African Music in General

     The musics of Africa have evolved since the pre-colonial period when music still assumed its present day function of edutainment. Then, the music was not visited with genres from the rest of the world though distinct societies cross-influenced their music similar to today’s cross-influences in global musics to which African Popular Music belongs. Inter-National relations through commerce (including slave trade , cross-border trade), missionary work, colonization, migration and post-independence circumstances have seen the emergence of further diversities in the musical genres of Africa locally and in the Diaspora.

 This section pays attention to these genres of African Popular Music with a historical and synchronic bias. The genres are performed and recorded in certain modes, with distinct instruments, have specific functions and entail particular performance and extra-performance environments.

 Like hip hop in America the bongo community is stratified into clique families that support clique members in their performances.

 One such clique is the East Coast comprising of Oten, AY, Crazy GK and Mwana FA. Another is the West Coast that is made up of Professor J, Solo Phang and Afande Sele. These cliques have however spared Tanzania of the hip-hop clashes that saw blood spill in the American hip-hop community.

 The live performance of bongo flavor employs a background track (instrumental) sometimes with a pre-recorded chorus or in some cases not. A sound system is used with lighting and deejays play the background tracks. These deejays act as sound engineers and stage directors of the performances. The performances take place at gazetted places, which are party zones. These places are Diamond Jubilee, Coco Beach and clubs like Carlifornia Dreamer and Bilicanas (Bills). The artists are normally clothed in hip hop gear(sneakers, T-shirts, Jeans, Caps) a typical hip hop dimension.

 In terms of its journey to East Africa and the globe, bongo flavor is already a constant in sessions of every dance club in Uganda. The media covers it profusely. Sanyu f.m. Radio in Uganda for example contains a segment called East Africa’s Finest (4-5 P.M. week days) hosted by presenter Big Ben where bongo flavors best is featured alongside music from Kenya and Uganda. One previous edition of the US hip-hop magazine ‘The Source’ covered this genre. The now folded PHAT magazine devoted a lot of coverage to this genre. From Tanzania the effort is deliberate, promote your own beyond our market. East Africa Radio and Television are bound by this philosophy. As the bongo revolution exceeds lets listen to the bongo.

 From its modest beginnings bongo quickly traversed the country before penetrating the East Africa region. The communitarian approach to life in Tanzania as a result of Julius Nyerere (first president after independence)’s ujaama policy (African socialism) assisted the development of bongo. The mass consumption nationally was in direct line with ‘in support of our own policy’. This means that the music had a persistent demand that boosted production.

 Today, key outlets that distribute this genre are record stores like GMC and F.M. studios. The main medium of recording is still the audiotapes, which is affordable and makes mass consumption possible. There is equally a heavy rotational presence of this genre in the media. Local f.m. radio stations (for instance Clouds f.m., East Africa Radio, Radio One and Uhuru f.m) devote their play list quotas to the presentation of bongo records. Television stations like East Africa Television and Newspapers: Rahakamili and Nipashe render this genre extensive coverage. Programs focusing on bongo include Bongo explosion on East Africa radio 8-10 p.m. hosted by presenter Jay Dee on Radio One 104.2 f.m. Abubaker Saadique hosts the DJ show from 2-4 p.m. every weekday. These media sections promote the music to the audience at home and to East Africa .It also inspires the old and new artists to produce more new music.

 The industry has reached a steady production phase and in Dar e Salaam the period between releases of bongo single records is within days. The cost of recording is relatively affordable considering the possible returns from a project release with mass consumption. A single would cost about 90US dollars. An album with 10 songs would cost 900US dollars. Each tape of that album would cost 2US dollars and a successful project would sell about 20,000 copies. This is good business for any artist in this industry.

The economy of Tanzania is to Africa’s standards progressive. The minimum wage for an average civil servant is 100US dollars per month. The cost of renting a house is about 30US dollars per month for the relatively good housing .A decent shirt costs about 2US dollars. These do factor well into the consumption habits of bongo fans that do have some disposable income to buy records and attend to performances.

 The infrastructure that supports the bongo record industry consists of record labels like Bongo Records manned by producer P Funk, POA Records, MJ Records manned by producers Master J and Professor Ludigo, and F.M. Studios. These sometimes finance the production and distribution of the music. They frequently release singles, albums and compilations showcasing their wealth of talent. Several producers grace the stage of bongo production. P Funk, Master J, Professor Ludigo and Mika Mwamba are some of the most prominent contributors to the genre. A typical bongo record release is promoted through posters, banners, video releases and of course on Television and on Radio.

 Like hip hop in America the bongo community is stratified into clique families that support clique members in their performances. One such clique is the East Coast comprising of Oten, AY, Crazy GK and Mwana FA. Another is the West Coast that is made up of Professor J, Solo Phang and Afande Sele. These cliques have however spared Tanzania of the hip-hop clashes that saw blood spill in the American hip-hop community.

 The live performance of bongo flavor employs a background track (instrumental) sometimes with a pre-recorded chorus or in some cases not. A sound system is used with lighting and deejays play the background tracks. These deejays act as sound engineers and stage directors of the performances. The performances take place at gazetted places, which are party zones. These places are Diamond Jubilee, Coco Beach and clubs like Carlifornia Dreamer and Bilicanas (Bills). The artists are normally clothed in hip hop gear (sneakers, T-shirts, Jeans, Caps) a typical hip hop dimension.

 In terms of its journey to East Africa and the globe, bongo flavor is already a constant in sessions of every dance club in Uganda. The media covers it profusely. Sanyu  Radio in Uganda, for example, contains a segment called East Africa’s Finest (4-5 P.M. week days) hosted by presenter Big Ben where bongo flavors best is featured alongside music from Kenya and Uganda. One previous edition of the US hip-hop magazine ‘The Source’ covered this genre. The now folded PHAT magazine devoted a lot of coverage to this genre. From Tanzania the effort is deliberate, promote your own beyond our market. East Africa Radio and Television are bound by this philosophy. As the bongo revolution exceeds lets listen to the bongo.

 In each cultural system, there is a generation that spurns the music. In most cases the youth formulate the future musical direction. Disco, Rock, Jazz, Reggae and Rap were all offshoots of a youth culture. The pattern is that the youth borrow a strand of what they have listened to and mingle it with new elements and make it their own. As this generation grows older, these art forms not only get their own category of oldies but also start giving way for new forms created by their offspring. The new generation evolves its style from their neighborhoods, party zones, dress codes, language, and other consumption modes adopted.

