and overall look that signal polish and intentionality. This matters because what made South African-produced videos read as ‘international’ was not just camera quality or location; it was the total aesthetic.

A well-styled video signals a budget and a vision that local productions, however talented, often could not fully assemble at the time. Chameleone and iKind were not simply hiring a camera crew; they were assembling a complete visual package. They were also doing business at extension: iKind has a bikini store, which must have supplied the bikinis seen in the video; perhaps the inclusion of the bikini-girls was a marketing strategy for their store.

See Diamond Platnumz’s behind-the-scenes video to get a feel of how much such companies contribute to the polished picture we see in music videos.

Also worth noting: there are no artist or title credits on-screen announcing ‘Jose Chameleone’ or ‘Valu Valu.’ This was in line with Channel O’s submission requirements (you submitted the metadata to them by email, so that they included it themselves in the video, not you), which discouraged on-screen text branding; stardom should come with the confidence of an artist knowing his audience already knows his name when they see his face. The music speaks for itself, because the name behind it is already a legend.

Valu Valu was a song that earned the right to be revisited. The second video finds a visual language, intimate, slow, sensory, coastal, that genuinely deepens the emotional world of the song. Was the first video enough? For Uganda, perhaps. But the second one asked a different question: what does this song look like when dressed for the continent? The answer is something worth watching twice.

Compiled by Mwesigwa Joshua

Alright, let’s get into it…

#1. Merry Christmas (Album) by Philly Bongoley Lutaaya
Released in 1987 as his second music album, Merry Christmas was produced in 1986 and carries some of Uganda’s biggest Christmas songs of all time. The album’s title track Merry Christmas, and its opening song, Katujaguze (Luganda for ‘let’s celebrate His birth’) remain the most popular Ugandan Christmas songs of all time, along with Gloria, Sekukkulu (Luganda word for Christmas), Tumusinze (‘let’s worship Him’), Yesu Annidiridde (‘He awaits me’), and Zukuka (‘Get on Up’).

On streets and in trading centres across Uganda, where speakers play music from every corner, you’ve probably heard these songs. Some tracks, like Sekukkulu, Tumusinze, and Zukuka, are often performed in certain churches. To most people in Uganda, for as long as we’ve been alive, any of the eight songs on this album, when played aloud, signal the coming of Christmas. The album and the rest of Philly Bongoley Lutaaya’s music catalogue were remastered and released on streaming platforms in 2015.

#2. Christmas Y’omwaka by Bobi Wine and Paddyman
The earliest YouTube upload of Christmas Y’omwaka by Bobi Wine featuring producer Paddyman dates back to December 2010. Produced by Paddyman at Bobi Wine’s Fire Studioz, the song stands out for its chorus, supported by verses, all centred on the excitement of a sibling looking forward to celebrating this year’s Christmas (Christmas Y’omwaka guno) with their family after missing out the previous year due to work and financial challenges. For many Ugandans, the message in this song feels more relatable than most Christmas songs.

All songs listed in this article are in a YouTube playlist at the bottom.

#3. Merry Christmas by Judith Babirye
In a country where Christianity is the predominant religion, Merry Christmas (also known as Sekukkulu Ennungi) by Judith Babirye, one of Uganda’s leading gospel artists, though no longer active in music, remains one of the most cherished Christmas favourites in Uganda. Released on her 2012 Merry Christmas album, Sekukkulu was produced by Paddyman at Audio1 Records in Kampala. Sung in Luganda, the lyrics celebrate a joyous Christmas and a happy New Year.

#4. Sekukulu by Jose Chameleone
Produced by Paddyman at Audio1 and released around November 2013, Sukukulu, also known as Olunaku lwa Sekukulu and Sekukulu yo Mwaka, by Jose Chameleone, urges joy on Christmas Day, even amid life’s hardships.

