On September 2, rapper Daniel Kigozi Lubwama aka Navio will celebrate 20 years in music. Considered as one of the pioneers of hip hop in Uganda, ERNEST JJINGO talked to him about this journey.
How did all this start, Navio?
This whole journey started from Lubaga as a 10-year-old back from school whose father had passed away and was looking for a way to refocus my view of the world and find an outlet for my emotions. I think I picked interest in music because it was always blasted in my face by my mother who is a big fan for both local and international music but also my father was a big lover for theatre, acting and drama and my brother was also playing a lot of hard-core hip hop.
At just 10 years old, I came up with my own hip hop song and when my mother heard me rapping it, she took me to Bava studios in Lungujja which was run by Hope Mukasa. I rapped for him; he was impressed and called in one on his interns who was Steve Jean, now of Fenon Events.
He produced the song and put it on a cassette tape. However, I had to first leave everything behind for about six years and go to school in Kenya. When I came back for holidays, I linked up with a friend I had studied with in Kenya, but was now studying in Hillside High School Wankulukuku.
We linked up and went to DV8 club where we would do rap battles. It is from there that we formed the rap group Klear Kut in 2001.
How would you summarize your 20 years in the game?
It starts from Klear Kut getting that first song out All I Wanna Know with Juliana Kanyomozi and releasing two albums Mind, Body and Soul and K Cubed. But we had made a promise to our parents to finish school and that created a big gap in the group. I went to South Africa for university but in between the holidays I had dropped Rakus with Peter Miles which was a big hit.
When I finished university and came home, I released songs like Bugumu, Salon and Ngalo. I have done six albums namely Half the Legend, African Hustler Music, Pride, The Chosen, Strength in Numbers and the current one Vibes Out The East and a mix tape, Revolutionary Mindset.
I think I am the only Ugandan artiste who has had 44 songs play on MTV. I have so far done eight concerts and this is going to be my ninth and I am really looking forward to showing what I have learned, my pitfalls and what the over 60 awards I have won have meant to me.
What have been your biggest achievements?
Getting two Kora Awards nominations with Klear Kut in 2002, winning five Pearl of Africa Music awards, touring Africa with Percussion Discussion under Afrigo band’s Herman Ssewanyana, performing on two Big Brother Africa finales first with Peter Miles in 2008 and then just myself alongside African heavyweights like Naeto C, DBanj and Sarkodie in 2012.
Others are being the only rapper to do Coke Studio Africa two years in a row, the One 8 project I worked on with R Kelly and collaborations with American RnB star Keith Sweat and Burna Boy.
What is the secret of your longevity?
Determination. The determination to want to develop my brand and go by my own rules. I am a guy who loves to party, hip hop and ragga-reggae so; I don’t limit myself. I have stayed versatile and that has enabled me create a lasting brand.
You have somehow managed to keep yourself out of controversies….
Yeah, but it is not without effort. Sometimes I see an issue a celebrity is going through and think that I would be in the same situation but I think the only difference between me and a lot of artistes who get into altercations is timing, because you can find someone on a bad day and they can go from your favourite celebrity to a monster.
But it is always important for people to remember that we are also human. When you get experience in this industry, you can always see the chaos coming from miles away and be able to dodge it.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Not earning royalties from our music. We put out so much good work and the media outlets are playing it for free but there is nowhere else in the world that is being done. It is only here that they feel like artistes are not worth it, and we have to change that mindset.
What keeps you going?
My family. For any other reason I think I would have stopped by now but I see my kids and how much they believe and encourage me to put my best foot forward to represent and make them proud, and that has been a huge motivator. But also my fans who keep showing me their love and respect, and it becomes hard to just walk away
How would you rate the hip hop genre in Uganda?
There is a huge support base for Hip Hop. It was huge during the days I started out and the fans haven’t gone anywhere. Maybe some might have gone corporate and quiet but that doesn’t mean they are not relevant. That is why we can still have successful rap concerts by artistes like myself, Fik Fameica, Feffe Bussi, Gravity Omutujju…
Which other rappers have been instrumental in Uganda’s hip hop?
