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The Monitor (Kampala)
 INTERVIEW
Robert Kalumba
He is a member of Kenya's hip hop group Necessary Noise, alongside female MC/Singer Nazizi Hiriji. Kevin Wyre,
commonly known as "Wyre the Love child" was in Kampala last week to
perform at Kyadondo Rugby Club, in support of Breast Cancer awareness.
We got to talk about; last year's Kenyan election violence, breast cancer, Ugandan music, his solo career, women! And much more.
What impact do you have as an artiste on the breast cancer awareness campaign?
Any
role I can play to raise awareness, I would gladly take part. As an
artiste, I have a following who like my music, my persona, etc, and if
I could help that crowd to know more about breast cancer, then I would
have impacted them in a positive way. In Kenya, there have been
activities around Breast Cancer awareness which I have been involved
in, helping to raise funds for the campaign.
Have you ever had anybody close to you, family members, or friends who have succumbed to any form of cancer?
No,
I have been fortunate not to, but as a man, I know that there are men
out there who suffer from breast cancer, and might be shy to reveal
their status. I'm encouraging them to come forward. Because there is
nothing "abnormal" in having breast cancer, it's like any other disease.
What was your take about last year's violent elections in your country?
One
of the most positive things about those elections was the increased
number of youth who came out to vote. The future belongs to today's
youth, so it was great to see them in large numbers at polling
stations. But the sad bit was that the same youth were being used by
greedy politicians to ignite the violence that took place. It was such
a sad contradiction.
How do you rate Ugandan music?
You
know there was a time in Kenya when only Ugandan music was being
played. The likes of Chameleone and Bebe Cool were household names with
their Swahili songs. Ugandan music has come a long way that today the
industry even has a respected award body, Pam Awards, which encompasses
East Africa.
Which Ugandan artistes do you rate highly at the moment, the kind you would like to work with?
Most
of them are good, but let me categorise them between male and female
artistes. For the female artiste, I would like to work with Juliana
Kanyomozi. She has a good voice, and I really liked the Swahili song
she did with the Tanzanian artiste Bushoke called Usiende Mbali, I
liked it. Among the males, Kid Fox is simply awesome! And Navio too, I
like him.
How do you rate Kampala's night life?
Man,
you people can party! The city never sleeps. In Kenya, the city starts
to "bubble" from Wednesday till Saturday. But for Kampala, the party
starts from Tuesday, way through to Sunday, sometimes even Monday.
Kampalans rock!
What about the women, how do you rate them, in everything?
One
thing that struck me with your ladies is their smartness. Whether they
are going to work, for a party, or to church, Ugandan women will always
be smart and presentable. When I perform in Kampala, the ladies are
always smart that I wonder where else they are headed after my concert.
With your solo career on the rise, does that mean it's the end of Necessary Noize?
That
is not correct. We are planning to put out an album soon. Remember,
before we formed a group, Nazizi and I were solo artistes, and once in
a while we do our solo projects. Nazizi is recording her solo project,
which will be out soon.
What about your solo project, is it in the pipeline?
I have finished working on my second album, and
it will be coming out in December. The untitled album is a blend of
dancehall, R'n'B, and Reggae. It will feature collabos with
international artistes, but I am not mentioning any names yet! A video
off the new album is coming out soon called Niamshe, which means "wake
me up". And it is about the past elections we went through.
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