 In South Africa, the urban black youth formed Kwaito in the early 90s. It arose out of a blend of diverse contemporary musical influences incorporating sounds from the previous local generation styles like Mabanqa and bubble gum house. The multi cultural layer of South Africa offered Rap, Soul, Jazz, Reggae, Disco and Soca from abroad. South African clubs and the media played these and today record stores still sell this music. Kwaito’s pioneers like Joe Nina, Oscar ‘Warona’Mdlongwa,Arthur Mafokate ,Christos Katsatis and Mdu Masilela took to the popularity of house music and modeled it to suit local tastes.

 Most of these producers were initially club deejays who studied the preferences of their local crowd and actually started chanting over house instrumentals that were decreased in tempo. In clubs such as Gemini in Pretoria and Razzmatazz and The Base in Hillbrow (Johannesburg), deejays fostered a remix project with influences like Stock and Aitken, Frankie knuckles, David Morales and lately Roger Sanchez. This intertextuality especially of percussion combined with African lyrics inspired interest in the revelers. Sooner than later, Kwaito which means ‘its hot’ in Afrikaans was HOT.There was the linguistic hybridity of English, Zulu, Sesotho and the perennially modified iscantho (slang).

 There also existed local house music that competed for attention with foreign house music. These artists drew from this in their brewery. Sidney, Chicco, Brenda, Pat Shange, Senyaka, Dr.Victor, Chaka Chaka, Danny Kamazu were influential in this scenario. As the youth movement progressed Kwaito names became synonymous with South African music.

 Arthur Mafokate (aka Mr. Vuvuzela was particularly idolized as the King of Kwaito with a Midas touch). Groups like Jununu (of the serontabule fame), Aba Shante, Boom Shaka, Bongo Maffin, New School, TK Zee and Trompies were all of a sudden with successful recording careers. Surprisingly Kwaito, in spite of criticism from the older generation, realized massive sales unheard of before in the short time of its initiation.

 The initiators of Kwaito at first only aimed at creatively pleasing their audiences. There was no deliberate creation of Kwaito as a genre. Producers had a different picture of what they were trying to do. Some called it disco fusion, others d’gong and some Guz. It evolved like many global styles. In fact Kwaito was also used in reference to Ghetto music and AmaKwaito as gangsters from the ghetto. This brought and ugly side to the music. Sex, Drugs and Alcohol found residence in the lyrical component of kwaito songs.

 The media predictably developed this art form with regular coverage. BOP radio and TV, Metro, Y-fm and M-Net’s Channel O promoted the music. Channel O enhanced the evolution of Kwaito globally. In spite of the success of this genre, record labels that were run by whites before 1994 initially frowned upon it.

 The producers went on to establish their own independent labels. Arthur started Triple 9 records, Christos did Wicked Sound, Mdu started Mdu Music. Don Laka of the Trompies fame started Kalawa. These were distributors of the genre. With time Sony, BMG and EMI joined the arena.

 Kwaito’s basic structure is mid tempo house beats, a vibrating bass line, a recognizable hook or chant with animation (exclamation), occasional samples of popular records, pop videos with skimpily dressed ladies and fast cars, bars and crowded streets. High-energy performances are the routine as Kwaito stars work the crowds.

 The themes vary but revolve around relationships, party and the boast. The lyrics are usually minimal and easily catchy for the audience. Kwaito has a dance formation called ‘Kwaito’ in which the dancer leaps and occasional kicks forward like a footballer in one place. All these form the aesthetic of Kwaito and for now it is still THAT HOT THING.

 The West of Africa was one of the key points of departure for the Slaves from Africa taken to work in the Americas from as early as the 1400s. With them went African cultural practices that gave rise to diasporic genres like Jazz and Rap in the 20th century. The present day Senegal forms this enclave from where they departed Goree Island in particular docked the ships that transported them. Today there is a museum located here and behind they left the foundation for one of the most globally recognized musical forms to emanate from Africa Mbalax. Its first superstar was Youssou N’dour (born 1959) and his bands Etoile Dakar and its predecessor Star Band de Dakar. Other notables have been Baba Maal, Ismael Lo, Kine Lam and Orchestra Baobab (2003 BBC Radio 3 World Music Award winners).

 A fusion of Cuban, Spanish and Congolese rumba with lyrics in the Wolof language, Mbalax sprouted in the 1970s as a distinct sound structured on the oral history telling tradition of the griots. The griots have been the indigenous source of entertainment since the pre-colonial. As markers of Oral social history their genealogy is often extended to include Afro American rappers in America. In this concoction were Arabic/Islamic influences (today over 90% of Senegalese are Muslims) similar to those in the East African Taraab music. Senegal was part of the Mali, Jolof and Ghana empires that were visited with Islam through the ancient trans-Saharan trade.

 Mbalax turned out as a hypnotic rhythmic style modeled on the traditional djabadong rhythm from rural Senegal. In African music the rhythm is close to the dance and in many cases leans on to specific instruments. Featuring a dense vocal and guitar presence laid over drums, it forms a woven sonic myriad within socially conscious lyrics .Its proponents have structured it into a futuristic mosaic whose audio and visual performance marvels any audience that experiences it. Instruments used in this art form are mainly percussive with polyrhythmic embellishments. Producers who have driven this music include N’dour and his contemporary Papa Dieng. N’dour maintains an ultra modern recording studio in Dakar.

 Primarily the ‘Tamas’ a talking drum held and played under the player’s armpits features. It is supported by the ‘Sabars’, large bass drums that form the background to the music and finally the hand played ‘Djembe drums’ made up of a layer of goatskin.

 In some instances a ‘modern drum kit’ (complete with snares), ‘Kora’s’ (a local instrument), ‘Conga’s’, ‘Balaforns’ (wooden), ‘timbales’ and ‘horns’ grace its performance. On stage, appropriate lighting and costumes (wrappers or agbada) may be used with a dance ventilator choreographed to it.

Call and response punctuate the performance. The language used is predominantly Wolof, which is the largest ethnic group in Senegal.

 However not all of the artists come from this group. Baba Maal for instance is Fulani, whereas Toure Kunda are Sonike.To gain wide currency the singers use Wolof. The Dakar scene has a blossoming night life that has also supported this genre as a popular art form. Miami nightclub in the 70s was crucial as is N’dour’s Thiosane and Kilimanjaro.

 Historical beyond its label as a Slave port, Senegal witnessed the first settlement of the French at St Lois in 1695. This became the headquarters of an ambitious assimilation endeavor from Paris making incursions into the West African hinterland. Bearing in mind the French emphasis on cultural development the musics had to be taken seriously.

