Swahili Nation on the comeback trail

Swahili Nation, a popular East African music group whose songs ruled the playlists of nightclubs and radio stations in the 1990s and early 2000s, has said a comeback is in the pipeline.

Widely known for its smash hit Hakuna Matata (aka Mpenzi), is made up of the Kenyan Dru (formerly Andrew Muturi) and Ken Kayongo and Charlie ‘King’ Todwong (producer, writer and lead vocalist), both Ugandans. The group told Arts & Leisure that a number of unreleased songs will be added to a body of work that includes hits like Malaika, Nyama, Song for You, One Hundred, Swahili Nation, Loco, and Pole —a collaboration with Jose Chameleone. 

While the 1993 single Nasty Booty Backs was the group’s first release, it was Hakuna Matata—their second single released in 1997 off the album Back to the Motherland—that was critically acclaimed. 
“We have so many unreleased songs,” Dru said, adding, “We just need to get out of our busy schedules and put something out. One thing not to do is count Swahili Nation out.”

Genesis 
The group was started in the 1990s by Kenyan brothers Andrew Muturi and Robert Muturi and Tanzanian Cool James Mutoto Wa Dandu. In 1992, after Cool James went solo, the group was joined by the Ugandans Kayongo and Todwong, and singer Wayne ‘Tatz’ Beckford from London, England. The group owns a production company in Sweden.

Dr Alban signed them up with his Sweden-based Dr Records in 1996. They produced the singles Nyama, Malaika, and Hakuna Matata, for which they received a nomination to Channel O Music Awards in South Africa in 2003.
Isaac Ruccibigango aka Rucci, a member of the award winning Ugandan 1990s funky Afro-gospel group, Limit X, said Hakuna Matata “powerfully evokes emotions, memories, and a sense of longing for the past.” He is not alone. Jane Muza recalls listening on her walkman and “rewinding this song up to 10 times using a pen.”

Sendawula Kajubi wrote on YouTube that “if you were born in the 90s, this is your jam.” The song might have just under 183,000 views on the online video sharing and social media platform, but this belies the punch it packs. Kayongo says the song along with Pole was “very well received” with the latter “demonstrating Swahili Nation’s knack for collaboration with East Africa’s leading artist, Joseph Mayanja aka Chameleone.”

Trailblasers
Swahili Nation were pioneers of the art of adopting the Swahili language in R&B and hip-hop. Dru said “blending English and Swahili came naturally and effortlessly” not least because they were “a Swahili speaking group living overseas.” He added that the fusion “sounded smooth and sweet”, and was not surprised that “it became a cool trend after that.” 

On his part Charlie King said: “Staying in the lane of melodies and storytelling in personal lyrics that resonated with many of our peers.”
Charlie King used the adjective “versatile” when asked to describe the current state of the music industry in Africa. He predictsed that “more winners [are] going to be born into the success of the current leaders of every genre of African music.”

Swahili Nation never performed in Uganda. It, however, staged shows in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa in the 1990s. “Swahili Nation never got an invite to perform in Uganda in the 90’s. It was so unfortunate because the promoters of the ’90’s didn’t have the vision and courage to bring us,” Kayongo told Arts & Leisure, adding, “All our Ugandan performances happened from 2014. Thanks to Talent Africa that managed to put Swahili Nation on the biggest stage when we opened for Ne-Yo and Kool and the Gang.” 

Revival
Dru said Swahili Nation became a full-fledged Afro R&B group when Kayongo and Charlie King joined in that order. “Before Ken and King joined the group, we hadn’t released any single yet; we were recording songs and performing around Sweden under the Nike sponsorship,” Dru said. 
The group split later in the mid-2000s. Charlie King and Kayongo returned home. 

“In 2014, upon arriving in Uganda, I revitalised Swahili Nation. Discovering that Charlie King had already returned home, and with Dru Muturi situated in Kenya, it was straightforward to reunite the team. I assumed the primary role within the group, serving as the lead songwriter and negotiator,” Kayongo disclosed.
Dru added that “the revival button is always on.” Charlie King told Arts & Leisure that “streaming technologies has exponentially lifted off the dependency on record labels to success.”

Kayongo explains: “Ugandan artistes rely solely on concert earnings for income, resulting in limited revenue streams. Despite these disparities, significant progress has been observed in Uganda’s music scene, suggesting that artists now have greater potential to sustain themselves solely through their music compared to a decade ago.”
Kayongo also cited “Uganda’s lack of copyright enforcement” as a stumbling block.

“Uganda’s political landscape complicates matters, perpetuating a cycle where problems persist without resolution. This tendency to avoid tackling issues resembles kicking the can down the road; unless someone intervenes, the problem remains,” Kayongo said, adding, “Furthermore, there’s a prevalent mindset that simply throwing money at the problem will solve it, exacerbating the situation.”

The future
Dru expressed optimism that the potential is there for the music industry to flourish in Kenya. “There’s always potential, and plenty of talents to go with it. But without proper grassroots support, it will take a lot of time for it to flourish to the level of the Nigerians and our Tanzanian brothers.” 
Kayongo said the music scene in Uganda is showing signs of growth, but the real question is whether it can improve further.