All ready: The singer who will be launching his Teriba Ddogo album says he is all set to give an energised live concert tonight, having rehearsed for a month. Darius Mugisha writes.
He might not be one of the voices people scream to in high end and corporate hangouts, but rapper Gravity Omutujju is fast contending for a position among the top 10 entertainers in the land.
Born Gereson Wabuyi, Gravity’s story is so much akin to that of singer Eddy Kenzo, also his former boss in his Big Talent crew. Gravity, now the Tabu Entertainment boss, was a footballer before finally settling for music. He passionately distances himself from drugs and alcohol consumption. While he has not been publicly seen holding any alcoholic drink, many sources say otherwise about drugs.
Just like Kenzo, Gravity’s command of the English language is not the best, and unlike Kenzo, Gravity is yet to hold a print or broadcast interview in the Queen’s language.
But that did not bar Gravity from proving his might to the corporates and those that had never taken the trouble to recognise his music, when he stepped on stage at Namboole stadium during the Club Mega Fest in September. The stadium was filled with wild ululations; his performance was full of energy and the crowd sang word for word to almost each of his songs; one would think he had been with them during rehearsals.
Disproving critics
Gravity. proved that by far and large, he was no-longer the underground rapper from Kasubi, who came to our ears when he redid the late Paul Kafeero’s Walumbe Zaya (yes, it’s hard for you our high-end friends and corporates to know such a song. Who shines for singing about death these days?)
Gravity who has been romantically-linked to WBS chubby TV host Straka Mwezi, also proved he has learnt to play the mind game with his fans; a few months back, he released a duet with Golden Band’s Catherine Kusasira, aka Mama Kabina, and during their performance at the Mega Fest, the smaller and shorter Gravity tried to lift Kusasira in the air and they ended up on the ground like sacks of irish potatoes – to the crowd’s amusement!
His love for the ghetto seems to soar beyond that of self-proclaimed ghetto president Bobi Wine; Gravity’s duet with King Saha-Winner is one of the biggest inspirational songs to people struggling with life at the moment. Gravity claims to have been born and raised in a poor family in Kasubi. He does not discuss his academic life in detail: “I didn’t go far with academics, I gave my all to growing my talent in other fields of life,” Gravity says.
Musically, one of Gravity’s strengths is his lyrics; the rapper crafts his lyrics around catchy and comical phrases, yet he has managed to put a message across in almost each of his songs, albeit in a husky but very strong voice.
Forget the smooth hip hop style of the Drakes, Gravity’s beats are close to dancehall; fast and he rhymes as fast as the beat.
The return
After Walumbe Zaya, Gravity has released tracks like Malangajja, Swagger, Gravity, Vimba, Joanita, Winner and he has new ones like Ekyebeyi, Ebinjanjalo Olimba, Ndekamwoyo and Teriba Doggo – his album launch title. Gravity held his debut album launch concert dubbed Malangaja at Club Obligatto last year, and he had a full house.
Away from music, Gravity is a proud father, but he will not tell us how many children he has.
At a press conference last Friday, he told the press that he has matured musically: “Last year I was just starting, but now I have mastered so many things right from the art of lyrical creation, stage performance in all aspects. This year, I’ve rehearsed for more than a month and I will perform live throughout,” Gravity says.
Musicians including Bobi Wine, Chameleone, Geoffrey Lutaya, King Saha, David Lutalo, Yung Mulo, Bebe Cool, Pallaso and Sheeba are some of the performers expected to share the stage with ‘the rap terrorist’ at Freedom City mall. Entrance is Shs10,000 and Shs30,000 for general and VIP sitting respectively; gates will be open at 6pm.
