Uganda: artist Eddy Kenzo nominated for the prestigious Grammy Awards

Audio 01:54

Members of Ghetto Kids, a leading dance group in Uganda, rehearse with artist Eddy Kenzo (C), in Makindye, a suburb of Kampala, on January 20, 2023. AFP - BADRU KATUMBA

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

He is Ugandan, he is 33 years old, his name is Eddy Kenzo.

This singer is one of the nominees for the prestigious Grammy Awards to be held this weekend in Los Angeles.

It was selected in the World Music category.

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The Grammy Awards are the equivalent of the Victoires de la Musique in France.

They have been awarded every year since the late 1950s. Eddy Kenzo is the first Ugandan singer nominated for these prestigious awards.

Eddy Kenzo is a boy who has come a long way...His childhood was punctuated with drama...He lost both parents when he was not 5 years old...As a teenager, he slept in the streets of Kampala, often with an empty stomach , but he has a passion: music and above all perseverance which will allow him to raise funds to release, in 2008, a first song.

However, success would not come until six years later, with Sitya Loss, a lively title in which he evokes his difficult childhood.

With this nomination for the Grammy Awards, Eddy Kenzo is therefore taking a new step… He was selected with Guimme Love, a title he recorded with the American Matt B.

Despite the success, Eddy Kenzo continues, in his studio in Kampala, to train young people from the slums to develop their musical talents.

And no question, for him, of starting to sing in English.

“ 

 ,” he explains.

It is by remembering this period that I decided to meet the children of the ghettos, the slums.

I teach them several artistic disciplines […] They learn dance, music, football…

Eddy Kenzo

Edmond Sadaka

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• Uganda

• World music