Good afternoon Lydia; you look good!
Good afternoon Quick Talk! I have to look good because you never know whom I might find along the way!
It is 10 years since you joined the music industry and your maiden concert is up. Why did you take so long?
Nothing has taken me so long; I would say this is the time because when I was still with the previous management [Ronnie Mulindwa of the Obsessions fame managed her at one point] about two promoters wanted to do my concert and this should have been my third but they kept pushing them away, saying the artiste was not ready, yet that’s the time I had some songs like You and Me in 2018.
So, it was not just me because I have always dreamt of having my concert and this is like a dream come true, and March 1, 2024 will be that day I will never forget. I now have my record label, LJ Music, and have a team now and I can make my plans on what to do.
I named the show First Born. It is the first concert in my music journey, but also I have a song called Njagala with a tag line ‘Ndi firstborn ataddibwako’ that everyone sings.
Is it going to be a live or CD experience at Hotel Africana?
In this new generation, I don’t think there is any artiste that does CD. So, it going to be completely live.
How has the music industry transformed your life?
When I began making music, I didn’t think anybody knew Lydia Jazmine. I had to do a lot of things on my own that I can’t mention, but I have grown as a woman, and my family as well. And I have always wanted to be an artiste known globally and that’s the goal and the vision I have because one day I will hit the biggest stages in the world, and I mean the journey is almost there.
Everything changed from the tingy Lydia Jazmine to the star, because I can’t walk on the streets without anyone noticing me.
What did it feel like to be managed by men?
It’s not easy and I have always said that for all the girls that come up, I always tell them to be careful and get someone who is professional, someone respectful and someone who understands you, loves you, and believes in you, because most people come for so many different reasons.
Some come to take you on as their girlfriends, among other things, and others come to steal. I mean, when I was still with my old management, I never used to earn a coin and I used to work. I used to have hit songs. So, people come with different motives; so, make sure you get someone who believes in your talent, someone who is ready to work with you professionally and who is ready to see you shine.
Noted. So, who is your stylist on and off-stage?
Off-stage, it is me and sometimes on stage it’s also me, but again I love to work with talented designers. We have many different fashion designers like Abbas Kaijuka, and Ronnie Cham, among others. I give them my ideas and they bring them into reality and sometimes I also add on mine.
Bleaching is trending lately, yet you have maintained your dark complexion.
Well, I believe in black beauty and I was raised like that. My mother is a gorgeous black woman and I used to admire my mother a lot; so, she used to tell me, “My daughter this colour that you have is gold, because black is beautiful. Be proud and put your head high; you are beautiful.”
You know sometimes the way girls are raised especially in the African communities… you would emulate how you carry yourself in the future. We see white people telling their children everytime, “You are beautiful”; they keep encouraging them from the time they are still young and so, they grow up knowing that they are the best.
But back here in African communities, it is not the same culture; so, I am proud of my colour and I urge young girls not to bleach because black is beautiful.
Are you married, single, or searching?
[She laughs heartily] I am happy and contented the way I am. We just leave it at that [well, she has lately been linked to fellow singer Eddy Kenzo, but Lydia is not willing to go into that.]
How do you keep in shape?
Hmm…honestly I won’t lie because I can’t say I do have a diet that I follow or go to the gym every day. I think it’s just the way I am; it’s my nature. I will tell you for a fact that I eat anything I want to eat, anytime, and when I get time I can go to the gym once in a while but I am not addicted to it. I think it is just my body type.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry?
Well, especially when I was starting to break through in the market, it was not easy. It needed a lot of hard work and financial facilitation, and because this is an industry that has so many people who are talented, it’s not easy to get that target audience.
But I knew what I wanted from the beginning and I focused on that, but it was really expensive. For example, for music videos the least I can spend is like Shs 10 million and if it’s cheap it would be Shs 8 million, plus the audio; you have to master the sound. The promotion, which is the biggest part of it because you might be having good music but no funds to push it. So, the challenges are promotions, videos, audio, all that.
What is your favourite song in your catalogue?
It’s one question that I don’t know how to answer, but honestly, all my songs are good and every song I did had a strong reason behind it. So, most of them are special to me in their way.
Your message to the young women you possibly inspire?
I love you so much and thank you so much for looking up to me. Follow your dreams, keep focused, pray and also respect people.
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