 Senegal was also a Mecca of Afro centric philosophy in the 50’s, 60s and 70s through the activities of independence leader Leopold Sedar Senghor. Recently president Abdoulaye Wade’s involvement in NEPAD [New Partnership For Africa Development] places Senegal at the center of African issues. Amidst post-colonial disillusionment in Africa, cultural revival was one of the avenues of hope to over dependent new nations.

 Senghor’s negritude stance advocated for the indigenous in culture. This supported the growth of the local industry and maintained the ‘support of our own policy’. The political and economic stability that followed also facilitated the growth of the music. Magnanimity has always guided Senegal’s politics.

 Interestingly Mbalax is dominant, but not all that Senegal has to offer. Other genres include Afro reggae (with artists like Toure Kunda) and Tassou (Sene French rap with artists like Positive Black Soul and the France-based MC Solaar).

 The growing Mbalax scene saw interest from record labels with a desire to market these musicians who were slowly making an entry into the world music fray. Mango, Stern, Celluloid (France) and Columbia were some of the labels that signed Mbalax artists usually for foreign distribution. This support from companies with financial muscles to boost careers of these artists was effective. N’dour has become a global name.

 Mbalax has also benefited from collaborations with the globe. N’dour’s 1998 world cup theme song with Axel Red (from Belgium) was a career smash as was his initial work with Paul Simon in 1986 on the Afro rhythmic Graceland CD, his 1994 collaboration with Neneh Cherry ‘seven seconds’ sold 2 million copies world wide and got a Grammy award nomination in the world music section. N’dour also worked with a select cast of Africa’s shining musical stars Papa Wemba, Jabu Khanyile, Lagbaja and Lourdes Van Dunem on the Red Cross/Crescent Project ‘Woza Africa’ (So why Africa) generated more global interest in N’dour and his henchmen.

 Baba Maal’s collaboration with Culture (born Joseph Hill from Jamaica) are incidents spurning the evolution of a globally recognized genre Mbalax. Mbalax is resiliently part of what has become regarded as World Music as its artists from part of the core of this category.

 In defining East African contemporary music two significant elements protrude. Bongo flavors from Tanzania and the Ogopa sound from Kenya. In this discussion I choose to deal with the later. Ogopa is the Swahili word for something that is frightening usually premised on the incredibility of its experience.

 Ogopa in the context of East African popular music is a production house-turned record label formed in 1999. Within its circle are producer Lucas Bideko and associates Francis and Banda. They are responsible for the production of monster classics as Jose Chameleon’s ‘mama mia’ and the 2002 Kora nominated single ‘wassei (gitu rai)’ from Mr. Googz and Vinnie Banton. Ogopa is primarily a production house and record label but also became perceived as a fused musical genre from urban Kenya.

 Though it was easy to identify the entry of the Ogopa sound from their ‘Golden gate’ headquarters in Nairobi into the East African popular music scenario, their visual presence was elusive and only became synonymous with that of the artists that they produced .In Uganda for instance many people felt the song ‘Julie’ by Red San was sang by Ogopa mistaking the production camp for the artists who recorded with the camp.

 Their anonymity was purposeful as they intended to build the Ogopa brand name as opposed to individuals and this at the expense of some of their artists involved releasing these songs as their (Ogopa) own product (kind of like Quincy Jones’ release of the single ‘I’ll be good to you’ featuring Ray Charles and Chaka Khan and retaining the credit.)

 The attempt to conceal their individual identities leaving the sound to communicate saw them utilize the nom de guerre 'Ogopa' as an umbrella title which so happened to evolve as one that audiences would easily memorize instead of the crowd of artists that their stable provided. This led to the departure of a number of artists who had been part of the stable as publicity control was amiss for them.

 Ogopa focused their production style on creating a homogenous sound for their diverse artists. One would mentally visualize the Ogopa team as a band or orchestra with different lead singers gracing the moment of recording and performance. This was further reinforced by the CD (Compact Disc) compilations that the Ogopa camp regularly released. These were statements that confirmed to many that this was one homogenous unit. This standardization is what Theodore Ardorno and his Frankfurt school team critique in the popular music industry. The fact that each particular pop record is actually the same and only differentiated in parts that support the overall standardization project.

 Their popularity was precisely hinged on the energetic sound emerging from their camp from the late 90s.Modelled on the production team formula like Full Force, Gamble and Huff or C ‘n’ C music factory Ogopa deejays made their entry into the hit making industry with production of singles for artists like Uganda’s Jose Chameleon (whose biggest hit to date ‘mama mia’ was harnessed from this camp.) and Kenya’s ‘Nameless’ whose ‘nina noki’ still remains a club classic all over East Africa.

 Their success arose from their Afro Caribbean focus with hip-hop, kwaito (and its sonic ancestor house) and Afro soca overtones, which was popular because it was materials for the clubs. Actually Ogopa hardly made any ballads. In East Africa contrary to the situation in Western countries where the radio and Television stations first deliver hits, the hits begin from the clubs and make it on to radio. Ogopa churned their hits with this in mind. Some classic works from the Ogopa hit factory included:

· E – Sir’s ‘Nimefika’ album
· Red San’s ‘Season’s of the San’ album
· Nameless’s singles ‘Nina noki and Mannerless’ and proceeding work on the ‘On Fire’ album.
· Bebe Cool’s ‘Fitina’ album
· Chameleon’s singles ‘Mama mia’ and ‘Bageya’
· Amani’s ‘Tahidi’
· Mr. Googz and Vinnie Banton’s ‘Wassei(Gitu rai)’  and ‘Say yeah’
· Sylvia Kyansuti’s ‘Votto’

 In its wake the sound was a novelty as it appeared to be purely East African and many artists from out of Kenya but in the East African region trekked to do recordings with the Ogopa camp. With time it became apparent that the repetitive production dynamics took its toll as not only did artists get exhausted but many production sectors duplicated this sound. At times it was hard for an artist to rely on the production of a whole album from the Ogopa camp. Their strengths thence became in the production of compilations where they spurned hit after hit from various artists.

 Ogopa deejays are actually men from the discotheque as soundman Lucas Bideko was and still is a professional disc jockey who brought his wealth of deejay production to the camp.

 The Ogopa sound is based on a conspicuous bass line punctuated by digital horns and drum fills with keyboard interpolations reproduced from computer audio software. Recycled kicks and snares are regular on their audio menu.