#5. X-Mass by Maureen Nantume
Featuring lyrics in Luganda, English, and Swahili, Merry Christmas–also referred to as X-mas–by Maureen Nantume, from the then-prominent Eagles Production Band, is one of Uganda’s most ethereal solo Christmas songs. Written by Ugandan songwriter Grace Morgan, Merry Christmas by Maureen Nantume was produced by Paddyman at Audio1 Records in 2013.

#6. Merry Christmas by Ykee Benda
You have to give credit where it’s due. Merry Christmas by Ykee Benda remains one of the best Christmas songs from Uganda’s new-school artists. Released during his breakthrough period around November 2017, this song was produced by Nessim Pan.

#7. Merry Christmas by Bebe Cool
Initially released in 2010 and later included as track nine on his 2012 compilation album Akamwako, Merry Christmas by Bebe Cool is one of Uganda’s cult-classic Christmas songs, produced by Producer 2K at Dream Studio in Kamokya.

#8. Deck The Halls by Jose Chameleone & Various Uganda Artists
Released in December 2020, Deck the Halls was produced by Diggy Baur and features Jose Chameleone, Lydia Jazmine, Mun G, Pallaso, Carol Nantongo, Fresh Kid, Melody, Navio, Weasel Manizo, Viola Nakitende, Mary Bata, and Ambassador. The COVID stay-at-home Christmas video, featuring trumpet-led scene transitions, was shot by Jerome Kakande. Few people are keen to remember how they celebrated Christmas that year.

#9. Sekukulu by Dr Bitone
Released around 2015-2016 and co-produced by Man Polo and Zion Kay at Zue Records in Makindye, Sukukulu by Dr Bitone remains a popular pick among Ugandan Christmas songs, even though the artist hasn’t been heard from in recent years.

#10 is the Ugandan Christmas song I left out; probably your favourite one. Share it with the world in the comments!

For the past decade, YouTube has become an important gauge of an artist’s reach and popularity, superseding the days when frequent plays in bars, on radios and TV stations were the main indicators of success. Today, views, subscriptions, and engagement on YouTube and social media can offer a clearer and more measurable picture of an artist’s impact. Still, high online numbers don’t automatically define an artist’s talent or influence in the music industry.

For instance, some Ugandan musicians who dominated the airwaves in the late 1990s through the early 2000s are just gaining measurable online traction after uploading and organising their music catalogues in recent years. Some of these artists’ early hits were widely uploaded by fans, splitting views across multiple channels and diminishing plays on their official accounts. On the other hand, some Ugandan artists inflate their viewership numbers using bots or other fake engagement tactics, creating a misleading sense of prominence.

Despite these challenges, analysing YouTube views provides valuable insight into which artists have commanded attention on the platform since its heavy adoption in the Ugandan music scene around 2014. Here are the Top 10 Most Viewed Ugandan Music Artists on YouTube as of November 2025.

#1. Eddy Kenzo
With over 2.7 million subscribers, Eddy Kenzo’s official YouTube channel is the most viewed Ugandan music channel, boasting over 814 million views from 757 videos uploaded since its creation on 27 May 2013. The channel is also among the top 10 overall YouTube channels in Uganda, with popular videos including Masaka Kids Africana Dancing Tweyagale, which has 150 million views since its upload in February 2020, and Sitya Loss, which has secured over 72 million views since September 2014.

#2. Jose Chameleone
Since its creation in July 2012, Jose Chameleone’s official music YouTube channel has grown to over 752,000 subscribers with 324 videos, accumulating more than 192 million views. Its most-viewed videos include Badilisha (February 2013) with 28 million views and Tubonge (November 2023) with 18 million views. Early popular uploads include the first Valu Valu video (July 2012) with 850,000 views and Meme Katale featuring Papa Cidy (July 2012), which has surpassed 1.5 million views.

#3. Sheebah
Sheebah’s official YouTube &channel was launched in September 2011 and has since accumulated over 173 million views from 224 uploads with about 784,000 subscribers. Her biggest hit on the platform is Nakyuka (May 2020) with 11 million views, followed by Boy Fire featuring Selecta Jef (April 2021) with 7.6 million. Among her early uploads, Jordan (Mbakwekule) from May 2014 has recorded 363,000 views.

