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Bobi makes history
Mr G from Jamaica performs with Bobi Wine. Photo by Eddie Chicco.
What you need to know:
Revellers entered Lugogo Cricket Oval free of charge. All they had to do was carry an item to donate to the people of Bududa who were affected by landslides.
History was made by Bobi Wine during his Akalimu concert at the Lugogo Cricket Oval on Friday. The show went into the books of records as the first free album launch concert held by a musician. An album launch concert is the biggest day in the year for the average Ugandan musician, but Bobi Wine decided to hold a free concert for a charitable cause. The catch was that revellers had to turn up with items to donate to the people of Bududa in Eastern Uganda, who were displaced by landslides. Red Cross was on hand to receive the donations.
Besides that, Bobi Wine also became the first local artiste to hold a successful concert in the Cricket Oval as it is usually preserved for international shows. Local artistes rarely command the numbers to fill the venue, let alone the obscene amount one has to pay to hire the stadium. With no cover charge, Bobi filled the stadium as expected.
Backed by Solid Band, Bobi Wine hoped on stage at 11.30pm, opening the show with the National and Buganda anthem, which depicted the patriotism he has for his country and how much he respects his kingdom. The ghetto president jumpstarted the night long energetic performance with one of his confession songs, Dipo Z’esada.
Bobi Wine took his ghetto fans to a music journey singing songs of encouragement to the ghetto youth and songs of love to Barbie like For better For Worse and many more. He celebrated his genesis with his first songs like Kagoma, Bada, Kiwani, and Adam ne Kawa among others. The ghetto gladiator thanked his fans for the great turn-up for a positive cause. “Thank you so much for coming. You have really showed massive support to the least privileged, together we can make a difference,” he said while gasping for air.
Bobi Wine also advocated keeping the Ugandan culture and encouraged all the ghetto youth to preserve culture. “Recently it was reported wrongly in the newspapers that I am violent. When I stand tall against all odds to support my culture, does not mean I am violent. I am Ugandan and my culture doesn’t support homosexuality, period! If they want us to respect homosexuals, let them also respect our culture, it all comes back to respect for one another’s culture,” he said prompting an applause from the crowd.
With his recently concluded Ghetto Superstar Talent Search that gives a platform to talented but undiscovered ghetto youth, Bobi Wine introduced the winner of the competition, Melody. He gave him a chance to prove to the revellers that he really was worth winning the tight competition. Melody sang his heart out prompting the crowd to applaud him.
After a full hour of nonstop hit music, Bobi Wine introduced his Africa Jamaica Connect compatriot, Mr G who fired up the crowd with his hit singles Swaggerific and Beat Them Bad. Mr G confessed the love he had for Ugandans and thanked various partners for making the charity concert a success. Their latest hit collaborations, High Grade, Girls and Clean and Out brought the successful concert to a close, few minutes past 1am.