 There is a lot of sampling employed in the process from familiar songs and the use of hooks that grace the popularity of their hits. A typical production process from them employs a computer keyboard (off and on). They either use the artist’s demo to work the music or the artists submit the rhythm of their songs to which Ogopa restructures and fine tunes. The similarity of their production for various artists served as a distinctive measure to protect their unit. Artistic individuality of the artists then got submerged

 The Ogopa concept also advanced the newly found digital production of popular music in East Africa as this team of producers creatively relied heavily on software and samples from digital sources. Jose Chameleon’s tenure at the Ogopa stable was a tutorial in the production trends that he initiated in Uganda after leaving the stable in 2002 at his Leon Island recording studio. The unorthodox way of running their business perhaps offers an idea as to why they are actually not easy to locate. The artists who work with them claim that you only find them through another artist who has worked with them. The chain then continues.

 Critics of the Ogopa sound reiterated that the digital instrumentation they incorporated into their production lacked the production finesse of pre-Ogopa unplugged studio sessions as was common with the Sync sound label, Them Mushrooms, Samawati and Next level studios. Ogopa, they claim, is solely limited by the sonic resources utilized (copyrighted audio samples). However these critics still do acknowledge the market-oriented approach of the Ogopa production camp was significant in their success because they made what people loved to listen/dance to. Artists who have recorded with him placed the average cost of recording with Ogopa at 200 US Dollars for a single. Artists who flocked the Ogopa ‘shrine’ were ‘blessed’ with hits.

 The appeal of the Ogopa sound (lyrically and the overall sound) was largely restricted to the under twenty-five age demographic simply because the beat tradition caught the club attendance bracket. This frustrated the commercial significance of the records they sold that were mainly club and radio rotations because this group hardly earns to spend on records. The copyright fragility in East Africa also saw massive duplication of records produced from the Ogopa camp.

 Ogopa’s wave and its reliance on the dot com/shareware highway was crucial to understanding the Generation X model pronounced by post modernism and further interrogate the notions of popular music as a site for the manifestation of rebellion. The lyrics of the artists from the Ogopa camp mirrors youthful encounters with their world and the world outside their own a little different from issues manifested by the older artists in Kenya.

 The Ogopa artists deal with relationships and the economy in a fashion understood by their teenage audience with the lingo and vocal stylization coupled with beats that glues them to the sound. Sheng, which is a hybridized pool of different Kenyan languages with Swahili as central, is utilized by these artists and marks a whole sub culture enhanced out of the mainstream by these musicians. Their gear, the bi lingual nature of their lyrics are a milestone in conceptualizing the global society that teenage Kenya is.

 Whereas the pre-1990s production processes relied on lengthy and cumbersome processes of music production, this was reversed with the advancements in technology that the youth in Kenya and the whole wide world whose popular culture is the internet have appropriated in the case of Ogopa (a rebellion against the modes of production that many were slow to abandon). A survey of mail by post would reveal a down turn as a result of the Internet.

 While critics continue their criticism of this trend, Ogopa is actually setting the framework for what will become the golden oldies of the post 2010 era. Ogopa’s audience is set to become the next generation of working class that is likely to dominate the purchase of music. The rebellion manifested in Ogopa was also against the economic order which relegated young up and coming musicians to spectators rather that performers because they could not afford and which had become a preserve of older musicians. In fact for the case of Red San, Bebe Cool and Chameleon they hardly got any record deals in Kenya because it was difficult and yet they believed they had skills to penetrate the market. Ogopa and digital technology was there to assist.

 This technological appropriation has turned bedrooms into multi track recording studios that young musicians have used to rule the music charts along side their elderly (in most cases classically trained) contemporaries .In fact to older musicians, the Ogopa sound is not only forceful, it threatens the very existence of musicians who rely on live studio performances. These produce hits in three months whereas Ogopa (with the aid of computers) does a hit each week.

To be honest the bare imagination of popular music from the North of Africa perforating dance floors all through Africa and globally was hard to construct in the immediate past. North Africa well to perception in the global village served as a resilient source of professional football players, undeservedly thought of as a haven of Islamic fundamentalism, visualized as an enclave of the harsh desert climate and a region fluctuating between allegiances to the Arab world (Arab League) and the incidental belonging to Africa (African Union and its predecessor Organization of African Unity). These points of reference are all not exhaustive in availing a crystal definition of North African life.

 In Algeria, a country that borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north and a former French colony, sounds emerge with a tapestried identity founded in the cultural fabric of pre-historic on to present day Algeria. The music genre dubbed ‘Rai’ which is a marker of local and diasporic Algerian identity has endured and survived reincarnation in decades of social dynamism to become one of the most popular forms of North African popular musics. From the arid nation of Algeria, the genre conjures the linguistic and historical composite that Algeria is and offers a coherent and adherent diversity to the high table of world music.

 As a traditional (early) form of folk music in Algeria, ’Rai’ served as an expressive entertainment where ‘Meddahas’ (beautiful women) sung at different social functions with or sometimes without pay. Their captivating narratives bore endearing audiences to their performances. The Islamic context of Algerian society created a polarization of male and female ‘Rai’ performers who had clear gender distinctions in the audiences they addressed. ‘Rai’ a blend of improvisation with variation of rhythm and harmony has always had its proponents gracing public social functions like weddings and circumcision ceremony. In some cases performers made their mark in bar (public) performances.

 ‘Rai’ began in the early twentieth century as an offspring of traditional Arabic poetry and Bedouin folk music (from the west of Algeria amongst the Bedouin Arabs). Whereas ‘Rai’ (which is Arabic for truth, frank, candid or at least opinion) was a youthful musical uprising with artists identity as young ‘Cheb’ (for males) and ‘Chaba’ for female, the earlier music and poetry from which it drew its tradition had older artists referred to as ‘Cheiks’ (for male) and ‘Meddahas’ (for female) and the youthful identity of the ‘chebs’ and ‘chabas’ signified a break from the older generation. One of the first such older generation artists Cheik Remitti was a household name in the 1930s.In 1960s Bellemou Messaud who played the sax and trumpet started experimental fusion preparing the ground for ‘Rai’. In the 1970s, Ahmad Baba Rachid spearheaded the move to pop Rai.

 The Rai musicians assumed lead performance roles and in concordance with Fiske’s anti-establishment notion of the popular ‘Rai’ generated themes critical of the social establishment particularly religion and the older generation. The expression of opinion was integral as the artists voiced opinion of ‘young Algerians repulsive of conservativism’. Rai in the public sphere with simplistic lyrics spoke and still speaks of love and celebration of life, which was a shift from preceding tradition where these were private. The vocalization was reminiscent of the vocal patterns of Muezzins and Berrahs (criers).

