Please give me the liberty to start a conversation. It is time to recognise King Saha for the legend he is. Such things are always more difficult to do in real time. Typically it takes one dying before they receive the plaudits they deserve.
So I am going to buck that trend and give the man born Manisul Ssemanda his flowers now.Perhaps a summary of his career would paint the picture somewhat accurately.King Saha got his big break in 2012 as a member of Jose Chameleone’s crew,Leone Island.The song that brought him into the public’s consciousness was Signal.
Fans were impressed by his vocal range,but they also criticised the similarity of his sound to Mowzey Radio.Now a bit of context is necessary here.Radio had,a few years earlier,left Leone Island alongside Chameleone’s brother Weasel Manizo to form Goodlyfe Crew under the management of Jeff Kiwa.The new duo had subsequently spent years sending musical missiles,subtle and overt,to their erstwhile mentor.Sitaani and Nyambura just to mention but two.
So when Saha first arrived on the scene,he was viewed as a plant to counter Radio,in the same way that Bebe Cool had used Eighton & Rain AKA Kiwoko Boyz.More than a decade later,Saha has outgrown any such theories.Starting with 2014 monster hits Mulilwana and Gundeeze,on to 2016’s Mwana Gwe,on to 2018’s Biri Biri and Very Well,on to last year’s Ebiseera Ebyo and now to his latest offering,the Mudra D Viral collaboration Ku Nnya.
Not even being part of Tubonga Nawe could slow him down. The ironic part of it all is that both Chameleone who platformed him and Radio(& Weasel) who he was supposedly designed to imitate struggled with public disapproval in the wake of the Museveni anthem, but not King Saha. Such was the adoration fans had and still have for him.
To add the cherry on top, the man has held four concerts over the twelve years he has been active. The combination of proliferance, relevance and success means it is not debatable that Saha is a legend.
