I do not see music as a destination, but a journey – Jowy Landa

Was music all you ever wanted to do growing up?
From childhood, I had a passion for music and my family and friends used to tell me that I have a good voice but my dream was to be a model. I can says I had a liking for both, only that the music bit was identified by those around me.

When did you realise that music was your calling?
While at school, we had class and house competitions for Music, Dance and Drama and it was from then that people told me I was talented, so I chose music over my  modelling dream. I found myself always at peace with music.
 
Tell us a bit about your music background?
I started out as a back-up artiste before I made Obubadi cover that trended on social media. After that, I released Sabasaba under Bango Entertainment/Pallaso. From there, I joined Texas Management under manager Francis, then Sure Events and now 7 Star and Team No Sleep (TNS).

Which artistes did you back-up?
I was a back-up for Chameleone, Pallaso and Hanson Baliruno.  

Why did you leave Bango Entertainment?
My manager, Pallaso, got busy.

In three years, you have been under four management teams. Is it you or the people that manage you with the problem?
I love staying in a place where I find peace, so most times when the situation is bad, I leave.

How did your former management labels make you uncomfortable?
Creative control. As an artiste, I did not have creative control, which is very important for an artiste to translate what you feel to synchronise with the audience.

You are signed under 7 Star but affiliated to TNS. How does that work?
DJ Roja of 7 Star found me at a time when I was about to leave music because I was fed up. And with Jeff Kiwa, who does not know about Jeff and TNS? Many artistes admire working with him and my trust in them has yielded more hits, the likes of  Wire Wire, Am Badder, Nkulina, Kukyakala Na Kubwa, Twafuna and Akawoowo with more coming.

 How did Roja convince you to sign under his label yet he is more known as a deejay than an artiste manager?
He did not convince me; I chose him because from the conversation we had, he understood me more.

What exactly do Roja and Jeff Kiwa do for you?
I lost my dad when I was six, so they are my second parents. This means they literally do everything for me even beyond music.

Why not just have one person to manage you?
They are friends and everyone has an area they are good at. DJ Roja managed to change my brand, put my music on every TV and radio station, plays my music in clubs, among others. I thank God I am with some of the best music managers in the game.

If you are to look back at the Jowy Landa of Sabasaba and the Jowy Landa of Twafuna Sente, how would you compare them?
They are totally different. Sabasaba was my first solo big project and I was still young and naive, but with Twafuna Sente, I have improved a lot. With the two managers who know what to do, my voice is sweeter and stronger than before.

Where did you expect to be in four years after your first song?
Sabasaba being my first hit song gave me motivation to push hard and it gave me confidence that I would be a star. It was not easy but I always knew I would be in the music game and would always be on top of it and now here I am.

You say you are on top of your game, does this mean you have reached your final destination in music?
Not yet, I do not see music as a destination, but as a journey and as an artiste, it is always about improving and reaching new heights.

What do you want to achieve in the music business?
I would like to achieve international recognition, sharing the same stage with many international artistes, wealth and making many friends.

Which international artistes do you want to share a stage with?
Very many, including Ayra Starr, Rema, Burna Boy, Simi, Tiwa, to mention but a few.

Your list is dominated by Nigerians. Why so?
Nigerians have mastered the type of music that sells and how to execute it. Several Nigerian music legends have been on the international music scene for long; the continuous publicity has helped many Nigerian artistes over the years.
Artistes such as Rema, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy are now trending everywhere, just look at Rema making a collaboration with Selena Gomez; Rush by Ayra Starr was on top of charts for too long. They have set the bar high up for me to recognise their hard work.

What do you think they are doing differently that artistes like you back home are not doing?
They have an identity in their music, which is not the case in Uganda. They have that unique beat with traditional instruments that cuts across, which our music in Uganda still lacks. We do not have an identity yet it is key to pushing a song beyond borders. They also have an operational copyright law, which enables them to earn a lot from their craft.

Your Sugar Mama remix with JPC met a lot of criticism. What do you say about this?
Music is all about vibe. I guess they (critics) even locked themselves somewhere and vibed to the song.

The lyrics in that song are not meant for anyone below 18 years, do you think it was a good decision for you to release such a song?
Music is never intended to abuse anyone. I did not use any abusive word, and maybe those who think that it is abusive have unreasonable mind-sets. Children below 18 cannot understand the meaning of the lyrics, they will just vibe because the song is a vibe.

What was going through your head when you were in studio recording it?
As I said earlier, it was a vibe. Music is all about creating vibes and we enjoyed our time in the studio.

It is one of your most viewed videos, with 573K views and counting in five months. Do you think this is the way to go for any artiste out there?
It is all about understanding what the fans want, since we know that people will do anything to get money and have luxurious things; we have to create that for them. Anyone can sing anything and it is the fans to vibe with it or not.

You have recorded a number of collaborations with various artistes. Who among them did you enjoy working with?
All of them. Each has a different vibe that they bring and each moment with them has a great memory, whic is why I have many hit songs with different artistes.

Music comes with its challenges. Tell us some of the challenges you have faced?
The main challenge is changing management.

What challenges come with changing management?
People are different and operate in different ways, so getting to know how they work and fitting in has been a bit hard. There is always a setback, but when the management is stronger than the previous one, then why not.

Has your music career been profitable so far?
Yes. I have earned a lot of things through bookings. My music is heard on different streets in the country. I am proud of where I have reached and I will not stop.

Tell us something that we do not know about Jowy Landa?
I was raised by a single mother after my father died. We are five children.

Who inspired you to start doing music commercially?
It was Pallaso.