The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown that shadowed it will never be forgotten by all who experienced it. Virtually every industry shut down as the world at large and Uganda in particular sought to combat the spread of the deadly virus.
But few sectors suffered as much as the night economy, majorly due to the curfew regulations put in place by the government. The entertainment industry, in particular, suffered greatly as with people barred from partying, there was extremely little opportunity for artistes to thrive.
Worst of all, the untimely lockdown stopped the ascent of several new acts who would have been thinking their moment had come. One of these acts was Hatim & Dokey, who had joined forces in 2019 to became the latest in a long tradition of dynamic duos in Ugandan music that includes storied acts such as Radio & Weasel, General Mega Dee & Menton Krono, Ngoni and Benon & Vamposs.
Producer-Singer-Songwriter Ken “Hatim” Seruwagi and the more renown Singer-Songwriter Geoffrey “Dokey” Nkwanga, also known as Dokta Brain, came together to form Hatim & Dokey. Dubbing themselves with such monikers as “Happy African Boys” and “HD Music”, they threatened to take over the game on grounds of their versatility and mastery of the dancehall and afro-pop genres that Ugandans adore so much.
On the eve of lockdown, they were beginning to get the widespread acclamation their considerable abilities deserved, courtesy of “Kakodyo Ko”,a bruising dancehall number that combined a story about a girl whose trick lies in how she whines her body, and an ode to hustlers who always find a way to survive, represented by the examples of a woman selling second hand clothes on the street, evading law enforcement, and a boda guy clearing the loan through which he bought his bike.
These two very different sides of the song were perfectly welded by the artistes’ creativity and energy.In fact,the vibe of the song was so good that nobody even paid attention to the difference in the content of the verses.And in a similar way “Kakodyo Ko” captured succinctly the different personalities of the artistes’ who made it.The carefree and fun-loving Hatim contrasted with the cerebral and empathetic Dokey.
As individuals,they couldn’t be more different.And yet as a unit under the management of Subwami Empire,they both elevated the other to a level neither could reach on their own.It was the sort of star pairing that used to be commonplace but had sort of gone out of fashion.The combination of quality,diversity and chemistry quickly convinced fans that these guys were the real deal.
Then Covid-19 came along and put everything on pause.But Hatim & Dokey wouldn’t let their chance go,and duly pivoted,outing the lockdown-themed “After Quara”,an endearing ballad promising a lover that once life went back to normal after the days of isolation and quarantine,every day would be like Valentine’s.It was lovely,it was creative and it caught on like wildfire.To this day it remains one of their biggest songs.
At the time it was viewed as a promise of what the future held.With recognition of their stellar talent came more expectation of what they would do with it.Only for the pandemic to inadvertently cause their parting of ways with Subwami Empire and consequently,the decision to go independent.The loss of the safety net of a management company proved a hill too steep to navigate,and they struggled to remain on the scene in the aftermath.
But nothing can stop talent combined with hard work,and the duo’s efforts would go on to yield “Did I Die”,a playful, mischievous banger in 2022.While the original song found considerable success,it was taken to a whole other level by a remix that featured Sheebah,Fefe Bussi and Vampino.Once more,the Happy African Boys threatened to become unstoppable.But once more,that promise did not translate to reality.
It is important to note that Hatim & Dokey didn’t struggle because they stopped making good music.On the contrary,I doubt there is any other act with as many unheralded bops as this duo.The list of great songs that could have,really should have had more success is long,including songs such as “Mufaliso”,,”Bukiika”,”Bakole Batya”,”Nja Batta”,”Mutima Gwange”,to mention but a few.
All these songs had infinite potential,but could not,for one reason or the other,capture the general consciousness in the same way as “After Quara” and “Did I Die” did.So I was more than slightly disappointed to belatedly learn that the two had split because of constraints in financing themselves as a duo.It is a little known fact that while music is one of the most expensive ventures,it is also not really lucrative unless you are a top of the bill star.
We might never understand why,in spite of consistently making good music,Hatim & Dokey never found the consistent relevance that their obvious collective talent merited.What we do know is that their decision to go separate ways marks the end of a chapter that promised,more than once,to become a legendary story.