 The ‘Rai’ artists also broke away from the exclusive use of traditional instruments to incorporate and appropriate foreign instruments. ‘Rai’ had instruments like the violin (strings) and accordion (keys) added to the traditional. ‘Rai’ was malleable and neo-liberal in acceptance of foreign influences. French, Moroccan and Spanish linguistic, melodic , rhythmic and instrumental influences became apparent due to the geo-historical position Algeria was situated in. ‘Rai’ had its genesis in coastal areas like Oran (also the setting of Albert Camus’ metaphysical novel ‘the plague’) where it was possible to realize foreign influences.

Digital sound properties revamped the music as the ‘rebellious’ artists sought global recognition for their art form (the commercialization was also an act of rebellion against the economic predicament that Algeria posed for the youthful artists). Drum machines ,Samplers and Synthesizers replaced or were combined with the ‘lyre’ , ‘harp’ , ‘horns’ , ‘flutes’ , ‘pipes’ and percussion of traditional Arabic music. The production moved to state of the art recording studios with local and foreign producers shaping the direction of the music. This hybridization propelled ‘Rai’ into a genre of commercial significance.

 The live performance of ‘Rai’ is a wondrous event where the audience and performer become entwined like climbing plants. The occasion is filled with social commentary but also entertaining through gesticulation and dance (‘Rai’ songs are extremely danceable).

 Whereas the performer leads in the delivery of the song, the audience responds to the calls of the performer time and again making it a two-way street performance. The performers restructure the songs to the modes of engagement with the audience. The audience claps, applauds, and sings along as the performer obliges to calls of encore or creates extensions of the songs.

 In the proceeding years, ‘Rai’ grew into a social phenomenon with celebrity status for many of its stars: Cheb Fadela, Cheb Mami, Cheb Sahraouj, Cheb Hasni and Cheb Khaleed (who has actually made ‘Rai’ attain a cross over status.) were mainstream artists out selling preceding genres. The marketing of ‘Rai’ saw gross cassette sales and the interest of record labels with a titanic interest in the music. Labels like ‘Stern’ in England and ‘Barclay’ in France have further optimized its commercial value.

 Algeria is one of a few African countries where the copyright law is observed (Article 54 of the Algerian constitution protects the rights of creative authors). This protects the artistic rights of the musicians performing and recording ‘Rai’. However the establishment is also wary of the lyrical content of the music in a predominantly Islamic country.

The ministry of information and culture regulates the cultural zone in Algeria and many times censors the music. The Islamic party is also crucial in the effort to repudiate the genre as it considers it an axis of evil.

Several ‘Rai’ artists are endangered by the status quo.(Cheb Hasni was murdered in 1994) and their solace has been migrating to foreign countries where they are safer and also have the environment to cross over to global markets.

In spite of Joseph Conrad’s representation in Heart Of Darkness, Congo has been a historically spectacular place in Africa. Congo was one of Belgian colonies in the 19th century. It also was one of the leading zones of African independence struggle with activists like Patrice Lumumba. 

 Congo is one of Africa’s largest countries and its river basin has an estimated capacity of providing the whole of Africa with hydro electric power. Congo also had one of Africa’s longest serving dictators until the late 90s,Mobutu Sse Sse Seko. In the aftermath of his demise, warring factions pillaged the East of the country. At a point in time it had a total of five other African countries involved in its internal dilemma. Mineral ‘hunters’ also had immense interest in the endowment of Congo. Congo apparently has one of the largest mineral deposits on planet earth. Congo was also the first African country to establish a mobile phone network. A deep-forested area with hardly any road network, Congo mainly relies on airports in various parts of the country.

 Of great importance however was her contribution to African Popular Music. Kariuki (2003) has earmarked the vitality of African popular Music. Congolese music has had remarkable influence all over Africa since the 1940s and 50s.As a result of cross border interaction the music of Congo spilled over to the rest of Africa in large amounts. The industry at home was graced with a favorable Belgian (Colonial master) policy towards the arts, perhaps as a way of keeping the populace from autonomous ambitions. Radio stations and recording studios arrived before independence making it easy for foreign music (especially Latino music) on stations to shape the evolution of the local music.

 Radio Belge Congo (Belgian Congo) offered a regular diet of Caribbean and Latino music. This mediation of Popular culture led to the fusion of traditional with foreign musics in the music of Congo. In addition recording studios functioned as production factories for the records. Soukouss began this way. Franco, Joseph ‘Grand Kalle’ Kabaselle and Tabuley opened its chapter. Before them was an amalgam of local traditions in a hybrid language ‘lingala’ employing local instruments like the ‘sanza/likembe’. Guitars (lead, rhythm and bass) were conspicuous. The congas were entwined in its structure as well. These provided a fantastic background for the vocals and the accompanying lyrics.

 As a musical genre from Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo which became Zaire and went back to its original name in the 90s) it flourished in the Congolese music industry that was influenced by music from Cuba (rumba) and to some extent highlife from West Africa (Ghana and Sierra Leone) at the beginning of the last century.

 Soukouss is made up of a two (or sometimes three) part structure of a slow introduction that modulates into a tight and ecstatic final called the ‘sebene’. This part is meant for the climax, which is in consensus with the dance accompanying the song. Instruments used in creating soukouss include: horns, congas, rhythm/lead/bass guitars, brass and woodwind sections and the drums. The vocal section of the song has multiple players and could be arranged to have a call and response. There is the animation later as the ‘sebene’ unfolds which is exclamation from the vocalist. The vocalists are either baritone or falsetto singing individuals.

 Nightclubs like Franco’s un deux trios’ (one, two, three) nightclub offered space for the music to grow in the public sphere. The live band culture of entertainment in Kinshasa brought sustained life to the new music. Many musicians from Africa moved to Congo because of the thriving scene. Cameroon’s Manu Dibango and Angola’s Sam Mangwana found themselves collaborating with many of Congo’s top stars. Congo’s economy was fairly stable and logically allowed for careers to reap financially.

 In spite of Congo’s current woes, Congo under Mobutu had political stability until the war to topple him began in the late 90s. This stability helped the subsistence of creativity. As long as the artists did not criticize the establishment a career was tenable. There was also the principle of authenticity advocated for by Mobutu. The local component was emphasized in the music.

 The performance is not only an energetic affair but also a fashion show. The performers dress to kill. Latest hairstyles and clothing are compulsory for the average Congolese band. Female dancers gyrate to the rhythms and melodies of the song as the performance evolves. Through the decades Soukouss has maintained the live band formula. The instrumentalists frequently become part of the performance as they dance or take part in animations.

