Hi King Cindy! Yourself and Sheebah battling it out on stage is what’s on every Ugandan music fan’s lips right now. In case it is to happen, what format do you think it should take –one stage or two different stages like Bobi Wine and Bebe Cool was? One Emcee for both, or each one brings their own Emcee?
The stage format for the show wouldn’t really be my thing to decide. That is something we would have to discuss with the organizers and see what is comfortable. If Sheebah’s team found comfortable being on the same stage, we would do that. If they didn’t want to be on the same stage, we would do that. Generally, those are details I have never thought about and really it would be according to the people that we are working with.
How much would the event organizer have to pay you to perform in the battle?
I don’t discuss money at all, that would be something my management and team would handle. I cannot tell you how much I charge for a performance because that is not really up to me, my management handles it. There is so much in terms and conditions that are involved in regard to a show. I would definitely leave the money bit to my management.
How much do you think Sheebah should be paid if she is to agree to the battle?
Since I can’t decide for myself, it means I can’t decide for Sheeba too. I cannot gauge her worth because she is her own person. I guess her management would handle that for her too. But in all, I don’t want to talk about money, it is none of my business.
Some people say you are a faded musician, and Sheebah is currently on top, so it would be a mismatch.
I think I don’t have to prove that I am not a faded artiste, that is really not for me. The people that call me a faded artiste should prove that I am. You see, all the major gigs Sheebah gets to do, I do also. I am on all the top gigs in town and trust me, a promoter is not going to call a faded artiste to perform. I don’t really understand what they mean by that, so I will let them gauge it. In any case, a mismatch is when people cannot compete. Not because one is faded or one is older, no. This is about music, and music has nothing to do with age –nothing to do with whether you’re trending or not, whether you’re young or old. Can you represent? That is what it is about, so it is definitely not a mismatch according to me.
But honestly you are no longer releasing hits as much as you used to a few years ago, and for some people who judge relevance on hits that seems a genuine charge against you? And relatedly, how often do you get gigs?
I am at a level in my career where I don’t depend on hits. I actually don’t need a hit to be relevant because that was the case when I had just started, when I was releasing Mbikooye, Ayochyayochya, One and only… That time I needed to trend, to be present and be seen everywhere. But now I am a household name and I really don’t need to trend. When you do statistics online right now, Cindy is going to win. When you ask people ‘who is the best?’ every statistic suggests Cindy is winning, so I am definitely doing well with my fans. It is clear that Ugandans are not about hits, they are about delivering, that is why it is all over social media and it is trending everywhere. How often I perform really depends. I definitely have my gigs with the band every month and that is four times. It is even hard for me to now fix a gig in between because I’m fully booked. Every first Thursday of the month we are live at Nexus lounge Najjera , first Friday we are in Bukoto at Rumors Bar & Lounge, every last Friday of the month we are doing Fusion Auto Spa Muyonyo which we have been doing for the last four years, and every second Friday of the month we are at Club Ambiance. Those are full gigs where it doesn’t matter whether a client calls to book me or not. Then you can add to those ones the other gigs which come in by call. I am a busy woman when it comes to performing so I am doing very well with the fans. This month I am performing at the French Uganda Friendship Week Festival, I am performing at Awilo Longomba… all these shows seem to indicate that I am not a faded artiste.
Sheebah was bragging of her material achievements from her career. What things would you say you have also done from your singing career?
I think this whole thing has gone left because we weren’t talking about the material achievements in our lives. Priorities are different among people, so we cannot measure people’s achievements only in material terms. If am going to count my achievements they are going to be my international recognition all over the world, my awards that I have won, because to me it is about the music. If I build a house or buy a nice car it only benefits me and nobody out there, it is none of their business. So for me it’s not about material things, if someone wants to battle about that they should feel free take a whole lane and make it theirs, maybe even get to own an entire stadium . I really don’t want to be out there discussing my achievements in life, but if we should let’s talk about music. Let’s talk about the fact that I am the only the Ugandan artiste who has won Nigeria’s AFRIMA for Best Female Artiste, got an award from Kenya for the Best Artiste from Uganda in a category where I was up against Chameleone, Kenzo, Bebe Cool and Irene Ntale… The first time I tried a movie I was nominated alongside Jalade Omotola. I might be the broke chic from the village living in Kawempe but I am the best female artiste in this region. I might be broke but it doesn’t change that when I get on the stage I thrill the house.
Besides Sheebah, which other artiste would you like to have a music battle with?
I can battle any artiste. I am not scared of any artiste. I can battle a combination of all female artistes (laughs) –anyway this is just to say I am not scared of battling anybody at all, because if it is about music and making money I am good. I can battle Sheebah or anybody else in the business or no body at all (it’s also fine if I don’t get to battle anyone). It would be a big challenge to battle a male artiste, but then it would also be awesome, for example to battle Bebe cool.
Away from the ongoing social media battle, what do you think of Sheebah as a musician and her career?
I think Sheeba is a good artiste. She just needs a little bit of time, which is a normal thing because when you have just started as an artiste you need time. The voice grows, the career grows, you learn, you grow, you get to discover yourself fully. She is a good artiste, she just needs time then she will get to the level that some people are forcing her to be at in this moment.
