Dr Chameleone rocks “Kesha” Festival

He is known for his energy on stage, but no one anticipated what Ugandan maestro Joseph Mayanja, better known by his stage name Dr. Jose Chameleone, had under the sleeve for his Rwandan fans during the inaugural “Kesha” festival in the parking lot of Amahoro National Stadium.The Ugandan Afrobeat/Dancehall King is a man whose dynamism on stage does not match his slim, flimsy self. His non-stop live performance during the “ValuValu” concert, part of the newly launched “Kesha” annual festival, clearly left his backup vocalists, band and dancers exhausted because none matches his vigour. The ‘Musical Doctor’ is simply msomething else.However, to the huge audience, it was worth the money and time, as the “Owakabi” singer belted out hit after hit of some of his songs that have propelled him into a continental star over the years.From “Dorotia” to “Jamila” and his latest hit “ValuValu”, the show was worth every penny.“I have known Chameleone for disappointing organisers and his fans, but thank God he showed up and gave us even more than what we had expected,” commented Sylvia Umugwaneza, a fan. Dr. Chameleone hit the stage a bit late – a few minutes past 1p.m and performed for more than one hour.“I really love Chameleone because he is one of those artistes who will give you a great show, but his only problem is that he is chameleon like his stage name. He is so unpredictable,” said David Kalisa. Prior to the guest artiste’s performance, several local and regional artistes curtain raised for the Ugandan crooner, but that did not leave out good old traditional singers, such as Sudi Mavenge, who thrilled those who love old Rwandan music.Mavenge performed a number of songs such as “Simbi”, “Gakoni k’abakobwa” and “Ku Munini”, and concluded his performance with a great message to Rwandan youth to combat drug abuse.“I just love this guy’s music,” said Jean-Claude Hitimana, “Mavenge’s music is original – he is a real star.”Despite one of the members missing, The Brothers staged a good performance. The boys still have what it takes, with the duo opting to perform live while others lip-synched. Next was Kitoko who proved that he is Rwanda’s finest with tracks such as, “Wasi we”, “Akabuto” and followed it with “Urukundo”, stirring the crowd into animated moves. It was imminent that a bigger part of the crowd wanted the show to be fast tracked so as to allow the guest artiste time to sing. MC Ally Soudy failed to limit time for the on-stage DJ’s, who over-did it mixing in between performances, sometimes getting the crowd bored in the process. But when Kitoko came on stage, the impatient audience sprang to their feet.Despite exiting the ongoing Primus Guma Guma SuperStar Season 2, Riderman proved that he is still one of the most admirable musicians in the country. The rapper put up a lively performance with his famous hits “Mwitende”, “Igihano” and “Igitangaza”.The Hip-hop star then was joined by his ‘clique’ of “Ibisumizi”, including ‘the new kid on the block’ Ama-G in “Ninde”, concluding his gig with his famous “Bombori bombori” song.Urban Boyz too had a fair share of their time on stage, ensuring that no one remained seated as they performed their new track ‘Sipiriyani’. The trio know how to turn on a crowd. Their new sensational single “Wampoyiki” got their fans singing along.When it was time for “Take it off”, the crowd literally took it off, joining the boys to pull some rare strokes. It was all fun. They concluded their performance with “Be My Wifey”; a joint collaboration with Ugandan Producer Washington, who joined the trio on stage.Also on the list of performers was King James, who with his “Parapara” and “Ndakwizera” hits made him an instant crowd pleaser.When Dr. Chameleone hit the stage, majority of the people were tired and wanted to go home. But then Chameleone’s bevy of backup musicians, including his brother AK47, and the band came on stage to test the machines.There was hope that finally it was about time for for the crowning performance. Without much ado, Dr. Chameleone started off with “Kipepewo”, then “Effugabbi”, through “Bomboclat”, thereby taking everyone present down memory lane.Meanwhile, the singer had threatened to boycott the show if the security personnel refused people from getting closer to the stage. Chameleone has what it takes to possess a crowd of any size, which makes him arguably one of the biggest African artistes. He also knows how to engage the crowd in the performance, once in a while asking them to sing along.He performed “Shine like a Movie star”, “Going On”, “Basiima Ogenze”, as well as his several collabo’s with regional and international artistes. The singer did not hide his admiration for President Paul Kagame, pointing out that he is ‘one of the greatest African leaders’, to deafening applause. President Kagame is also a known fan of the singer’s music.

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Dr Chameleone rocks “Kesha” Festival