 The stage act is extremely dramatic and lends fulfillment to the performance (note: the music is always composed with the performance in mind). Because of the communitarian structure of African Performance, various vocalists sing different parts of the set and even in the band formation there is always diversity.

 This crowded performance justifies the presence of the big band ‘orchestra’ that the performers work with. Grand Kalle for instance had African jazz Band with the likes of Tabu Ley and Dr. Nico ; Franco maintained TP (Tout Puissant) OK Jazz band and in the 90s Koffi Olomide fostered Quartier Latin.

 Other orchestras were Les Bantouse de la capitale, Kimale, Lipua Lipua and later Tabu Ley’s Afrisa International. Pioneers like Franco often saw their music category as African Jazz. Jazz in America had worked the big band circuit, which was incorporated by their Congolese musical descendants. In the late 70s, new Soukouss forms like Kanda Bongo man’s Techno Soukouss, Kwasa Kwasa (in the 80s), Zaiko , Mutuashi and Ndombolo (in the 90s became prominent.)

 Belgium and France later became the recording metropolis for many of these musicians who aspired for global standards, though Tabu Ley recorded in America. Today concert booking of a Congolese outfit is done through Paris or Brussels. Record labels from France such as Celluloid got involved and gave the music an international push. The crowded Congolese industry also served as a standardization avenue in which bands like Loketo, Soukouss Stars and Choc Stars in the 80s and 90s modeled the industry. Icons emerged from the Congolese music industry. Artists like Diblo Dibala have gained global rankings as first class guitar virtuosos.

 It was difficult to predict the longevity of Soukouss, as it seemed to be a fad. However it has traversed decades and manifested itself through out Africa. In East Africa there was an influx of Congolese musicians who based in Kenya as a result of the tourist concentration that offered good business for these bands. Super Mazembe and lately Bilenge Musica were some of these.

 Benga in Kenya and Swahili band music in Tanzania were grossly influenced by Soukouss. In West Africa Manu Dibango carried his Soukouss influence to diversify his Makossa sound. In spite of its transformation, the ‘sebene’ has particularly been constant, old stars have gone and new stars have come. Global art forms threaten the displacement of Soukouss. More Congolese artists are taking up hip hop and r&b: for instance, Lorenzo ‘Kaysha’ Raphael of the ‘world wide chico’ fame and the gospel group Makoma. Papa Wemba, one of Soukouss’ luminaries, has explored with rappers on his recent albums. These are new trends; but the organic structure of Soukouss, which had a good foundation, is likely to remain in spite of these.

There are two popular music genres that preceded the present proliferation of music genres in the Ugandan popular music sound scope. One was ‘band’ music: propounded by groups like the Cranes Band, its offshoots were Afrigo Band; Rwenzori Band, Big Five Band; Simba Ngoma Band et al. 

 Band music was modeled on the big band jazz traditions that acoustically blended ‘Soukouss’, ‘Rumba’, ‘Reggae’ and other afro Caribbean plus latino stylistic patterns. Band music became a formation for the polyrhythmic structure of a contingent popular genre in Uganda. Today different artists (even solo performers) categorize their music as Band simply because they combine different styles (stylistic fusion). The second enduring genre was ‘Kadongo Kamu’, which forms the subject of this article.

 The seminal Kadongo Kamu has held a special place in Uganda’s multi-ethnic composition in a sense that though it is a music type associated with Buganda (a kingdom within Uganda), its popularity spread to other regions of Uganda partly because of the metropolitan situation that embraced Buganda right from the colonial period. The Kingdom of Buganda (to consolidate territorial and socio-political and economic power within its neighbours) was post-1840s one of the first to actually invite missionaries and welcome explorers who drew the line of achievement for the colonial project.

 As a result Buganda became a center for further intrusion into other regions thus graduating later into a metropolis. With Buganda hosting the British headquarters of administration and religious activity it became some sort of urban complex (so it was perceived by the other regions and to a large extent was more developed). The first hospitals, educational institutions, entertainment centers were situated in Kampala, which was the capital city of Buganda and also became the capital city of Uganda after independence in 1962.

 To the other regions, whatever came from Kampala was urban and a reflection of the latest fashion that was accorded much attention. This as a background saw the rising popularity of Kadongo Kamu soar after it had cemented its sound in Buganda. ‘Luganda’, the language of the Baganda (who hail from Buganda), was employed by the Kadongo Kamu musicians and for many reasons (the main of which is the same concept of urbanity) it became a language of exchange in various parts of Uganda. Indeed the Government of Uganda only stopped short of pronouncing it as a national language for the sake of national unity.

 Kadongo Kamu has its origins in the first half of the twentieth century. ‘Ekitiibwa kya Buganda’, the national anthem of this powerful Buganda Kingdom located in central Uganda, was peculiarly an A side Kadongo Kamu record adopted by the Kingdom because of its thematic and narrative significance to the kingdom. The song by veteran musician and sports administrator Polycarp Kakooza (R.I.P.) was one of the historic moments of the music. Other key players at the time included Luyimba Zaake, who later became a leading educationist in Uganda.

 In tracing the origins of Kadongo Kamu, Nanyonga (2000) attributes its origins to first of all the geo-political region Buganda and hints on the lucid interplay of a medley of factors. Such factors as cross-border movements between Uganda and Congo and also between Uganda and Kenya earmark especially the East Africa railways as a link in between the different musical regions that supplied a part of the cultural context of Kadongo Kamu’s origins. Other factors listed as colonialism and the development of radio broadcasting in Uganda in the 1950s. In addition, her assessment of Kadongo Kamu is premised on the hybridity of elements in its mosaic: assertions that are indeed valid.

 Kadongo Kamu in complete conceptual interpretation implies a varied scope of things. The ‘ndongo’ from ‘kadongo’ (which refers to ‘that ndongo’) is suggestive of a performance/entertainment spectacle such as a concert, disco or a gig. It further connotes an instrument (which then becomes central to this entertainment spectacle). However, the ‘ndongo’ as an instrument became interchangeably used to refer to the lyre, the tube fiddle and later the rhythm and bass guitars. Kamu on the other hand suggests ‘one’. In its beginnings, the music had a rudimentary instrumental section that complemented the extensive narration that was prioritized. This sparsity of instrumentation, sometimes with only one instrument explains the label ‘Kadongo Kamu’.

