The first time I ever heard of Jessy Muyonjo, or JC as his fans know him, was when his cover of the classic Time After Time played on Touch FM.
I was prepping for my mid-morning show when it played, and abandoning my prep, rushed to the studio taking the presenter by surprise.
“Who is that playing?” I asked urgently.
“JC,” she answered with a knowing smile, for JC’s music is the kind that one actually stops what they are doing and pays attention to.
When afterwards she told me she knew JC personally, and better still could arrange for me to interview him, I was thrilled. There was no doubt that this JC was a special sort of talent, and I could not wait to share him with my listeners and readers alike.
I was not able to host or interview JC for a few weeks after that, but three weeks later I finally hosted JC on my Saturday mid-morning show, Anything Goes.
He scored major points with me by not just showing up on time, but actually arriving almost 30 minutes early, unlike most artistes that keep you waiting and biting your nails anxiously, wondering whether they will actually show up.
On air, we mainly discussed his music and the stories behind each of his four songs that I played. Female listeners were enthralled by his pleasant voice for he sounded just as good speaking as he did singing, and there were many questions about his relationship status, which when he revealed he was single only excited them more. Since this interview was conducted, JC’s relationship status has changed and he is currently in a relationship.
But I wanted to know more about JC. I sensed there was much more to his story than he had shared on air, and after the show I suggested we go to a nearby cafeteria for a more in-depth interview. He readily agreed and once again I was struck by how unpretentious he was.
At a window table we managed to get, I finally began the interview. Jessy Muyonjo was born to Fred Muhenda and Florence Kabagweri on September 25, 1990, the second of three children; his older brother passed away earlier and there is one that follows him.
He began his primary education at Lohana Academy, but moved to Kingsway primary school in P.6, before joining St Joseph’s SS Naggalama for his O-level and later Ntare School for his A-level. He was admitted at Kyambogo University where he studied Industrial Fine Art.
His course choice was no surprise to those closest to him because he came from an artistic family.
“I was drawing before I ever began singing,” he said.
He still does art today and pulling out his phone, showed me some of his saved work which blew me away; no doubt, he is extremely talented. But as impressive as JC’s art work is, I really want to talk to him about the music.
As it turns out, he had an early start in music as well, having started training with Watoto church during his S2 holidays. In S6, he joined the All Saints church band and learned how to play the guitar.
In 2010, he got his first guitar and later in 2012 released his first single, a gospel song titled You Know I Love You. The fact that his first song was gospel gets me curious about his faith.
“I don’t feel I need to belong to a religion; Christ is all I need,” he answers, going on to explain his stand.
When he was in S2 his father passed away after a long battle with cancer, which had drained the family not just emotionally, but financially as well. At the time of his father’s passing, his mother was training to become a teacher, and so his father had been the family’s main provider. When his father died, the family struggled so badly that sometimes they would only have porridge all day.
During this time, many relatives and friends abandoned them, reneging on promises they had made during the funeral to support the family. With nowhere to turn, JC says he found comfort in praying, and one day stands out in memory; with no food in the house, a hungry JC went to his room and prayed for food, and lo and behold once he had finished praying, a pickup truck laden with food from an aunt arrived from the village.
JC says God continued to answer his prayers as later that year, the family finally received his late father’s social security fund savings and with the money, his mother started Shine Around kindergarten in Nyanama.
No wonder then that his first single was a gospel track; but although his inspiration was faith- based, some traditional Christian radio stations refused to play it when he approached them, and instead Sanyu FM was the first station to play it.
Other radio station presenters asked for money to play the song; so, he instead turned to the Internet to get the song out. His next single was another gospel track, a collaboration with Ruyonga and Abaasa titled My Father, in 2014.
There is a two-year gap between the singles because it was hard to get the right producer, and he had studies to focus on as well. Fortunately, he was able to send the track to be produced by his old church friend Abaasa, who was at the time based in California. Abaasa was able to understand his melancholic mood at the time and gave the song the right chorus and title.
After hearing the produced track, JC felt it needed a rap feature on it and approached Ruyonga. Ruyonga agreed to be part of the track and with him on it, My Father got a lot more attention than You Know I Love You had.
Mr DeeJay from Radio City, who JC praises as being very open to promoting Ugandan music, featured it on his show. Later that year, JC performed with Ruyonga at the Bayimba festival, at Blankets and Wine festival and the DoaDoa festival in 2016. His star had clearly taken off and was rising fast, yet JC was not satisfied with his music sound.
He decided to solve his producer problem once and for all by learning music production. He began training with Nelson Muhiire of C19 Studios in 2016. Now able to find the sound he was looking for, JC released a new single last April. Unlike his first two tracks, If We Try is not a gospel track but, rather, a call to society to make the world a better place.
In July 2016, he followed it up with Kannoonye, taking yet another direction in terms of content and sound as this love song has a more upbeat feel.
Now that he has all the tools he needs as an artiste, the sky is the limit for JC.
His future plans include lots of music both as a musician and a producer. He has already started up a company, Sketchklan, in Ntinda with his long- time friend and business partner. They deal in illustrations, animations and sound design.
His music aside, Muyonjo wants to get more involved in his mother’s school as he feels this is yet another way of giving back to the community.
margaretwamanga@yahoo.com