I once went hungry on Christmas Day

A while back, he was in the news for the wrong reason, openly attacking and beating up a radio presenter but that is an incident that singer Eddy Kenzo regrets. He has since mended fences with Isaac Katende, alias Kasuku.

But where did Kenzo’s journey to fame start, you may ask, because almost out of nowhere Kenzo was on stage, thrilling crowds with his energetic performances that he progressively matched with hit songs that kept brightening his star.

Back in 2008, his current acclaim and fortune; the fact that international rappers and moguls such as P-Diddy now throw praises for his efforts, was all but a distant dream. Looking back, the Sitya Loss star came from a lowly and tough life which he has had to work very hard to soften.

“I struggled for many years. I have gone hungry on Christmas Day and on Eid Day; days on which people should ideally feast and make merry. Those are some of the days I can mention because I would feel my soul broken but I have gone hungry so many times,” he recounts, adding that through all these tough days as a street boy, he tried to remain humble and respectful.

Humble origins
To understand Kenzo’s struggles, you have to appreciate his background. The singer comes from a humble family. “I do not know much about my family but what my father told me is that my grandfather came from Rwanda. He was born in Rwanda and came and settled in Masaka at a tender age. My father joined the army in Tanzania and later on the army in Uganda in which he spent many years. I have photos of him in the Ugandan army. He struggled a lot,” Kenzo recalls.

When his father retired from the army he still needed a source of livelihood so he offered security services as an askari at private homes in Masaka and later on in Kampala. Along the way his father met with his mother and gave birth to him.

“Unfortunately, my mother passed on when I was young. I must have been four years old. I do not have a clear recollection of her face. I was born of a couple who struggled to survive let alone fend for their children and relatives,” the artiste says.

Both his mother and father bought plots of land in Kalisizo, Rakai District but the plots remained empty because neither of them could afford to put up a shelter. Kenzo and one of his siblings lived with their father in the makeshift shelter that served as his house at the different homes where he worked as an askari.

“We would cover ourselves with his trench coat because we did not have a blanket. At some point we (my elder brother and I) felt we needed to start fending for ourselves so we went to Masaka Town to find menial jobs on the streets. We earned a meagre amount from picking plastic bottles or scrap and selling them. At night we would retire to a street corner and sleep,” the Sitya Loss star recounts.

Childhood hustle
He adds, “When I saved some money, I began selling water in kaveera, spoonfuls of groundnuts and biscuits. After a while, I moved on to work at construction sites as a porter before joining the transport industry as a taxi conductor.”

While vending milk in Masaka, one of my employers asked me why I had not gone to school and I told him I had dropped out of school due to lack of funds,” he recollects.

“Nathan Katamba who worked for Uganda Revenue Authority asked me if I had studied at all and I lied to him that I had studied up to P.3. The truth is that I had not studied at all. He found me a place in school but after a year, he got problems.
He lost a case in court and I was kicked out of Kazo Model Primary School in Masaka. I was back on the street to hustle. That is when another friend approached me and sold me the idea of coming to Kampala.”

“I did many jobs before I was even 15 years. I left Masaka for Kampala in 2000. I had a friend who was a footballer. He found me playing in Masaka, after a friendly match with an under-12 team. He told me that my chances of making it as a footballer in Masaka were slim. He urged me to come to Kampala,” Kenzo recalls.

At first, the young Musuuza had his reservations but later on he weighed his options and realised Kampala could offer him more. Without money for transport, he sat on the bench-like metallic surface behind the taxi driver’s seat, locally known akameeme.

Coming to Kampala
He started a new chapter of life in Katwe, a Kampala suburb, at a garage owned by one Lumbuye where he was given a job in a welding workshop.

“I was still young and the work seemed too much for me. I could not handle it because the light from the welding used to hurt my eyes. I then went to Nakivubo stadium where I was a ball boy as well as a service boy, selling sodas and vending food. I would sell Tyson Waragi sachets.

