The Ugandan music scene experienced remarkable strides in 2024 with local artistes achieving milestones that showcased the industry’s growth and evolving dynamics.
From chart-topping hits to international collaborations, the year highlighted the increasing global recognition of Ugandan talent. Streaming platforms played a significant role with record-breaking numbers underscoring the importance of digital platforms in shaping the industry.
Collaboration was a defining theme the entire year, with widely celebrated projects and viral success stories. The quality of music production and video standards continued to improve, reflecting the industry’s growing commitment to excellence.
Analysts noted the steady rise of female artistes, a surge in international audiences and the role of streaming in creating new revenue streams for artistes. ERNEST JJINGO & NATHAN ATILUK write.
ELIJAH KITAKA; Music and fashion icon
This son of a renowned Pentecostal pastor has arguably had his biggest year in music yet, thanks to Dawa, which was one of the biggest songs of 2024. Released in July, the song has received massive airplay throughout the year and, according to Spotify, it was the second most played Ugandan song on the streaming platform in 2024, while his 2023 EP Bedroom Essentials was the second most streamed local music album on Spotify.
Coupled with his other songs such as Touch and Continue and his participation on the Swangz Avenue All Star album where he appeared on 11 of the 16 songs, Kitaka emerged as Uganda’s fourth most streamed artiste of 2024 and number one male.
But it was not only music that made the singer popular; Kitaka’s sense of fashion especially with his signature short shorts added flare to his popularity, making him a fashion icon to the extent that men’s shorts are now being referred to as ‘Kitakas’.
SWANGZ ALL STAR ALBUM; A collaborative triumph
It had been a while since we last had so many artistes coming together to do a project, but in July, record label Swangz Avenue gathered their artistes Vinka, Winnie Nwagi, Azawi, Zafaran, Elijah Kitaka and Zagazillions and took them to Zanzibar together with producers and writers for a week-long creative retreat to record the Swangz All Star album.
The 16-track album was eventually released in November and also featured other singers such as Levixone, Ava Peace, Joshua Baraka, A Pass, Arrow Bwoy, Bien, Savara, and John Blaq.
The album helped Swangz Avenue artistes dominate streaming platforms with Azawi, Vinka, Winnie Nwagi and Elijah Kitaka emerging as the most streamed local artistes in Uganda on Spotify.
AVA PEACE; The power of collaborations
Signed under TNS by Sheebah’s former manager Jeff Kiwa, Ava Peace started the year with the release of her debut six-song EP titled Ava@Peace. The EP produced hits like Whiskey and Mukwano Arcade, a collaboration with Vyroota.
You might say collaborations have worked well for her this year with the other one, Muziki (with Fik Gaza), also doing well. But her biggest song achievement for the year has been Tabbu with Dax Vibez, which is arguably one of the biggest songs of 2024.
She was also among the few outsider artistes to feature on Swangz Avenue’s All Star album on the track Batuleke with Winnie Nwagi and Vinka. The singer closed off the year with a late release of Kawala ka Amooti which is already doing well as we enter the new year.
JOSHUA BARAKA; Rising international star
Joshua Baraka continued to shine in 2024 not only on Uganda’s music scene but also internationally. Throughout the year, the youngster collaborated with continental
stars such as Fave, Dj Neptune, Simi, Qing Madi, Krizbeatz, Tiphe, Twitch 4EVA all from Nigeria.
He also did songs with South African singer Nkosazana Daughter, Kenyan artistes Bensoul and Mr Tee, and Ghanian singer KiDi.
These collaborations gave Baraka an edge over other Ugandan artistes especially in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Rwanda, making him the most streamed local artiste outside Uganda, and the country’s biggest music export of 2024.
Baraka’s hit Dalilah was third most streamed Ugandan song on Spotify while his collaborations such as Diigi with Kenya’s Mr Tee and the Dalilah remix with Simi and Qing Madi raked in millions of streams for him on Spotify and YouTube.
This made Baraka the first Ugandan artiste to hit 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
His other songs included Lonely, Touch Me with Fave, Tonight with DJ Neptune and his six-track Recess Mixtape released in December.
To certify his growing international appeal, the singer held a sold-out show in London
in October and also appeared on various UK radio stations including BBC 1 Xtra, The Beat and Capital Xtra, as well as an appearance in the Rolling Stone Africa magazine.
AZAWI; Queen of Ugandan streaming
Azawi emerged as the most streamed local artiste on Spotify in 2024, becoming the first female artiste to top the list.
