[When the chitchat is out of the way…] So, Emma Carlos, what happened? [Emma managed Khalifa before they split]
[Sounding irritated] The contract between Emma and me ended. I got a new manager and he also moved on to manage Goodlye; if Radio had not died, Emma would be a big man now.
I’m organizing the Katono and Kiboko concert on November 23 at Kololo Lounge and Emma Carlos is part of the organizing committee, which means we are still in touch and working together.
Good luck on that! Now, your fights with Bebe Cool and Apass…eh!
I don’t have any problem with Bebe Cool, but this goat Apass is just [huuu! Quick Talk cannot print Khalifa’s description of Apass in a family paper…] He should learn to respect the elders; he has only a few hits but he brags a lot, yet he is nothing.
[To cool temperatures a little, Quick Talk teases Khalifa about his legendary love for shoes – especially boots – at which he laughs and berates President Museveni for receiving Yeezys from American rapper Kanye West, instead of promoting local artistes too.]
Khalifa, do you do weed!
[Laughs and states proudly:] Yes; yeah man!
Okaaay… and if you were to do a collabo, who would you go for?
I wanted Jose Chameleone and I did a song with him [Kiboko]. The rest I don’t want. For female artistes, I would go for Juliana. Kanye West can be good to do a collabo with [Yep. The sky is the limit…don’t limit your dreams].
You have stretched your fights with radio presenters. Is that sustainable?
Local problems need local solutions … don’t get things from Google and bring them here… respect me and I respect you…Radio stations have mileage and we should both benefit. I was fighting the guy, but not the media [he infamously got into an altercation with a Galaxy FM presenter].
Hmmm! That ka-hair [he spots just one long dreadlock]
I have a taste for fashion. I want to stand out of the crowd and other musicians like Apass.
But lately you are standing out for staying out of the limelight!
I have been around, I had a change in management and I have been doing shows locally and in Europe and America. I also have some new hits, Katono and Kiboko, which I’m trying to promote.
Musicians are branching out more; Bobi Wine is now more of a politician than a musician; GNL Zamba is married and settled down; Menton Krono is a respected lawyer in the USA…What next for you?
I want to be big in Uganda; in case anything comes by, I will see what to do, but for now I’m concentrating on music.
Ok, best of luck. What do you do when you are not singing?
I sell clothes; I have a chain of boutiques in town where I sell my fashions…. But I don’t want to talk much about it.
Why Aganaga?
I wanted to create something unique … even movies are promoted by good titles; so, the name is aimed at attracting both ghetto and upmarket people. Basically it means ‘here and there’.
If you were young again…what would you change?
I would go to better schools. Better than those I went to where my mother was struggling to pay school fees. I fancied international schools and still do. [Khalifa went to St Aloysius primary school – he claims he is Bobi Wine’s OB – Kawanda Secondary School for O and A-level, before joining Makerere University for a bachelor’s degree in Music, Dance and Drama.]
If you were president for a day…
I would look into the copyright law…[Looking irritated] We only depend on shows; our content is got for free and sometimes we are made to pay to play our music. [Plus,] we want local content to apply even in music.
You look skinny, what do you eat?
Goat meat and posho.
Yummy! But do you cook?
Yeah! I even cooked this morning. I cooked breakfast.
I assume then there is no missus at home…
I have someone I’m seeing and we have a kid – German Karim – and the mother is called Maama German Karim and the father is called Taata Karim… But I’m not officially married.
justuslyatuu08@gmail.com