#4. Rema Namakula
Rema Namakula’s YouTube channel records over 557,000 subscribers and 145 million views across 63 videos, while maintaining a consistent viewership. Rema Namakula’s most popular videos include Guttuja featuring B2C (April 2019) with 19 million views, This is Love featuring The Ben (December 2020) with 11 million, and several others ranging from over 5 million to a few hundred thousand views each.

The channel’s earliest uploads of 2014—Sitaki (January), Atuuse, and Fire Tonight (June)—each surpassed 500,000 views, while Kukaliba, Oli Wange, Muchuzi (July), and Deep in Love (September) all crossed one million, with Deep in Love reaching 2.3 million views.

#5. Radio & Weasel
Radio and Weasel joined YouTube on August 21, 2012, and their channel has since grown to 414,000 subscribers and 219 videos, totalling over 134 million views. The very first upload, Can’t Let You Go, released on the day the channel was created, has 4.6 million views. Most viewed uploads like Gutamiza featuring B2C (July 2017) have pulled in 10 million views, while Hellena (November 2013) and Bread and Butter (April 2013) have 9.6 million and 9.3 million views, respectively.

#6. David Lutalo
Created on 16 December 2015, David Lutalo’s Official YouTube channel, with 116 uploads, boasts over 529,000 subscribers and 121 million total views. The channel’s first uploads, Saabulula (May 2016) and Yaamanyi (June 2016), have a viewership of 1.3 million and 4.3 million views, respectively. Among his most popular videos, Kabisi Ka Ndagala (November 2021) has 8.9 million views, Yankutudde (July 2022) has 7.5 million, and Manya (October 2020) has 6.1 million views.

#7. Spice Diana
Since launching her YouTube channel in April 2015, Spice Diana has attracted over 624,000 subscribers and 116 million views from 308 uploads. Her first official music video and upload on the channel, Tekinanta (August 2015), has 196,000 views. Leading uploads over the years include Anti Kale (October 2017) with 6.5 million views, Body featuring Nince Henry (June 2021) at 8.7 million, and Siri Regular (September 2022), which is still her biggest hit with 19 million views so far.

#8. Pallaso
Pallaso was among the first Ugandan artists to adapt to YouTube, launching his channel in April 2011. He has since built a following of 496,000 subscribers, uploaded 454 videos, and amassed over 111 million views. His earliest uploads, Anything for You, Dangerous, River Nile, and Save Me, were uploaded while he was still in the diaspora. Some of his most popular videos include Bubble Remix (April 2016) with 9 million views, Malamu (November 2020) with 7.6 million, and Nalonda Nemala (March 2021) with 7.2 million views.

#9. Bobi Wine
With 434,000 subscribers, Bobi Wine’s YouTube channel, created in May 2012, features 152 videos and has gathered over 91 million views. His early uploads include By Far (June 2012) with 560,000 views, For Better For Worse (June 2012) with 1.1 million, and Tugambire Ku Jeniffer (September 2012) with 2.6 million views. Later hits such as Kyarenga (June 2018) with 5.5 million views, Aidah (June 2016) with 4.3 million, and Wendi (June 2021) with 4.3 million continue to draw in his strong audience.

#10. Bebe Cool
Bebe Cool was among the first Ugandan artists to adapt to YouTube, joining the platform in January 2009. His channel now has 386,000 subscribers and over 87 million views from 259 video uploads.

His earliest uploads, including Maria Maria and a Nelson Mandela Birthday performance from 2009, show how far back his digital presence goes. Over time, Bebe Cool has built a strong catalogue, with major hits like Love You Everyday (July 2014) racking up 16 million views, Wire Wire (September 2019) with 12 million, and Kasepiki (March 2010) reaching 3.6 million views.

The years listed beside each music title represent when the artists uploaded the songs to their official YouTube channels, not the songs’ original release dates.

