You are loving on your little baby girl right now. She is so cute! Congratulations. [Chameleone’s wife, Daniela, recently gave birth in the USA]
She’s cute because she looks like me.
All your kids have a name that starts with A [Ayla, Abba, Amma, Alfa]. Then Zara. Why the break?
We are concluding now [laughs]. But let’s be frank, most of the times it is the women who decide.
So, going back to where you were born…
I was born in a family of eight children; seven boys, one girl. I’m the fourth born; I was born on April 30, 1979 to Mr John Mayanja and Ms Prossy Musoke. Next year I’m making 40. But I’m proud to be facing that direction.
Where did you go to school?
I went to Nakasero PS, and Mengo Senior School for O-level. I was very notorious; I was expelled in S2. I went to Kawempe Muslim SS where I completed my O-level. From there, I went to Katikamu SDA. I was expelled in S5; so, I went to Progressive SS where I finished my S6 [HED/Art].
I qualified to go to university, and I wanted to do industrial art and design – that was 1998 – but it wasn’t at Makerere; it was at Kyambogo [then a polytechnic institute]. That’s how I lost interest and decided to go to the arts/music side.
Music seems to have always been a part of your family.
Well, my grandfather used to play guitar at home. My father was in the Nsambya Boys band. He plays trombone, clarinet… My big brother Humphrey was the first performer we had in the family. He had a band called Super World band. We are all very musical [brothers Pallaso, AK47 (RIP) and Weasel are also successful artistes].
The music…who were your influences back then?
My father played a lot of South African and Congolese music. Somehow that must have influenced my musical mindset. But I loved Michael Jackson a lot, Koffi Olomide and in my teenage, I loved Buju Banton.
The very first record you did…
…That was in 1999… Bageya. It hit so much in Kenya [where it was recorded], even without them understanding my language. I accumulated a little money and did Mama Mia; after that I lived happily ever after [laughs].
Did you ever experience ‘the struggle’?
Yes I did. People denied me chances – I won’t name names – but also studios were very few. There used to be Kasiwukira studio and you could wait for almost a year and they tell you, ‘aah, [Paul Job] Kafeero is recording an album’ and after that, ‘[Fred] Ssebatta is recording an album…’
Recording a song was very hard. We used to hang out at DV8 because that is where you could distribute your music. But today Fefe Bussi will record a song and whatsapp it to you, you put it on a broadcast and it will be where he wants it to be…
[He requests for Destiny by Buju Banton.]
Are you still in touch with Red San, by the way?
I am. We actually have a new song…
Was the reception in Uganda better when you came back?
I came back as a star. There was an event at Lugogo Cricket Oval and featured Kalama-Shaka, a group from Kenya. Those days I used to back up Shanks Vivi Dee. Shanks used to be so proud of me; he would say, ‘this guy is gonna be a star!’
Kalama-Shaka asked me to feature on their album. It never happened, though. I waited and waited, but I was already in Kenya. The bus had cost me KShs 1,000 [about UShs 35,000 today], and finding that 1000!
Fortunately my brother Bebe Cool was already living in Kenya. I still want to thank him, because he received me and showed me Nairobi city. He didn’t take me to Nairobi, but he accommodated me until I met Red San and we made up the first East African Bashment Crew.
For financial reasons [“one of us was greedy”], we broke up. In early 2000 I recorded Mama Mia. After that, it was ‘Jose Chameleone we want you in London’. ‘Jose Chameleone we want you in Rwanda…’ [Tongue-in-cheek:] What would I do? I had to go.
Did you have a moment when the fame went to your head?
When I bought my first convertible car – a Mazda. That time I used to move with my money in the boot. I was 20. The girls I used to chase were now the ones chasing me…
Did anything bring you back on track?
When you start to have children, that’s how [you] slow down. You have people to live for.
[He requests for Obudde By Mowzey Radio and Weasel]
Honestly, Mowzey Radio lived his life. He enjoyed it. He started from nothing to something. God does what He wants [Radio died earlier this year]. Radio and Weasel are one of my best groups, not because I know them, but their music speaks.
When I met Radio, he was in a barbershop in Ndeeba. When I compare his journey to when I met him, he lived a successful life. I salute Radio, I’m so proud of him.
Staying good at what you do for as long as you have done it…!
I attribute that to originality. I never want to sound like anybody. People die out because they are trying to be someone else.
Daniela. How did you meet her?
I went to Alligator’s and saw this beautiful lady. We exchanged numbers but every time I called her, the phone was off; she didn’t call me. I met her again in Club Silk. She was so crazy she came to me and said, ‘Do you remember me?’ I tried to say, ‘But you didn’t call me back’, and she said, ‘Leave that alone; what time are you leaving this place?’
She asked me to drop her and her friends back at [university]. I thought she was talking about one campus, kumbe she had friends going to Kyambogo, Nakawa, Makerere…I did Uber basically. When I called her the next day, she didn’t pick again.
I met her at Sabrina’s [Pub.] This time I was very arrogant… She asked me what I was doing at the weekend and I told her I had a show in Luweero. [She asked to come along] and that is how we started slowly. I am blessed to have a woman of that magnitude; she is a mother, a wife, everything I could ever ask for. She’s an angel.
A lot has been said about your temper.
I’m not a priest. [But] I’m not a hypocrite; if I’m angry with you, I can’t put my teeth on top. I have done good things as well. I don’t disrespect people; so, why do you want to come and bounce on me because of my size? I have a bad temper, but I also have a good heart.
The hardest part of being in the limelight is when your marital issues get out there.
That is the price to pay. Society should also find fairness in how they judge their celebrities.
Recently domestic violence was cited…
They claimed I hit my wife with an iron bar, but as beautiful as Daniela looks, she doesn’t have a scar. Ugandans should learn to absorb jealousy and hatred. Truthfully, we had issues, but there was no violence.
Daniela cited certain misbehavior in me; I was drinking a lot because I was stressed, coming back home late, I was not being polite.
She said ‘I am going back to my father’s house if you don’t change. We might have to divorce.’ Then people started bringing up their own stories…
I am not an animal. If you love someone, why beat them? We are first-class citizens. I was heartbroken because they were tarnishing my personality, I was living alone… Like any other person I sorted my issues and we’re living happily ever after.
What is your attitude towards your kids?
I am trying to create a new generation of Mayanjas. As much as you people claim I have a temper, I have never beaten my children. At home, I am the soft one. I am so weak when it comes to my children. My child can fall sick and I cry.
I want to open up every opportunity I can for them; that is why I take them to international schools, give them international exposure.
Thank you for sharing your life, Chameleone.
Thank you for having me.
