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Museveni releases another song ahead of campaigns

August 3rd, 2015 2 min read

A song attributed to President Yoweri Museveni made it to the Uganda music scene at the weekend.

Titled Yengoma, it is the second song in five years since he last released Mpenkoni, which turned out to be a hit in the run up to the 2011 general election.

More of a rendition of a nursery rhyme than an original composition, the 2:48 minute record comes across with none of the finesse of music production that graced Mpenkoni.

However, the song proves Mr Museveni moves with the times.

Martin Nkoyoyo, aka Yoyo, an artiste, says the President could have done better with a more professional producer because the mixing of Yengoma was amateurish.

“There is no hook to the song. There is nothing that an eager listener can look forward to sing along to,” said Yoyo.

Mr Henry Kiwuwa, a music producer with Grayce Records who produced Mpenkoni, says: “The voices were not well handled and the production was mediocre. The producer was obviously targeting the campaign period. This is a song that was not made to last.”

THE LYRICS

An old children’s song in western Uganda, Yengoma means ‘For the Throne’.

The lyrics in the song are quite telling. They talk about cattle keeping, musical instruments, and longevity.

The line ‘Oruyongoyongo orwa Kabale’ brings to mind that never give up!

In the picture, a heron tries to swallow a frog, but the frog gets a firm grip on the bird’s neck.

Oruyongoyongo is a heron, a carnivorous bird that feeds on snakes and rats.

Towards the end of the song, the President expresses that greatest need of all, longevity.

He tells his listeners that songs such as Yengoma and Mpenkoni, should remain around for people to keep on ‘seeing’ him.

Mpenkoni was a success, and would have been a breakout hit for a commercial artiste.

“It was the first song by the President so there was that element of surprise that made it rule the airwaves,” says Mr Kiwuwa.

OVERNIGHT HIT

Mpenkoni was massive because it had that easy-to-sing back to phase – Yes Sevo,” says Yoyo.

The fact that Yengoma is sang by a sitting president, during an electoral season, will turn it into an overnight hit for obvious reasons.

Already, the song has enjoyed massive play for a Ugandan song. Since it was uploaded at the weekend and by Wednesday, it had garnered 4,487 plays and 7,493 had downloaded it.

On Sunday alone by 3.30pm, Yengoma had enjoyed 2,685 plays and 4,683 downloads.

One thing for sure is that the President using the arts to further his message to the youth brings a lot of respectability to the music industry, in particular.