A music artist manager with a freshly released music video would head to the CD-burning and distribution hubs in downtown Kampala, including Majestic, Mutaasa Kafeero, and nearby plazas, where promoters like X-Zone Music were situated. While it’s reported that some music was willingly submitted, some artists over the years attempted to sue the promoters for copyright infringement, claiming their songs were being used without permission by promoters who compiled Ugandan music videos onto CDs for sale under the guise of nationwide distribution.

With the drives blasting promoted songs on large speakers, locals bought each CD for about UGX 5,000 to 10,000. Each CD was wrapped in a colourful design featuring artists’ photos on the front and a list of about 70-100 music videos printed on the back. These discs were played on DVDs in homes, bars, and restaurants. Artists whose songs appeared first on these compilations were almost guaranteed a hit. From what I recall, this scene was active between 2013 and 2018, though it’s unclear if they are still in business.

In those days, names like David Lutalo, Rema Namakula, Ykee Benda, King Saha, Pallaso, Fik Fameica, and many others whose music releases came with videos, led the music scene.

Before digital platforms like TuneCore and YouTube became mainstream, Ugandan music artists relied on a mix of methods, both direct and indirect, to reach fans. Alongside CD-burning and piracy through music libraries onto phones and flash drives, TV and radio music shows played a key role. Some artists encouraged the sharing of MP3s in fans’ WhatsApp groups named after them, Team Artist A and Musaayi Gwa Artist B, where digitally skilled individuals would pick up the tracks and upload them to local download sites such as HowweBiz, MP3jaja, and Mdundo. This unregulated circulation was standard whenever most artists released new songs.

Post-COVID, TikTok seems to be the gateway to a hit song in Uganda, giving the impression that it dominates the music scene, a topic that calls for an in-depth article in the near future. For now, let’s turn our attention to the top 10 songs in Uganda as of 07 September 2025.

#1. See You Tonight – Omega 256 & Cindy Sanyu
Written by Mowzy Wryta
Produced by Oppe

#2. Somebody – Sheebah
Written by Nikoly Ten
Produced by Nessim Pan Production & Ayo BassBoi

#3. Kapati – Alien Skin & Sandra Naxx
Written by Patrick Mulwana (Alien Skin)
Produced by Profete & GZ BeatZ 

#4. Nepanka – Sandra Naxx
Written by Patrick Mulwana & Sandra “Naxx” Nakato
Produced by Profete & GZ BeatZ

#5. Life Is Better – Levixone
Written by Sam Lucas Lubyogo (Levixone)
Co-produced by Brian Beats & Levixone

#6. Ngenderera – Willar Stary ft. Kataleya & Kandle
Written by Willar Stary, Kataleya & Kandle
Produced by Artin Pro
Music video directed by Simon SPK (SPK Films)

#7. Soloboka (Misolo Boka) – Mad King ft. Nandor Love
Produced by Maxmise
Mastered by Herbert Skillz

#8. Owe’she – Ray G
Written by Muhairwe Reagan (Ray G)
Produced by Instramento

#9. Zari – Jose Chameleone
Written by Joseph “Chameleone” Mayanja
Produced by Ian Pro

#10. Hidden Agendas – Bebe Cool
Written by Kagoda George Bush (Bushington)
Produced by Ekpe Promise & Moses Ssali (Bebe Cool)

Bonus Tracks (5)

#11. Mbawe – Eddy Kenzo
Written by Edirisah Kenzo Musuuza
Produced by Sweet Vybz
Video directed by Edrine Paul (Future Trends Print)

#12. Daily Menu – Winnie Wa Mummy & King Saha
Written by Sebunya Alfa (Mudra) and Ssemanda Mansoor (King Saha)
Produced by Nessim Pan Production & King Saha

#13. Owaaye – Chosen Becky & Aaronx
Written by Aaron Mukwaya and Lubwama Simon.
Produced by Lubega Jacob

#14. Nyoko Wo – Mudra D Viral & Nyoko Wo Live

#15. Yankozesa – Gunna UG
Written by Ntuuyo Ivan
Produced by MAXIMISE.

