Unity in Harmony: Chameleone’s Call for Collaboration in Uganda’s Music Sphere

The great Ugandan musician Joseph Mayanja Chameleone has identified the strong and weakness of East African nations in the music sector.

Although Uganda still lags behind Kenya and Tanzania in the music industry, according to Chameleone, there are certain domains in which his nation outperforms the others.

The leader of Leone Island and one of the most respected musicians in the region claims that Ugandan musicians were largely deprived of financial resources decades ago, which caused them to fall behind.

He cited Kenya as an example, where musicians could afford the best instruments as early as the 1990s.

“Kenyans were very rich, and they invested a lot of money in their music. At the time we had three studios here, they had like 50; so, they were far ahead of us.” Chameleone said.

According to Chameleone, Tanzanians moved more quickly than Ugandans because their fan base is the most patriotic.

He claims that this is the cause of the rapid ascent of performers such as Diamond Platnumz, who is regarded as national treasures by all.

Yet what Uganda lacks in resources and patriotism, according to Chameleone, it makes up for in talent.

The Valu Valu singer believes that Tanzania and Kenya don’t produce as much musical talent as Uganda does.

He said, “I can tell you this my friends, our neighbors have the equipment and the love, but they cannot sing like us.”

“This is the only weapon we have and this is what we have to capitalize on to build ourselves, the rest will come along.” He added.

Chameleone was speaking at the weekly Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) jam session in Makindye.

He inspired his fellow artists to recognize the value of cooperating within the federation during the meeting.

In addition, he denounced a few of the musicians who have left the group since its founding in May of this year.