Her song Masavu was the most streamed local song on Spotify and second most watched Ugandan music video on YouTube in 2024, with 3.8 million views, while her albums African Music and Sankofa though released in 2021 and 2023 respectively, were in the top 5 of the most streamed local albums at number one and three.
NANDOR LOVE; A year of breakthrough
Nandor Love, real names Nantume Dorcus Tendo, burst onto Uganda’s music scene in 2022 with the song Baby Wa Boo, but it has been in 2024 that the 22-year-old has made her mark.
Her song Mpologoma, which she released in September, was an instant hit gaining over one million views on YouTube in just two months. However, even more success was yet to come with the release of Kinawolovu in November, which became one of the most trending songs of the year.
The video to the song immediately trended at number one on YouTube, gaining over 1.4 million views in just three weeks of its release. She has also had collaborations with Ava Peace, Jowy Landa and featured on Kukyakala na Kubwa song with five other female artistess (Recho Rey, Ava Peace, Zafaran, Jowy Landa and Nina Roz).
KAPEKE; A breakthrough rap star
Rapper Derrick Nsubuga known by his stage name Kapeke was one of the biggest music breakthroughs of 2024, even though he had been in the music industry for three years.
His song Swiriri, a collaboration with Rickman Manrick, introduced him to a wider audience and laid the ground for songs like Akasanyalaze, Polokoto and Shuu remix featuring Fik Fameica, which have all been a success.
A PASS; Prolific and unstoppable
Since the release of his second album African Yayo in 2018, fans had been asking A Pass for new music and he had always responded that he had more than enough music to put out.
Indeed, this came true in 2024 when the singer released a total of 53 songs. This was through his two albums; Bagonza with 42 songs released in January and A Pass with 11 songs released in December.
Bagonza emerged as the fifth most streamed Ugandan music album on Spotify in 2024.
The singer/songwriter held his first-ever concert on January 31, 2025 at the Kampala Serena hotel.
WHAT ANALYSTS SAY
Media personality McKenzie Sabiiti says there was nothing significantly new added to 2024’s music scene, even with Swangz Avenue dominating the scene yet again; they did nothing unexpected.
He says their all-star album felt generic to their sound with nothing groundbreaking.
He, however, notes that 2024 saw the continuous growth of artistes such as Elijah Kitaka and Joshua Baraka as well as a massive roll-out of collaborations, which was a great development for the industry.
“I hope they extend these partnerships to concerts; a Vinka and Kitaka concert would be a must-attend. I also loved what Lil Pazo (Enkudi hit maker) did this year. It was refreshing,” he says.
McKenzie lists Mudra as his most important music player of 2024, going by the way he worked and introduced new acts on the scene, such as Winnie wa Mummy and Hozambe; “whether they were successful or not, his efforts were tremendous”.
For McKenzie, the artistes who disappointed him in 2024 were Pallaso, Gravity Omutujju, Spice Diana and Alien Skin. He expected them to dominate the scene, but they lost momentum.
He believes Hozambe, Winnie Wa Mummy, Gloria Bugie and more should work on their craft, and not depend on accidental success like they did in 2024.
“For 2025, I am excited to see the rise of Ava Peace, A Pass, a new Bebe Cool and more TikTok viral songs. The artistes who should keep going and not look back are Topik Kasente and Dax Vibes,” McKenzie says.
For entertainment analyst James Propa, his biggest music highlight of 2024 was Joshua Baraka’s success on the international scene, which showed progress in exporting our talent. He, however, feels like the girls have taken over with more ladies in the top 20 than the gentlemen.
“I think Joshua Baraka, Elijah Kitaka, Azawi and Nandor Love have done great [in 2024],” he says.
Benon Mugumbya, Swangz Avenue’s head of Production, is optimistic about the future of Ugandan music and says that while progress might seem slow, the industry is on the right track.
“The process takes time,” he says. “I know people often compare us to Nigeria and other countries wondering when we will get there but the truth is we are moving in the right direction. In the next five to 10 years, Uganda will have global superstars. Our industry is growing and it is important for stakeholders and artistes to be patient.”
Mugumbya emphasizes the importance of artistes and managers taking their time to master their craft.
“There is no expiry date on music. The longer you take, the better you get. The key is to keep moving and evolving.”
According to Emma Carlos, a member of the Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC), the production quality of music has improved; but while some songs are still not well mastered, the general standard of videos has seen significant improvement.
He adds that when it comes to streaming and publishing, artistes have finally recognized the importance of streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and TuneCore, which has created a new revenue stream for them.
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