Left out of the main list are Ugandan songs that have been out for over two months but are still topping charts, titles like Wrong Places by Joshua Baraka, Good Idea by Dax Vibez and Elijah Kitaka, For Better for Worse by McSan Mr FineLines, and Mpeke by Unknown and Aroma.

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During our on-ground research into the top 10 songs hitting in Uganda, we uncovered an intriguing trend: emerging music artists, previously unknown to the author, are topping the Ugandan music charts. This observation highlighted the need to fully understand the dynamics behind hit songs in Uganda. Here’s what we’ve…

One notable pattern is the rise of one-hit wonders, whose breakout tracks often even cross borders. Examples include Party After Party by Big Trill, Tumbiza Sound by Eezy, Kachumbali by Quex Music, Wipolo by Pastor George Okudi, and Embooko by Master Blaster. Despite releasing music before and after these hits, these artists rarely replicate their initial success.

Disclaimer: While this is a case study, there are other artists in Uganda, like Jose Chameleone, David Lutalo, Eddy Kenzo, and Bobi Wine, whose careers, spanning over a decade, are defined by numerous and even bigger hits.

The second category includes artists whose subsequently released songs enjoy short-lived success, typically fading within 2-3 years. Even with improvements in their craft and consistent new music releases, these artists struggle to recapture the spotlight they once held. No mentions, lol.

The third category are artists who only get attention under specific individuals or entities, often referred to as “music gatekeepers” (whatever that term implies). When these artists part ways with their mentors, often producers or management, their ability to produce hits often diminishes, despite efforts to refine their style. A renowned name in this context is Jeff Kiwa, whose management has consistently propelled artists to success, only for them to gradually drop off the radar once they leave his camp.

Artists whose careers Jeff Kiwa has helped shape include Radio & Weasel, Sheebah Karungi, Grenade Official, and, most recently, Ava Peace, who is dominating the charts since signing with his TNS management.

Anywho, here are the top 10 songs in Uganda now, as of May 2025 by Nymy Net

#1. Wanula Remix Rmx by Ava Peace and Temperature Touch
Produced at Sound Fall Studio by Temperature Touch & CK on Da Beat

#2. TikTok Life by King Saha
Produced at Bless Touch Records Inc. Studio by Bass Boi

#3 Nkulowozaako by Eddy Kenzo
Written by Allan Kasujja

#3. GO by Karole Kasita
Produced by Andre on The Beat

#4. Ekyange by Elijah Kitaka
Produced by Banga Boi at Swangz Avenue.
Written by Elijah Nsubuga (Elijah Kitaka), Fred Buwule Kanyike and Ssekajja Marrick (Banga Boi).

#5. Kaba by Kapeke
Produced by Trapex Boomi

#6. Not Your Enemy by Bobi Wine, Nubian Li & King Saha
Produced by Paddyman at Audio1 Records studio

#7. Nyam Nyam by Fik Fameica & Vinka
Produced by Trapex Boomi & Artin

#8. Wrong Places by Joshua Baraka
Produced by Johnathon Mensah.
Written by Joshua Baraka.

#9. Oli Mwesigwa by Ntaate
Produced by Josh Wonder

#10. Buguda by Recho Rey & VIP Jemo
Produced by Sekret

Bonus Tracks
#11. Kindekere by Lydia Jazmine
#11. Ebigambo by Bruno K & Kabuye Ssemboga
#12. My Life by John Blaq & Mozelo Kidz
#14. Ensi Yaffe by King Saha
#15. Tovawo by Chris Evans

This chart covers music tracks and videos not older than 2 months; however, chart-topping music videos released later, such as Ekyange by Elijah Kitaka, are an exception. Tracks such as Che Che, Lukusuuta, Tabu, Dawa, Kinawolovu, Eden, and Sirubala are not included in this playlist despite remaining fan favourites. Read – Top 10 Songs in Uganda Now Ugandan Hits March 2025.

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