Zulitums: Trying to be different

Before the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, Sam Ssemwogerere, alias Zulitums was a producer famous for gifting Ugandans with two songs that had ushered in 2020; Maro’s Anjagala and Cindy Sanyu’s Boom Party.
Yet only a few months into the lockdown, the singer, songwriter and producer had already announced his arrival with a slew of songs and later an album.

With songs such as Easy, most Ugandans paid attention to him and yet with Oluvanyuma, he cemented his status and probably assured doubters that his first songs were no fluke.
“I actually wrote Oluvanyuma in less than an hour,” he says, adding that he was listening to a guitar loop and the words started forming.
When his days became busier, at the time he had started making his own music, he started seeing his mother less and yet they are close. She became worried that he was not seeing her as often as he used to.

“So I was in a space where I was so depressed and being close to my mother, Oluvanyuma was a reassurance to her that after all the hustle and bustle, things will be better,” he says.
Since he started making his own music, Zulitums has been writing and producing for fewer artistes. He says there is a lot of freedom in doing your own music.

“At times it might depend on the artiste you are working with but there is more freedom when you produce your own work,” he says. But he still produced for people, some of the music he is actually not proud of.
“There are times you will do a song and deep down you do not feel it but when a client insists that i’s what they want, you can only advise,” he says, adding that even with his own songs, he can tell when he has done an amazing song.

“I am a very emotional person, so many of my good songs are those that come from the heart,” he says.
Over the past two weeks, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy caused a stir both in Nigeria and Africa when he said that Afrobeats, which has been popularised by Nigerian artistes is usually about nothing – no real life experiences, just about partying and having a good time, yet music and life is about way more than that.

Varying takes
In the interview, Burna Boy said what he does is Afro Fusion not Afrobeats. Surprisingly, Zulitums says his music is Afro Fusion because he does not want to box it in a specific genre.

Much as he may not fully have followed Burna and the Nigerian industry’s outburst about Afro Fusion and Afrobeats, he notices the fact that a lot of music out there does not have a lot of substance.
“Some people want to have a good time, others want to say something. I personally stay true to my beliefs, I put out something that is saying something,”he says.

For every artiste that got their break during the lockdown, social media platforms had a very big role to play.
“Right now, 90 percent of the music we listen to came from Tik Tok, when we release music at the back of our minds we know it needs to be promoted on the platform,” he says.
He, however, says there have been some dangers the platform and social media has brought to the industry that some people are only singing to trend.

But besides that, he notices the opportunities that are availed as far as marketing, promotion and booking is concerned.
For instance, his 2020 debut album, Invictus was one of the most streamed albums of 2021 and his latest single Uberman has also been doing well on different streamers.

This year, alongside Fik Fameica, Zulitums was selected as one of the Ugandan artistes to take part in the revamped Coke Studio.
Coke Studio is an international music franchise which features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artistes. In the past, the shows have featured artistes such as Maurice Kirya, Bebe Cool, Joel Sebunjo, Nigerian rapper MI, Tems, 2Face and Falz, among others.
“Every chance I get to showcase is big for me. I do not take opportunities like these for granted, it is an opportunity to show the world what I can do.”

The artiste who confesses that his inspiration comes from within than anywhere else says he gets his musical ideas by listening to what many of his contemporaries are doing.
“I listen to what people are doing and then I aim to do something that none of them is doing, something different,” he says.