After a decade in the music industry, A PASS BAGONZA is finally set to host his maiden concert. For him, the timing feels divinely right. With four albums and countless singles under his belt, the talented artiste will be live at Kampala Serena hotel on January 31.
It has taken you 10 years to hold a maiden concert. Why now?
I feel like it is the right time. It is God’s time. I feel like some things you try to push as a person, but some things are divine; like, it’s the right time to do something. So, I’m not even calculating the 10 years commercially; I’m just looking at the time and I feel like it’s the right time.
I think I’ve matured enough for albums, so many singles, and so much value for the fans. So I feel like it’s only right to give them a concert where they can actually come and enjoy their artiste’s music. And this is a thank you to the fans.
You usually say on your X page that music and the production are very key. So A Pass in concert … what does it mean for you now?
Yeah, production is taken very seriously. We have Kabul, my stage sound engineer from Switzerland. And he’s focusing on making sure that we have the best sound. So, for us, this is not a game. You know, usually people are ready just to do a concert, but don’t have technical people on their end.
You’re going to get an amazing backline. You’ll have everything, but really having a person who understands your music, who is a producer and who is a sound engineer and a stage sound engineer is very important because then he will know which song needs what effects, which songs need which kind of energy.
Your concert comes less than a year after your latest album. Did this album influence the decision for a maiden concert?
The album didn’t influence me to come up with the concert because the album had to be done. Last year, I decided that I’d drop two albums. So, when last year came, I dropped the first one, which was Bagonza and then I dropped the second one, A Pass.
And on my birthday, I was in rehearsal, which already shows you I’m like laser-focused on what I’m supposed to be doing. And it already shows you that it was not really about the concert because the concert was already planned.
Bagonza did not get much attention as compared to the latest one…
For me, it does not matter the attention. I don’t think about the attention when it comes to release. I do what I have to do. I put it out there and the fans vibe. Whether some of them vibe after two months, after three months, after four months, whenever you catch on, we are fine with that, because when it comes to music, you cannot dictate when people listen.
Also when it comes to an album, remember it has a lot of songs. People pick and choose.
You are one of the best artistes in the industry, but you release music on your terms, not on fans’ demand. Why?
It’s because I build albums the majority of the time. Yes, I drop singles here and there, but I try to have a body of work other than having just one song, or two songs.
It’s good for the artistes who do music nowadays because when they look at music, it’s a streaming game. So, since it’s a streaming game, it’s good to drop one song, then push it, then drop another one, then push it, which I totally understand.
Last October, you came out and said you are bigger than the big three (Bebe Cool, Jose Chameleone and Bobi Wine). Was it banter or it’s something you can back up?
It was banter, but at the same time, I feel like people say ‘big three’ because they are so used to these artistes. They’ve seen them for a long time. But in terms of creating art, lyricism, I’m way above all of them combined. They are really dope artistes [though].
You seem to have criteria for picking out people, even in the media; I think they fall in love with you. How do you choose the people you work with?
I don’t look at fame. I don’t look at all these things, how big is your name. I look at what you do. In anything, I look at the art. Then I look at how you behave, because I don’t want to align my brand with people who are also weird.
If it does not add up, we don’t do it. But if I feel like the music aligns and also the way the person moves, the vibe, the connection, that’s what I like to do because so many artistes that I’ve worked with, I’ve worked with them based on their energy. You know, based on the love they have for music.
Last year, you said Uganda sends out musicians internationally with low-quality music. So, what should be done to improve the quality of music?
What I was saying was based off Coke Studio. And not really like I was bashing it or anything, but someone from Uganda who was representing them told them that I’m a Pepsi ambassador, so that they don’t have me on when they were saying they wanted to have me on board.
But I’m one of the best Ugandan artistes; the problem is that we have a lot of people here who have agendas. So, someone will make sure that you don’t go and will take another person.
The music industry is really having too much politics and leadership issues… Do you think musicians have decided to be beggars since most politicians branded them?
Some of them, and we’ve seen Salim Saleh trying to cut them from going to Gulu. This is evident. It’s not something I should even talk about. So, you know, it’s something that you can see.
Aside from writing, audio production and producing, what does A Pass do?
I read. As you can see, the library is here. I’m a reader. And I like movies. I watch movies; so many interesting movies out there. I do the minimum and honestly like I’m not very outgoing. So, I don’t spend my time out partying or whatever.
I spend my time with my girlfriend; we chill. I just prefer to do that. There’s nothing really exciting out there for me. I only go out when it’s business or when it’s gym.
atiluknathan@gmail.com