KS ALPHA struggles to stay relevant

You see, after the festive period, hardly do people want to dish out money in anticipation of the January blues. But Kamulegeya Suleiman Alpha aka Ks Alpha has a different mindset to that. He says: “Since [Club] Silk always has a theme night on Thursday, I was sure that people would come”.

“When it comes to gathering logistics, the sponsor calls the shots; so, my financiers wanted it on that date,” said ALPHA

The singer decided to launch his latest mix-tape, Yes I am Afrikan, at Club Silk last Thursday. The mix-tape features Dj Shiru doing the mixes. This was the second time Alpha was launching since February 8, 2012.

That time, he not only launched the tracks on Yes I Am Afrikan, which he chose to cap up with the remixes done by Dj Shiru, he also used this chance to give his fans a sneak peek into his latest album, Midondo. I am still working on details to find out more about what the word means.

Ever since he came onto the scene in 2006 with Ugandan gal and later Selector, Alpha has struggled to be a mainstay on Uganda’s music scene. When you mention his name, the response you get is: “What happened to that guy’s music?” Alpha has been trying to reinvent himself by bankrolling a band and taking up live shows at GattoMato and Jazzville in Bugolobi. But still, things are yet to work out.

Back to last Thursday show, he at least managed to have Great Lakes Waragi, a new whisky company in Mukono, as sponsors and they offered free cocktails to revellers throughout the evening.

Singer Shamim cheered up the audience with her wild dance antics before the man of the night jumped onstage with his old favourites, from Ugandan gal, Selector, Ndi Wakabi, Binsobedde and Osabalaza. He then sampled his new tracks like Uptown Gal and Shortem before leaving the stage for Yoyo who is also equally not doing any better of late.

Alpha revealed his plan is to focus on “acoustic reggae” but a critical look at music doesn’t paint a rosy picture. The tracks are so plain; basically the songs need a lot of fine- tuning. And then there is the question of whether the Ugandan audience will accept his new music style.