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I do not have to be vulgar to put my point across – Navio

Navio

What you need to know:

  • Daniel Kigozi, better known to fans by his Hip Hop name, Navio, has been around for 20 years and the last year, according to him has been by far his busiest in music.
  • It was also in the same year that he met his icon Nas. He tells us about that and a little sumn’about the future of Hip Hop and Ugandan music in general.

You look a bit worn out, what has been draining your energy?

I think it is from the schedule. Last year was a challenging year. In a normal year, I would do five to six significant milestones but it came close to 20 last year, which is weird because I did not actually drop many hits as far as being a musician is concerned. However, I still found myself occupied with everything that comes along with the music industry.


What has been on your plate the last 12 months?


We came out of the deal with UBL and thereafter started planning the 20 years of Navio Concert and the Grammy induction.
We got an invitation from the Grammies to represent East Africa for the 50 years of Hip Hop, alongside Nas and rappers from all over the planet.
We had a Hennessy deal, were taken to Basketball Africa League (BAL), the BAL NBA affiliate on the African continent. We were taken there to host the finale party and I was a spectator to all the games alongside President Kagame and a host of Hollywood talent.

We did the Navio X TV show which was based on tourism going all around Uganda and finding out about the cultures and at the end of every episode, we did songs so we ended up compiling those songs and made an album.
Later in the year, we were invited to the Jay- Z Museum in Brooklyn New York.They changed the library to kind of honour his work. Then we did a double release of Utajua Hujui. We also did the Motiv Music School where we were passing on knowledge to upcoming talent.


How do you land these opportunities?


Earlier in my career, I was competitive and knew I had this niche. Most people would call it a crutch, though not necessarily for me. I was doing Hip Hop which was appreciated in the mid-90s and early 2000s in Uganda until reggae, dancehall and our kidandali took over.

But I think there is still a customer base for my kind of Hip hop, that is why we had 8,000 people turn up for 20 years of Navio. That was a testament that I have built a brand over time.

It is clear you are intentional about your positioning and equity to tap into the local, regional and international platforms... Of course, Uganda has blessed me with a really good background in performing; I get on the Enkuunka stage, and you are the only one rapping in English, then we have Kenya next door, they are a big English market and then we have Tanzania next door which is a big Hip Hop market. So, I take feedback every time one of my songs go there.
Fans think I am dope. In South Africa, I used to be a battle legend and then in Nigeria, the respect goes without saying. I can stroll into any TV station or radio station in Nigeria and get heard and interviewed, and many people do not have that power from here. It was just me putting my best foot forward.
The lyrics and albums I send out need to make the most impact.

I crafted my style around Nas and Jay- Z, where sometimes you do not necessarily have a hit but when you pull out the Watch the Throne album with Kanye and Jay-Z, there are not so many hits on that but the effect that it has on the market.
Hip Hop is poetry, it is true, so when someone connects with me, they really know me. Many of my fans are able to converse with me when we have never met each other because they know the things that I like.

At the Njogereza concert, some fans were 60-year-olds. I have 16-year-old boys that come to the show, 21-year-old girls, 30-year-old corporates and then 40-year-old management guys. It is a real blessing to have that scope and I think Hip hop is one of the few genres that is able to move through that many age brackets and that is why I have been able to survive and be dominant in East Africa.

You were in New York and shared space with Nas, someone you look up to. What does this mean for you at this point in your career?


Sharing a space with Nas was amazing. You always look for professionals in the industry, and sometimes you look at your flaws and you are like ‘I wish I could be like this guy’. So, to see Nas minutes away from me rapping and doing his thing and then learning that he is a human being was legendary, larger than life. For me, these guys were Little GOATS, so, to see him on stage was just amazing and the fact that we were celebrating Hip Hop and I had been invited and cherry-picked to represent East Africa alongside the host of amazing talent from all over the world was even more amazing.

He is a legend but a human being and messes up his lyrics at times. He has to wheel-up just like us. So, he gave me another battery in my bag to just keep representing my side. We do not have the population to rival Nigeria or the US but I do have my talent and so I just stick to that.

Mr and Mrs Kigozi. Navio says he makes time for family everyday.


In what frame of mind do you write your music?


A sober one because from a young age, you have less inhibitions and so I feel like it comes out of me naturally. I see many people in the studio who take whisky and marijuana to loosen up.
I think for rappers sometimes, it is a bit different. There is a quarter of intelligence that we have to fulfill; the bars, the metaphors, the similes, the quickness, the wittiness. Some of us have that when we are sober, so you need go in with your mind in a sober state in order to convey that to the people that you are talking to.

