Artists Must Unite to Ensure Growth – Uno Boy

Abner Kangumbe is a musician on a mission.

Known by his stage names Uno Boy or Uno Man, the award-winning star took a four-year sabbatical from music to focus on his life.

“I needed to take a short break from music, at least from performing and appearing at live music events, even as a spectator. I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to do something with my life, like securing my future away from music,” Kangumbe says.

“I decided to enter the information technology [IT] field. I decided to go to Johannesburg in South Africa to learn the finer art of IT. Going back to school is definitely the best thing I did with my life. Music alone isn’t enough to sustain you in this country.”

Although he was born at Rupara, a village in the Kavango West region, the star grew up between Rundu and Windhoek.

Kangumbe’s journey began when he joined dance groups as a pupil at Kandjimi Murangi and Rundu secondary schools. However, the singing part, he says, was an inborn talent that eventually became his reality.

“Singing for me was natural. I would dream about a song, and the next morning I would put words to it and start singing it. My music touches all the corners of life. I sing about love and I urge people, especially our youth, to learn to be tolerant and not to fight,” he says.

“I have listened to a variety of artists in my youth. I was particularly intrigued by the Afro-pop sounds of Mafikizolo and Malaika, and not forgetting the queen of township pop, Brenda Fassie. I also lent out my ears to the kwaito sounds of Brown Dash.”

Kangumbe has released six studio albums so far, with his debut offering, ‘Mwana Kurira’, having dropped in 2006.

The single from the album ‘Mwana Kurira’, which he describes as his most successful project to date, earned him the best Afro-pop song and most disciplined artist awards at the Namibia Annual Music Awards.

Uno Boy was also nominated for the best kwaito artist at the 2006 International Music Awards for the song ‘Good Life’, which he referred to as a “tough song”. The song was produced by musician Big Ben.

Kangumbe spent the early years of his music career backing up other established stars, like Dollar 6, Omzoo and Leggetho.

He says his first big gig was launching his debut album, ‘Mwana Kurira,’ in Windhoek on a Friday, followed by a second launch at the University of Namibia’s Rundu campus the next day.

Kangumbe reveals he has become a jack of all trades, taking on any work that guarantees an income.

“I have been quiet for four years. Apart from studies I was just recording new music without releasing it. But now I am ready to grace the music industry again,” he says.

“I have finished recording and I am just going to drop singles from my new album before dropping the entire album at once. The singles will be accompanied by a music video. Right now, I am about to drop ‘Kerta Wena’. It’s my first project after a while.”

He is collaborating with Ronialle, a singer from Botswana, on his song.

Next month, he is dropping ‘Jealousy Down,’ a track urging fellow artists to work together to take the music industry to new heights.

Uno Boy, who wants to be remembered for his music, was also a football player at Rundu.

“I played football from childhood and while I was at secondary school. I was an excellent playmaker as a midfielder but I was equally effective on both wings. I played for my home teams like Bimbo and Cuca Tops,” he says.

“Most people don’t know that I am a trained soldier and I am even a founding member of Mighty Gunners who still play in the Namibian Premier Football League. I was also in the Namibian Defence Force team that played against the Brave Warriors in 2005.”

Kangumbe also played for premiership outfit Ramblers.

The musician currently co-owns an IT business known as DX Connect.

“We are selling and repairing electrical equipment like laptops, microwaves, televisions, cellphones and external hard drives. We have become a go-to shop for students and we are currently contracted by the ministry of education,” Uno Boy notes.

Apart from his IT job, he also runs a Yango business.

The award-winning musician says he sees no growth for the local music industry unless Namibians start working together and stop being envious of one another.

“I have seen the unity among the artists from South Africa and that is the aspect that has fostered growth in their industry. The artists are always willing to work together and you can tell from the level of collaboration that they are a united front,” he says.

The Afro-pop star, who says tribalism and favouritism are killing the local industry, is calling on up-and-coming artists to “unite, get an education to fall back on if music doesn’t work out and remain disciplined at all times”.

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