Ya Levis during his performance in Kampala. Photo | Edwin Nyaika
By now you know the Congolese singer and songwriter Prince Nemiala, alias Ya Levis, was in Uganda last weekend. The concert had been confirmed more than two months ago, and there was excitement, especially from many French-speaking Ugandans.
See, there are many parallel local music industries: those who listen to regular local music on FM stations and those who stream music and have such a unique taste of music. They organise their own parties and invite artistes such as Mike Kaihura, Chike, and Ric Hassani, among others.
Their parties may not have the hottest Nigerian or Amapiano artiste, but they always have such a turn-up with revellers who are singing along to songs ordinary Ugandans are learning about for the first time. And that was the case of the Ya Levis Dalwear concert at the Kampala Serena Hotel’s Victoria Conference Hall.
With songs such as Penzi alongside Diamond Platinumz, Lokesha, Nakati, and Chocolat, he has a catalogue not known to many Ugandans, but is deeply appreciated across the continent.
But Ya Levis is not only about his catalogue; he is a performer, whose smooth music appeals to women in ways most male performers can hardly try. His music has a lot of singalongs, and that is whether you know the man or are listening to him for the first time.
Aicha, for instance, is catchy and easy on the ear. Yet if one is to talk about his vocal ability, he has found a way around his lyrics; he knows how to make his audience connect with his emotions even when, most of the time, the language barrier between them is real.
That is not all though; the concert at the Kampala Serena last week had many wins, such as a flawless band, Swangz Avenue’s Double Black, Fidel Mambo, a Ugandan Congolese, and a member of the band played the lead guitar.
Oh, was he amazing? He was, and so was his band; then the aesthetics, the lighting, and the backdrop—there was a lot that all the performers and show producers had to offer.But none of this will be said about Ya Levis Dalwear’s concert in Kampala.
In fact, we may hear nothing about his majestic performance. On Sunday, August 25, Ya Levis’ concert was the talk on social media without being the actual talk of social media. It trended without necessarily trending. But how did this happen?
The show had curtain-raising artistes, then it had the man of the day himself, Ya Levis. But this was a show intended to drive news away from the performer from the set-up, mainly put together by Ganda Vibes, the same people behind Sho-Na-Le.
In the past events, Ganda Vibes has worked with Fenon, and it was not different. Fenon Entertainment has over the years created a reputation as the big boys in the events arena, from putting up incredible stages to their boss, Steve Jean, being a major stakeholder in the music industry.
He is also known for paying attention to detail; thus, when Fenon is involved in an event, perfection is almost God-given. However, the first highlight of the show was a rant by one of the day’s performers, Priscilla Zawedde, alias Azawi. The artist complained that the sound was bad.
Of course, what followed was a back and forth with the public, but that was only the beginning. The videos from the show started streaming in, and that is when Ya Levis dominated the timeline without most people knowing a line from any of his songs.
Ya Levis sings for the ladies, and thus, many of them flocked the venue; however, little was known if many would actually end up on stage.
Between Chocolat and a slew of his other smooth songs, girls crawled to the stage to dance, take pictures, and, for some, to touch the artiste.
On an ordinary day, it is very okay to get starstruck; however, in a situation that involved Ya Levis, the Congolese Prince of Smooth, it was an obsession.
As soon as the pictures hit the wires, the show and everything it stood for were out of the window.
No one wanted to know what he sang—not that it mattered anymore, but the girls and how they almost tore each other apart just to get personal with the star.
At some point, he was sandwiched between three girls, and yet there was another one still holding his pants from the stage floor.
Ya Levis is talented, but he is a Francophone artiste, and by default, he’s not as popular as WizKid or Burna Boy. Where some Ugandans understand Etania jumping over barriers to dance with WizKid, Ya Levis comes off as a surprise.
For many of them, girls jumping over him or others almost running over each other to touch him is going to be a reason most will always discuss the people that climbed his stage rather than he who sang on it.