Some people fear the crowd and I get it as well but I feel like it just keeps me sharp. I do not want to feel relaxed when I have 100,000 Baganda at Enkuunka with the Kabaka himself looking at me. I do not want to loosen up much; I might end up saying something that I do not mean.


What tickles your musical nerve when it comes to your culture?


I come from two hard cultures. We are Baganda, so when people say that they are going to the village, for me it is Najjanankumbi. We really grew up in this city in Rubaga and when I say walking distance, I can see the Kabaka’s parliament is right below a matooke leaf at home.
So, that kind of illustrates how deep that culture is for me. Of course, also my father was a revolutionary, outside the country during the civil war. I was born in Nairobi, schooled in Nairobi for 11 years, and in South Africa for six years.

I lost a lot in terms of the language and the understanding of the language in terms of traditions and respect and all that. But still at home, my culture came first, my dad was literally one of the Kabaka’s men in the olden days.
That has always been an important part of what we are about. Then you have me as a guy growing up in school where Hip Hop is outspoken. You have got to keep it real; you got to keep it 100.

It started as a revolutionary thing; I was a revolutionary rapper, and my first mix tape was called Revolutionary Mindset. So, I could not run from that so much but I understood that in Uganda, there are more crowds that I could catch if I was going to do commercial.

You speak about music that is contemplative, poetic and deep. In light of the music that has been criticised for being vulgar, what is your message on that trend?

I think longevity is important and, in this world, I am yet to find a vulgar artiste who has broken that six to seven-year period because they get used to you saying something vulgar.
So, you build up fans for the vulgarity, and by the time you have children and you want to say something real, they are looking at you for being vulgar.

Then other people are decent human beings who do not want their children to listen to vulgar stuff even if they enjoyed it. They even start thinking, ‘What was I listening to, this is terrible stuff.”
It can be quite aggressive like some people say, degrading to women, especially dancehall but Hip Hop as well is guilty of it. So, there are always two sides; we are structured to a certain degree but also crave our freestyle.

I was known for battle freestyles. When you are battling someone, the freestyle is from the top of the head and you are explaining what the person looks like, things about them that might not be flattering or nice. I did that because South Africa used to have battles that really paid a good amount. It was the time of 8 Mile with Eminem. It came to me and I was able to do it and I think it was another test of my skills.

Those are the only shows that I could do better. So, I did that but I feel like consistently degrading yourself or women or people, eventually catches up with you. By the time you find yourself arguing with the Katikkiro for not being invited to the biggest show in Uganda, you have to sit down and think to yourself what your choices are and stuff like that. I can still be aggressive but I have to be respectful as a man. If you turn the sword to the sharp side, it works both ways.


Who is your favourite Ugandan artiste, and why?


What a tricky question! I would say MC Afrik, Lyrical G was a big one for me and then D&D and even DJs such as DJ Berry, Afrigo Band who are pretty up there. Then I have got the rappers of these days; Big Trill, The Mith, Flex D’ Paper and Lukas Blacc. These are the guys I find myself listening to quite a bit.


When you are not in studio, and not on stage, what keeps you busy?


I would not say I am a workaholic but I would say I try and so much as I can. Of course, we have Zuri Model Farm. I also just got into real estate and it is 100 percent occupancy, which is very rare in the first few years to have that. And a little bit of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) like Ju-jitsu, boxing, and gym. I try and stay a little bit liberal.

When does the family have you?

All the time. My wife is from the Kobe Clan, and you can never miss a day at home. I am home every single day. December was actually the first time I did not perform for New Year’s in 20 years. I made a conscious decision to be with my family, so I spent the holiday with them.


Which is your favourite hangout, and why?


Jacaranda. It is close by and it represents Rubaga. It has a swimming pool and you can hear the beats from my verandah. It is the Rubaga vibe.


What is on your wish list?


It is funny, when you become a father all you wish for is your child to excel in this cruel world. You try to give them as many tools as you can without having to put them under pressure.
Another is for a Ugandan rapper to win a Grammy. I think Eddie Kenzo and myself have kicked the door open as far as Grammys are concerned and so people can make their way through the door.
People are so dependent on this market. We need to start travelling like jumping on a bus and going to Nairobi. I would love to see a truly Ugandan African star. I want to see someone who is smashing every where.

We have got people such as Joshua Baraka who has got the potential because his music has set a standard that we all understand in Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa. Kohen Jaycee as well. It is artistes such as these – the new kids on the block such as Lukas Blacc – who have different genres that I would like to see pushed throughout Africa.