But what’s really the origin of the bad blood between you and Sheebah? There are rumors, you have been talking about Sheebah all over the place and she was quiet? That you have been going around criticizing her singing and performing abilities, and it’s only last week that she responded?
There is no bad blood between me and Sheeba. Maybe on her side, because I have heard her team call me names and it is the first time I am hearing them do that. Otherwise I don’t have any bad blood with her. I have always been a supporter of hers from the very beginning, and that is how I got to write her first song. I was there through her first voice training because I did that with her and we were in studio together. I remember it was really hard for her but I was there to talk to her and encourage her through. I went with her to shows just for her to understand the game and how it runs, you know. So in the very beginning I was there. Things were kinda slow for her but through that time I was there, so I cannot be the same person that has bad blood. There is definitely no bad blood between me and her. There’s really nothing to be angry about. There’s no reason to have bad blood.
You and her seem to have a history, really. Were you ever friends, were you that close? How did you get to meet in the first place?
Our relationship (I and Sheebah) was first professional, then we became friends. I happened to write a song for Obsessions, which was in their last album which they did. I went to meet them (Obsessions) and teach them to sing the song, the lyrics and vocals and all. Sheebah was part of the Obsessions and I met her there and she was like ‘Hi’ –we had a passive kind of talk at first. Then after that, when she left Obsessions, she came to me as a role model and asked for my help. I was there to help her at that time. Me and Washington are the people who really helped to build a beginning for Sheeba. Like I have already said, I was there through her first voice training (I did that with her and we were in studio together), I got to write her first song, I would talk to her and encourage her through those hard times she had as a beginner, I went with her to shows just for her to understand the game and how it runs… You can see, first she was like a professional friend then she became a life friend, that is how I came to write her first song.
You people are actually old friends! Now please give some good vibes for Sheebah as an old friend. Which songs of hers do you like? What do you like about her performances on stage and about her as a person?
I think Sheebah is a good artiste. There are songs of hers which I like in general, because they are good. I have never sat down and scrutinized her songs and worried if I like them or not, but the song which got to me has to be Nkwatako. It has very good lyrical content and it is very mature and I love it. In my band we used to play it and she actually listened to us when we were working together at Auto spa .She actually liked our version. We performed it with her. I think her performances are great, I think she performs with her heart. Her performances are more of free-style and it is not the same all the time; she works with her heart and how she is feeling at that time and that can be a great thing.
About her as a person, I don’t think I know Sheebah as a person anymore. The person that I used to know back then because I worked with her is a person of many years ago –I think it was 2010 where we got to meet all-year round, as we were doing work together and her moving around with me. When she started getting busy and all, we lost touch completely, so I cannot say that I know who she is now. But I am sure there is a little bit of that sweet Sheeba that I used to know who had just started with that hunger to make an impact by doing music –her love and passion is totally undeniable, that is what I know and like about her.
Let’s get back to Cindy. What are you cooking for your fans? Any new projects?
I am always coking up something for the fans. You know we want to do a show this year, a concert. Me and my team are sitting down to know who we want to work with and how that is going to happen, and that means there is so much music coming in for our fans this year, As you all know I don’t mass-release music, I don’t release too much music, but this year I want to release a lot of music. That means there is a lot of music coming through and a concert –oh! and my live band is going to be all over Uganda this year, making sure we serve our fans all over Uganda.
What is your latest song?
My latest song is called Kiki. The video should be out next week at the latest, and my last song before that was Sunset which is doing really great. Those are my projects so far. I am also working on a song with an upcoming artiste called Carol Kasita and I am really excited about it. I think it is going to be one of those few times when I get to work with another woman who is talented given we females rarely work together.
You were fast growing on the international scene sometime back, but somehow you seem to have reduced on your efforts on that front. Why? Or you are still seriously doing your thing internationally and we don’t get updates as media?
I want everybody to understand that music is music, it moves at its own pace. I don’t believe in forcing music. Even when I was nominated internationally, it’s not like I was pushing international. My music just goes everywhere on its own. I have friends all over the world and sometimes it just lands into the right hands. That is how I got to win an AFRIMA Award from Nigeria for Best Female Artiste, a BINGWA Award from Kenya and also a Somebodat Award from Zambia. It’s not like I am pushing my music, no. My music is organic and it moves on its own to give me international recognition, across Africa and all over the world.
Rate for us the top 5 female Ugandan artistes today, in your view. And maybe the Top 5 female Ugandan artistes of all time.
I don’t want to be that artiste who creates lists and categorizes other people’s work, so I am not rating any artiste, I think I will leave that to Bebe Cool. I am just saying that all female artistes are doing well, all male artistes are doing well. Maybe let me just say that my favorite female artiste of all time in Uganda is Juliana. Watching her level of grace and poise and her elegance has always really moved me. She is the first artiste I saw as a superstar and not just as a singer. It just moved me that music was more than just music, it was a force, it was a personality, it was glamour and to me it is still Juliana.
