Many have approached me, some out of sheer curiosity and others in the
quest for information, regarding the events surrounding the song
Nyumbani.
Well, I must confess right away, that the song soared way beyond every
measure of my expectations! But like they say, the best ideas are
nursed in the least expected of places. One evening at Muswangali -
off Salama Road at Mayanja stage - everything was going on according
to routine! As was our norm then, we were having a fun evening with
the boys, partying, drinking, and smoking, when Jeff Kiwa came up with
the idea that I do a song with his boys - Radio and Weasel. The two
were already my longtime friends, a friendship that stretched way back
to Wilson Street and music gigs. Jeff said, “Viboyo katukuweyo collabo
kubanga ekintu kino okiruddemu”. In agreement with Jeff, Radio said,
“enkya yitira e Nyanama tuwandiike”, marking the beginning of what was
to become a typical “and one thing led to another” affair.
The following day, as planned, we embarked on writing the song, and
Radio suggested that we were not going to pursue the predictable 'girl
I love you' banter. He wanted us to pursue a love song with a sense of
freshness, so he came up with the concept of a man waiting for his
Woman at home. He created a simple hook that I didn't even feel then.
Weasel Programmed the demo track on Fruity loops and we recorded a
demo. A copy was then given to me to go and finish writing my part
overnight.
The following day we took it to the Big Chef Benon Mugumbya and
re-voiced our verses. I remember the late telling me 'mwana obugambo
bwo nga buwoomu'.
Benon did his thing but Benon being Benon, you could hardly tell
whether or not he liked the song. When Jeff Kiwa entered the studio -
which was in the garage then, his excitement was evident! He suggested
that we get Azizz to play the guitar in it and in a few days, we had
our song. Like I’ve already said, my mind and focus were on my other
unrecorded song. We gave the song to a few people in the music circles
and went back to chasing our hustles. Months passed and we didn't even
mention it.
One night, Benon and Vampos had a performance either in Gulu or Lira
(my memory of that is faint), but I was home (sleeping) when a text
came in from Benon with the news that the song was huge in Northern
Uganda. Those who have met Benon know that when he is out and tipsy,
he is fun. He complimented the text with a call, and sounding really
excited, he said, “Mwana Viboyo Kano akayimba ka tabbu nyo eno, bwoba
tolina sente ngenda kuwa okola video”.
A few weeks later, Jeff and I talked about the video and he asked me
for my part of the payment for the video. Well, if you’ve ever heard
about “as poor as a Church Mouse”, I was one, literally, but I offered
him my CD Printer which I was using at sound room at a rate of 700k.
We then embarked on shooting the video in Kawempe, but Badi had his
issues then, and we had no trace of him for four months after the
video shoot. Without his knowledge, Jeff and I tracked him down in
Kawempe, and I vividly remember the look on his face when he saw us.
He had not started on the video, and the content was still on tapes,
exactly why we insisted that we wouldn’t leave without the video. So
basically, the video you see today was edited and rendered in a few
hours, and so much footage was left out.
Raymond, a producer at NTV kept his word. He had previously told me on
several occasions that if I ever made the video, he would make sure
people got fed up with watching it. In his own words, he said, “Kola
video nze njinyiye abantu” and as soon as I had a copy, he was the
first person I took it to. And like they say, the rest is history!
NYUMBANI became a timeless classic!
A household item!
A Purple rain of sorts!
23 авг 2024