I would say Lyrical G, Sylvester and Abramz, Babaluku, GNL Zamba, Urban Life, Mun G and of course Klear Kut and Navio. But also the new kids on the block like Fik Fameica and Feffe Bussi cannot be overlooked.
Are you part of the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF)?
Yes I am. This federation is a good way of putting our problems forward, but I think some people think it is some group where you can go and vent out your personal feelings from. But it is about business and putting the issues affecting us out there for possible solutions.
UNMF talks to government and even though some people want to make it a political issue, it isn’t one. Music law must follow government laws; the only thing missing in the copyright law is that it doesn’t handle the digital sphere and that is something we are watching out for.
Over the years, people have described your music as ‘too urban’; what do you think of that narrative?
That narrative is a bit short-sighted because some of the biggest radio and TV stations in Uganda play urban music. I know there will always be music for that percentage of the population which isn’t urban, but there will also be music like hip hop, which can be for 50 per cent of the population. So, I am not servicing a market that is not existent but one that is huge and has buying power.
Some people have tried to twist the narrative and make it seem like I am not Ugandan enough… I am so rooted in being a Ugandan and a Muganda, and when someone makes it seem like I am an outsider, I am like, ‘’before I, Lubwama, put Ugandan rap and urban music on BBC and CNN, we were nowhere.’’
Do you have a favourite song of yours?
No, I leave that for the people. Though right now on my Vibes Out The East album, there is a song called Sunset Drift and my sons have fallen so much in love with it. They have now made me a mini addict to my own song and it is the first time it has ever happened.
Why did you change the venue for the concert from Arena mall to Sheraton gardens?
The main reason was space. I had no idea that Sheraton gardens are actually bigger than even Lugogo Cricket Oval and it has a good and safe VIP element to it. But also due to the ongoing road construction works around Nsambya, there was going to be a lot of traffic disruptions; so, we saw it fit to change the location.
Gravity Omutujju is having a concert on the same day…
We are all welcome to the beat and I think we shall do well. I want to see it go down and it will be a spectacle to see. I don’t have a problem with healthy competition. There are so many people in Uganda and I believe both of us will get their own share.
Yes, there have been a few attacks to me from that artiste, which to me are below the belt and don’t affect me. For me to respond to an attack from someone, there has to be something I respect about their craft. Some people drive their whole brand around drama but to me it is just too
exhausting.
What should fans expect?
We haven’t had a Hip Hop artiste who is considered the biggest in East Africa come on stage and perform songs of which almost each of them has received at least one or more awards. Almost every song that I am going to perform is an award-winning song. The collaborations are also going to be heavy; there is going to be a lot of interaction on stage and lots of new acts showcasing their talents.
On the same day, I will be launching my book about doing business in a dynamic economy like this. The book is taken from my experiences in this industry.
How many countries have you performed in over the last 20 years?
I have performed in about 37 countries and it has been a big blessing to see the world and get all of that experience and appreciation from different cultures. I have actually just wrapped up my USA tour where I performed in cities like Atlanta and Boston.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
I feel like maybe I would have tried to go more international. Looking back at everything which has happened, it might have been a good idea to try and see what more I could have done outside Uganda. I should have gone out there and stayed for like a year but I have always wanted the respect at home more. But if I had a chance of doing it all over, I would try to be big both here and elsewhere.
How did the name Navio come about?
I used to play basketball at school and would always win in the dunks which made the French kids call me Avion (pronounced as Avio), which means airplane because I would fly in air with the ball; the Ugandans there turned it to Navio and it just stuck as my nickname. Mitch Egwang, who used to host the rap battles at DV8, made it my stage name.
One day as he was going to introduce me on stage, he asked for my name and I told him Daniel Lubwama which he refused and said he needed a rap name. I told him I had a nickname of Navio; so, he called me on stage using it and I started using it as well as my stage name.
jjingoernest1@gmail.com
Source: The Observer
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