 Kadongo Kamu’s instrumental framework later became greatly influenced by the growing ‘Afro Jazz’ (Big Band/Orchestral) movements in the 50s and 60s as Grand kalle and Franco from Congo Kinshasa (now called Democratic republic of Congo) spurned it. The saxophone and the lead guitar in particular were introduced as part of the wind and string sections respectively which reaffirmed ‘Kadongo Kamu’s target audience (the mature age group of past age 30). In ensuing years the generic nomenclature ‘Kadongo Kamu’ was threatened with the further introduction of other instruments that made it more interesting to listen to. Keyboards, Western drum kits made the rudimentary instrumental structure a mirage of the genre’s previous character. The digital revolution in Uganda post 1990 served modifications to the instrumental composition of Kadongo Kamu, which is revisited later.

 Vocally stood out the singer who had solo parts consisting of verses that were eventually responded to by either choruses that sang or responded at several points of the song to phrases from the singer. The vocal style became known as ‘Ngono’ and whether male or female there was clarity of pitch, intonation and chord progressions vocally which complemented the equally dexterous instrumental sections. The voice would sound like a complainant or someone moaning. This actually drew many more audiences who heard this as an appeal and they paid attention to what these distinct voices had to state.

 Buganda, the geographical origins of ‘Kadongo kamu’ as previously acknowledged supplied the ‘bakisimba’ rhythm (a percussive tradition) that formed the acoustic basis of Kadongo kamu. Because ‘Bakisimba’ was both a dance and a rhythm that surrounded the music the groove that is a vital component of African popular music influenced the popularity of Kadongo kamu.

 The social context permitted infinite thematic variations that followed the edutainment ethic. Through lengthy narratives (the initial Kadongo kamu songs were between thirteen and seventeen minutes long) on issues such as gender, politics, economics and other social issues spiced with anecdotes most of the songs emerged with a moral that became food for thought for the audiences that attended these concerts or bought cassettes of this music. Further lyrical and instrumental embellishments overwhelmed audiences.

 With pre-independence developments such as missionary activity, formal education, radio broadcasting, the looming commercial opportunities, the East African railways and the prevalence of night spots that included White Nile and Suzanna, artists who sang Kadongo kamu were inspired to forward this genre by taking it to professional levels. Artists who had a great impact on the scene include Christopher Sebadukka (R.I.P.) and Elly Wamala. Wamala particularly attributes religious choral training as crucial to all his past works. The clubs patronized the colonial settlers with bands performing a repertoire of foreign music to satisfy revelers who were initially foreigners and could afford a night out. Fred Masagazi one leading ‘Kadongo Kamu artist actually notes that they had to wear suits and performed mostly covers (other people’s songs). These covers had the creative thrust in modifying ‘Kadongo Kamu’

 The previously mentioned metropolitan stature that Buganda (particularly Kampala) assumed at the dawn of colonialism predetermined the foundation for the recording and performance culture that emerged. Radio Uganda, which was established by the British in Kampala to partly serve their service men and communicate to the masses too initially, broadcast to Buganda with its menu of foreign music (precisely because of their service men and also because there were hardly a bulk of recorded local songs). The transatlantic musical movements of the Beatles, Gerry and the Pace makers, the Bee Gees, Elvis Presley found residence on the play lists of Radio Uganda. The Spanish and African sonic influence in the Caribbean (in the case of Cuban music ‘Salsa and Calypso’) was also broadcast because they were part of a global musical movement at the time. The settlers so cherished these sounds.

 Radio Uganda then influenced what was stocked in retail shops and played in Nightclubs for local audiences. This then got assimilated into the music that was produced locally. The possibility of getting played by Radio Uganda drove many musicians to record more and ‘Kadongo kamu’ was truly their recognized ‘pop’ style and so this advanced the development of ‘Kadongo kamu’. Incidentally, the void of credible recording facilities because live performances were the obvious, encouraged local musicians to penetrate Kenya to record.

 Kenya to British East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya) had the same position as Buganda to Uganda. Nairobi the capital city had a large settler community that had brought expertise of music entrepreneurship and an audience in the form of professional recording studios, record labels and pressing plants.

 One such studio was Grant Charo’s Equator Sound studios where ‘Malaika’ (which later became a classic remake by Miriam Makeba from South Africa) was recorded with Fadhili Williams in the Equator Sound Band (this band also had one Ugandan Charles Ssonko who was a brother to the songstress Freda Ssonko).

 The most important aspect that Nairobi offered were a performance culture that brought large audiences to watch musicians who could then make a living. Many Ugandan musicians traveled to Nairobi and performed there and recorded. The performance venues of Kadongo kamu musicians oscillate around up country locations and urban theatres. In some cases Stadia have been used to accommodate the increasing audiences who are addicted to their favorite musicians.

 In spite of their popularity in urban places they still maintain a deep loyalty with up country audiences whom they attribute their successes to. Their performances are routine weekly engagements that occur with or without hits throughout the year. There is the existence of loose cooperatives of the musicians who stage joint shows at various venues. Kadongo kamu musicians share a rare solidarity and often fundraise for their fellow artists in times of calamity. They are also the only artists who can hold performances of their own outside their cooperatives because their performances contain a lot of variety.

 Kandongo kamu is also linked to the theatrical movements of the 60s, 70s and 80s.The dramatic quality of Kadongo kamu performances were similar to those of theatrical groups such as Byron Kawadwa, Omugave Ndugwa, Wassanyi Serukenya and later Jimmy Katumba and the Ebonies. Theatrical groups achieved a lot of effect on stage through the use of songs that complemented scenic development, thematic exposition as well as narrative enhancement. These groups composed and those in existence today still compose songs that are used in their plays. There had to be a definite or an allegorical story line in these songs and Kadongo kamu also borrowed a lot from these. Indeed the Kadongo kamu singers also turned to drama in their performances. They created scenes around their songs in which the message was acted out. Many theatrical groups today form theatrical ensembles that sustain singing careers in Kadongo kamu or in what they term as band music, whereas Kadongo kamu singers have expanded their bands into ensembles that dramatize as well as sing.

 The dramatic live performance of Kadongo kamu entails scenes that occur at various points of the live execution of the song. These scenes change from time to time from verse to verse, chorus to chorus and the mandatory instrumental solo is where the singers do the motions for the spectator audience. This mode of performance dictates that a solo singer is complemented with other singers who respond or engage in a dialogue with the lead singer. These dialogues are actually on stage discussions filled with social commentary .The setting of stage, costumes, props, motion and stage effects like lighting are manipulated in accordance with the message of the song.

 The 70s and 80s were hard times for Kadongo kamu musicians who like the rest of Uganda were faced with the rampant instability and lack of economic growth as a result. They did persist and still performed but to lackluster audiences. It is in the late 80s after the advent of the N.R.M. Government that some semblance of stability prevailed and fostered consistent artistic growth.

