Have you ever stopped and wondered: who are the greatest Ugandan songwriters of all time? That’s exactly what we’ll be doing for you on this website. There’s no denying the power of a good song. It can evoke emotion, make you laugh, and even change your outlook on life. But behind all great songs are brilliant songwriters who put their entire heart and soul into crafting an audible masterpiece. For decades, these songwriters have created timeless classics that still hold up today—from hard sing along anthems to delicate folk ballads. On this website, we’ll look at the top 10 greatest songwriters in Uganda`s history who have left indelible marks on music for generations to come and we shall profile one, each week until they are done. Let’s get started!
Mowzy Radio
Today the 25th of January, we are celebrating the birthday of fallen Uganda legendary artist Moses Radio whose death that happened almost five years ago was a bitter pill to swallow and to date, not many people have come to terms with it. Today we look at Who was Moses Radio the Songwriter that made a Star and an Angel ? Enjoyyyyyyyyyyy……
You have probably chanced to his ever well-knitted lyrics that made almost his every song a hit but you do not know how that came to be? Radio was an incredibly prolific artist whose “crystal-clear tenor” can be compared to a glass of cold water in a desert. We’ve listened to many talented musicians and have seen many talented songwriters but seen a few great songwriters who are great singers at the same time, but we had Moses Radio, excellent at both, and so much more. Moses Radio the Songwriter cannot be differentiated much from Moses Radio the singer because he wrote what he sang before he moved to writing what others sang.
Although music made him more popular, Radio was a prolific songwriter too who never suffered a writers block in music! Radio and Weasel were credited writers for all the songs they produced, with Radio writing a big part of them. Between 2007 and 2009 for instance, the duo had written and released more than 50 songs both for the duo and other artistes. Towards the end of the first half of the 2010s, Radio had found more ways to collaborate with many of these artistes. He become the most sought-after songwriter. There are times when the Goodlyfe Crew would release hit after hit, nearly every month and people wondered whether they would not suffer quick burn out musically. But they did not. Instead they wowed their fans with more hits because of the fast music writing skills Radio owned.
Radio was keen to see the Ugandan music grow and in some instances wrote free songs for upcoming artists in a bid to help them fast-track their music careers. Among the artistes who would benefit from the duo’s writing talent were Rema Namakula, Juliana Kanyomozi, Lydia Jazmine, Winnie Nwagi, Irene Ntale, Fille, Spice Diana and the later on the duo’s doppelganger B2C amongst many others. Among the songs Radio wrote include Kibulamu for Winnie Nwagi, Twalina Omukwano and Wakajanja for Juliana Kanyomozi, Sukaali for Diana Nalubega, Tikula for Rema Namakula, Masuuka and Nkubanja for Lydia Jazmine, Danger and Dagala for Lillian Mbabazi, Sembeera and Bikoola for Irene Ntale, Ekitone for Desire Luzinda amongst many others. When one listens to all the songs that Radio wrote, one thing in there that was realized appreciated was the lyrical maturity and vast vocabulary he always put to play. He would write music for a person from their perspective and not his, for example when he wrote Twalina Omukwano for Juliana and Ekitone for Desire Luzinda, the songs reasonated with their past relationships and lives something that made more sense to their fans, to him that was power.
