Finally, Ssemanda had stepped onto the music scene as King Saha. His silky vocals caught the ears of music lovers while his range and intonation were rare in an industry used to rough vocals. Within months, Saha was holding massive shows.

His debut concert at Theatre La Bonita sold out and he has never looked back since. Budding musicians normally take their time under the wings of star names but Saha’s journey was straightforward.

In a September 2014 interview with Chano8 digital magazine, he says he knew he would be a musician right from a young age and it was shortly after his senior six that Sam Mukasa, a talent promoter, spotted him and took him under his wings as manager.

In 2013, Mukasa introduced Saha to the producers at Jose Chamelone’s Leone Island but the youngster found space limited there. That’s when he set out to go solo and the results have been breathtaking.

He has churned out hit after hit, from Gundeze, Bantu Baffe (featuring Ziza Bafana) to Onkuba, among others. By 2015, Saha was an established star and travelled across Europe and the USA to perform.

Saha’s career briefly tumbled in 2016 due to his involvement in the Tubonga Naawe song praising the NRM government at the height of the presidential campaigns. He and other artistes involved in the song faced a fans’ boycott. However, that only lasted a few months before he was back on track with I’m On My Way, a catchy song with a great video set in the sixties.

In yet another twist, Saha turned into activism and became a prominent member of Bobi Wine’s campaign team during the 2017 Kyadondo East parliamentary election campaign.

Since then, some of his songs have become laced with political rhetoric and he even performed a key verse in Bobi Wine’s controversial Tuliyambala Engule song. However, it is his love ballads such as Biri Biri that have enhanced his career.

BIG STATEMENT

Last Friday, Saha held his Biri Biri concert at Kyadondo rugby grounds and going by the turnout, he sealed his place among an elite musicians group. The show was a journey through his career, performing some of his newest hits such as Very Well, Tereza and Ondabisa, among others.

Saha proved his treasured vocal prowess is not a studio enhancement, even as some critics point to the fact that his tone has gravitated towards that of the late Mowzey Radio.

In fact, there is insinuation that he is trying too hard to sound like Radio, especially on his collabo with Weasel – Mpa Love. There is even talk that plans are underway for him to inherit Radio’s position as one half of the Goodlyfe Crew.

But there is no denying that Saha has succeeded on his own.

GOING FORWARD

There is hardly any flaw in Saha’s music and vocal prowess but he still has a lot of work to do to improve his musical personality. Fine, he is greatly endeared, especially by the women for his romantic voice, but he does not seem to carry that popularity in the region.

That could be attributed to his limited ability to sing in Kiswahili but that for now, is no cause to worry. His career is just blossoming and the blooms are going to be around for a long time.