 In the late 80s and early 90s, the late Tony Sengo (formerly of Afrigo Band and later of Big Five and Badindaz Bands), Hope Mukasa (formerly of Mixed Talents and Philly Lutaaya’s Savannah Band) and Tim Kizito (formerly of the Ebonies Jimmy Katumba’s back up band) and Dungu were key players in the recording of Kadongo kamu singers in various studios in Kampala. Artists like Willy Mukabya, Paul Kafeero, Livingstone Kasozi, Fred Sebatta, Herman Basudde and Fred Sebaale were prominent. Interestingly Kadongo kamu still appealed to the rural and urban (but luganda speaking) audiences though it also traversed the rest of the country. For a while it was not considered mainstream until key developments occurred in the mid 90s.

 The liberalization of the electronic media in 1992 saw privately owned radio stations open. The first two, Sanyu and Capital that were English speaking rejected Kadongo kamu. In 1996 Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) owned by the Kingdom of Buganda with an indigenous format as part of the cultural policy of the kingdom of Buganda devoted airtime to the broadcast of Kadongo kamu songs and this was when it gained mainstream success. Radio Simba’s opened in 1998 with a similar format and also focused on local music and this was a good omen for the Kadongo kamu artists. The area that was lacking was in club play for Kadongo kamu to become a complete mainstream success.

 In 1997 and the years after, Disc Jockey Henry Rota of Rainbow sounds, a local digitized mobile disco, recognized the popularity of Kadongo kamu records primarily because of his up country gigs (where the revelers loved it) and retail sales at different outlets in Kampala and the rotation on CBS radio and Radio Simba. The instrumentation of Kadongo kamu records was not percussive enough to be blended with foreign records in the clubs that people would dance to. To achieve this effect, Rota remixed them by placing a layer of Jamaican B-side dub instrumentals like Santa Barbara and Official Rat. The records - for example Sebatta’s Obugenyi - were instant club ‘bangers’ (as hits are referred to in Uganda.)

 To the Kadongo kamu artists, this was impure. To counter this impurity, though they did not did not condemn Rota but instead went to studio and laced their songs with heavier instrumentation (for the clubs). They recruited ace producer Steve Jean and affiliates Ken Lubwama, Robert Segawa and Tim Kizito who in 1999 at the digital Kasiwukira studios transformed the Kadongo kamu beat into what became termed as contemporary Kadongo kamu. Underneath the ‘ngono’ vocalization and the lyrical web that Kadongo kamu unveiled was a fusion of Hip hop, Reggae, Soca beats with a touch of Soukouss with a remarkable string section intact. Other studios like Joe Tabula’s BK studios and Hemdee Kiwanuka’s NO-END studios were instrumental in this transformation. Kadongo kamu musicians were marveled by new technologies that relied on synthesis of sound versus the prior tiresome acoustic processes and embraced them full heartedly though many of their fans were initially critical of the sonic changes. The consistence in performance and lyrical traditions converted many of its critics. Today the artists still rely on the acoustic but complement it with the digital.

 This new sound caught on fast and even managed to garner youthful interest in a genre previously relegated to the older generation. Steve Jean cognizant of the radio phenomenon (Paramount to the success of the music) also reduced the length of the songs that he produced to between three minutes thirty seconds to four minutes thirty seconds which are essentially radio specifications for music to be introduced to play lists with commercials, station Ids and Talk time interspersed. This became a standard and currently Kadongo kamu records are very radio friendly. With this mainstreaming came a change in the presentation of the artists. The apparel and stage organization moved from the huts and Kanzu’s (traditional men wear) that was dominant to plush settings and suits for the musicians. Some musicians took up title such as Lord Fred Sebatta, Prince Paul Kafeero and Dr Fred Sebaale.

 The business side of the music is quite organised in most cases because Kadongo kamu musicians are more focused than other musicians of other genres. They are also the most enduring .For a performance the artists usually prefer organizing their own concerts because there is a lot of profit involved. However for a booking of one Kadongo kamu ensemble for a gig it would cost about one thousand five hundred dollars wherein they come with their equipment.

 The industry still suffers from a lack of record labels in place to take care of business. From the recording studio the artist makes a master tape. The artist then talks to an agent who is commissioned to market the music. This agent becomes a copyright buyer (so he retains the duplication copyright of the music. The artist retains the performance and re-recording copyright). Major agents in Uganda include Kasiwukira, Lusyn, KASE, and NIK studios. The agent normally pays the artist a sum of money exceeding the cost of recording that is agreeable to both of them. This grossly depends on the profile of the artist (based on past recordings). For instance Fred Sebatta would rake thousands of dollars (millions of shillings) whereas a relatively unknown artist would receive a couple of hundred dollars (thousands of shillings).

 Whereas it seems lack of prudence to release the copyright to these agents, the advantage is in working with them grants the artist access to nation wide network of agents. These agents have a network of retail agents who buy from them from all over the country who come to buy from them and these help popularize the music outside Kampala. The tape is duplicated into several thousands of tapes. Each tape at retail price will go for about one dollar.

 A cover (sleeve) is then designed and then the distribution is on to a radio station whose format must cater for audiences that the artists target. These stations are mainly CBS, Radio Simba, Super, Radio Uganda and Dembe FM. Full fledged Radio programs on Super 88.5 FM (the ‘Senga show’ Sunday afternoons); Radio Simba 97.3 FM (‘Kadongo classics Saturday’s 12:00-2:00 pm hosted by Ndawula Ali Wowooto) .The Agents in many cases advertise the music on radio stations, television stations and through the newspapers as well by getting journalists to write about the music. The music is then released and the artists continue their routine of performances. They also release large size posters advertising in advance the arrival in stores of the music. These strategies facilitate the massive distribution of the music and it is no surprise that Kadongo kamu musicians are some of the most successful.

 At the inaugural Pearl of African Music Awards 2003 that took place on The 4th October 2003 at Speke Resort Munyonyo, sounds from this genre resonated through Gerald Kiweewa’s ‘Gaali Ekozeeko’ that was a monster hit cycled by the commercial networks ascertained above. Other ‘Kadongo kamu’ classics through the years include: Christopher Sebadukka’s ‘Amazima’, ‘Nantondo’ ‘Obwavu’ and ‘Obufumbo’; Peterson Mutebi’s ‘Amata agatafa’ and ‘Kagutema’; Willy Mukabya’s ‘Kayanda’; Fred Sebatta’s ‘Sam wange’ and Paul Kafeero’s ‘Walumbe zaaya’.