Kenzo then discovered the footballer in him but he did not join the game full throttle. He started by helping out on the pitch as a ball boy who would chase after stray balls. He then moved on to picking and cleaning up stadiums such as Nakivubo especially after big music shows like Ekiggunda Ky’omwaka, which is organised by Radio Simba and Ekitoobero by Central Broadcasting Service (CBS).

Little did he know that one day, he would not be picking bottles and rubbish after a show but he would be one of the main performers at such fetes.

“It is from there that I went to Villa Park in Nsambya,” the music star narrates. Kenzo got into SC Villa by chance. He befriended the footballers and managers and during training sessions, which he would join in as they warmed up. They realised he did not just kick the ball but had some skill too. He was about 13 years old when he was taken on, for the under-14 team.

Stint in football
“I started training with the under-14 team on probation and was later on confirmed to play with the team. I was so happy. Some of my contemporaries were Jajja Walu (Walusimbi, who is on the national team), Okwir, Bengo, Mugabi, Baba Kizito, among others who are currently on the national team,” he recalls.

There, he was enrolled into the under-14 team where he played for close to two years. “Villa then got me a placement at Lubiri High School on merit of being a footballer.

Back at school, at Lubiri, while in a candidate class, Senior Four (S.4), Kenzo was asked to produce his Primary Leaving Exams slip but he did not have it. That is the year sciences became compulsory too. He says English and Sciences were not easy subjects for him because he had not got the basics in primary school. He was good at fine art though.

“Without a slip, I was discontinued from school at Lubiri, so football could no longer support me. I sat back and thought hard and decided to do music since I already had talent.

Beginning of a music career
I started singing at Karaoke sessions in 2006. In 2007, I released my first song titled Jangu Tuteese. I followed this up with I Love You More in 2008 and I shot a video for it. Towards the end of 2008, I did a music collaboration with Mickie Wine, titled Wanimba,” Kenzo says. Wanimba became a hit and introduced him to music lovers in Uganda.

He says that with this talent, he kept on composing songs derived from his or others’ life experiences. Kenzo says he has not forgotten his roots and has advice for those who came from humble beginnings or are still hustling for a breakthrough in life.

Kenzo the star
Kenzo has achieved musical success thanks to his hard work. A number of songs have earned him fame, notable among many, Stamina and Sitya Loss, which has not only got Ugandans dancing and singing along but has attracted international attention.

He recently appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a top American talk-variety show hosted by American comedian and actress Ellen DeGeneres. More good things seem to be coming Kenzo’s way. He was a nominee at this year’s Channel O Awards for Most Gifted East African category. He has also just returned from an African and American tour.

Some of his latest projects include musical collaborations with US-based Nigerian singer Teddy-A. He has also teamed up with Serge Beynaud from Ivory Coast in a new video.

Like Canadian rapper Drake puts it in his song “Started from the bottom”, “If you know what you want in life, you can achieve it.”

Family
Kenzo says is a happy person and this is because life has been harsh and now that he lives a fairly better life, he opts to live a satisfying life. He is a father of one, Mirembe Musuuza.

“She is a loving daughter and a happy girl. I always try to spend time with her. Sometimes I spend two months without seeing her. She is the proof that God is love. I separated with her mother but we are friends,” he adds. When asked about fellow singer, Rema Namakula who is rumoured to be his lover, he offers no comment but a cheeky smile.

“Ghetto life is hard and you have to do so many things but sometimes, these are the things that prepare you. But most of all, believe in God, work hard and then chase your dream. You need to find a way of using your means to find an education. If I had gone to school, I would probably be someone else,” he concludes.

Eddy Kenzo’s journey

Date of birth : April 9, 1989
Place of Birth: Masaka
First job: Selling drinking water in polyethene bags
Primary School: Kazo Primary School but did not complete primary education.
Secondary education: Lubiri Secondary School but dropped out before sitting for his Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE)exams
Joined SC Villa: 2002
Released first song: 2007
Music albums:
Stamina (2010)
Ogenda Kunzisa (2012)
Kamunguluze (2013)
Sitya Loss (2014)
Fame: The song Sitya Loss is Eddy Kenzo’s most popular song to date, and a video of Ugandan boys dancing to the song went viral when it was released in May this year.