With over 94,000 streams on Spotify and 55,000 views on YouTube, Alvin Aijuka (Aijuka Baby) notes that his hit song Betty has amplified his up and coming music career.
He has also released music with The Tribe Ug and featured in songs such as Kesho and Teaser. He recently sat down with Quick Talk for an interview Good evening, Aijuka!
Please introduce yourself…
Thank you, Quick Talk! My name is Alvin Aijuka, but on YouTube I am known as Aijuka Baby. I do content creation, music and marketing; basically, my life revolves around social media.
I’m versatile, hard to box into one thing. I also act, play football. I always wanted to be a football player. So yeah, I’m into sports, content creation, music, many things.
You are better known for your song Betty. One would think that’s what brought you onto the entertainment scene…
Betty had signs and symptoms; that’s what I always say. When you tease a song and people start asking, “When are you dropping this?” you know something is happening. Even the producer was excited about it.
From the moment I made that song, everyone kept pushing me to drop it soon. I had a feeling it would do something special, though I didn’t know how big it would turn out. I thought it would do well, but it surpassed my expectations.
Before my hit song Betty, I had a YouTube group called The Tribe UG. We had songs like The Vibe Teaser, and Kesho that did well in high schools. So,Betty wasn’t my first song, but it was the one that truly pushed me further.
In Betty, the first line is about making money! As a youth, money is a common struggle. I was going through a rough patch at the time, thinking, “How do I make money? There were also those jokes about people getting sugar daddies or sugar mummies when new iPhones came out.
I was playing around with that whole idea [he laughs heartily].
Which other songs have you released?
I have Kesho with almost 40,000 streams and The Vibe Teaser with The Tribe UG, which were big in high schools. I have had songs with traction – not massive, but decent. Then Betty came with a different kind of traction.
It was everywhere. In parks, schools, TikTok challenges, people singing it word for word. On Spotify, it’s almost at 100,000 streams – the highest numbers I have ever had. It even reached the Top 100 on Apple Music Uganda, hitting around #50 before I stopped checking.
How do you make music that connects with people?
My music is natural; making songs is a hobby. I do it the way some people play under Fifa. I sit, chill, and start coming up with melodies. My notes app is full of songs that haven’t been released. I like freestyling.
I have always been that guy who randomly raps with friends.
Did you always think music would just be a side thing?
Honestly, everything for me feels like a side thing because I do so much marketing, content and music. My focus was content creation, and we would drop songs on the side. But Betty showed me that music can actually become something solid.
What has been your biggest stage?
I have performed at many schools, but the craziest was Turkish Light Academy. The students knew the song better than I did. I had to sing it twice because they kept requesting it. My shirt was soaked, I was exhausted, but the energy was insane.
Growing up, was music always your thing?
I loved music but mainly through dance. I used to compete as a kid, win trophies and dance in high school crowds. I also played football seriously. I didn’t sing much, but I used to rap for fun. I even had a rap line my friends still remind me of: “My name is Alvin A, the man of the day…”
How was life growing up?
My childhood was amazing because it revolved around football. I played all the time, travelled for matches – football was my life.
How did your parents react when they saw you in music?
Both my parents passed away [so sorry about that!]. I live with uncles and aunties now. But my mum supported everything creative: football, acting, dance.
I acted in a film called Silent Voices, and I also did TV shows. She always encouraged me to be different and creative. She would be very proud of me today.
Do you think you inherited your artistic abilities from your parents?
Maybe. I remember my mum loved dancing, so I probably got that from her. I don’t dance much publicly now unless I’m promoting a song.
What schools did you attend?
For preschool, I went to Disney Kindergarten, and for my primary education, I went to Greenhill Academy, and for my secondary, I went to Aga Khan, Taibah, Vienna, and later Uganda Christian University (UCU) where I attained my university education [okay…a planned kid through and through, Quick Talk can see!]
I remember I paused school at one point for football trials in the UK and later in Spain, in a city called Elche, where I trained in an academy for six months. After my mum passed, I returned to Uganda and eventually went back to school.
Do you still plan to pursue football?
Football requires consistency. I am still good, but once you take long breaks, it gets harder. I decided instead of trying to make it abroad, I would try my luck in Uganda. But along the way, I joined The Tribe UG, and things shifted and I joined the world of content creation.
Talk about your journey in content creation…
It started when I was staying in the same apartment block as my friend John. He’d call me to act in skits because of my acting background. My personality matched the content. I’m vibrant, playful, and I crack jokes.
Eventually, I joined The Tribe UG full-time. We’ve made over 200 videos. We’ve been consistent for years. It’s not about blowing up; it just takes one video to change everything.
Do you know how to play any instruments?
As a kid, I played guitar and took piano lessons. I also learned drums. But with time, if you stop playing, you forget the keys and chords.