Who is UG’s king of the dancehall in 2019? Can you take a wild guess? You will probably be confused and come up with a few names which are not even actually dancehall artists given the recent cross and fusion of numerous artists into the same genre.
We however, know you probably already have Cindy on your tongue and Sheebah, and we probably kinda will agree with you a little on Cindy with herself proclamation as the “king herself, ye nze nanyini kyo”, but she is still a female artist and as such would be queen. Even that is getting contested today, but that is for another time.
Sheebah isn’t a dancehall artist either, nor is Winnie Nwagi or the others that will come to mind. Most of those are doing Afro Beat and Afro Pop, but we can see where you get the mix up, and it’s a common thing these days. We have a whole team dedicated just to this, that’s how crazy it is.
So, bringing us back to the male artist worth of being crowned UG’s King of the Dancehall, now from above you realise that UG Dancehall music is becoming a little extinct with very few key players and has been replaced with the trendy new urban hip-hop fused with Afro Beat.
If you didn’t get that, just think about most of Fik Fameica’s songs, Suspekt Leizor, Parte After Parte, some of Recho Rey’s songs, Feffe Bussi and more. Yeah, we know, you will run crazy reading this, ‘cause you probably thought that is dancehall too.
The only remaining dancehall male artists worth mentioning right now are probably Nutty Neithan and Beenie Gunter. Of which the former has disappeared for a while now, which reminds us, what happened to Vampino banange?
Anyways, the moment you have been waiting for, drum roll please….. UG’s King of the Dancehall as of this year 2019 in particular, is Beenie Gunter!
First – Who is Beenie Gunter?
Beenie Gunter’s real name is Baguma Crescent and he is currently 24 years old. He officially released his first dancehall single in his S6 vac in 2013 and is an OB of St. Mary’s Kitende.
His most popular songs are “Olina Work” which has been referenced by numerous Ugandan artists including Bobi Wine as well as making the word “worka” became a popular word in regular Luganda slang – and his other song “Pon Mi” with DJ Slick Stuart & Roja.
Beenie Gunter Performing at a Concert | Spurzine
He has been signed under numerous music labels like JahLovd in 2013, Savvy Music (belonging to Sasha Vybz) in 2015, Stain and later on forming his own label, Guntalk City. Currently he is managed by Talent Africa which manages Navio.
He has produced several songs, done numerous collabos with artists like Skales, Nyanda, Eddy Kenzo, Sheebah, Kranium, Beenie Man, Gyptian, Lydia Jazmine, A Pass, Big Trill, etc and also has released his first album called, “No fear” with 25 tracks in 2019.
Beenie Gunter is the most underrated yet talented musician in Uganda, with only two awards from Buzz Teeniez and no other recognitions.
Why Does He Deserve the Title of UG’s King of the Dancehall in 2019
We know he was around even in the previous years, but those during those years competition was tight even if he stood out. Last year and this year, he has put in exceptional effort and produced very good music. He honestly earns this title undisputed. We just hope he can maintain it in the years to come.
When you follow Gunter’s music, it reminds you of the true dancehall music we loved to jam to, especially during the reign of Sean Paul. The arrival of Sean Paul in the Jamaican and global music industry, heavily inspired the spread and change in reggae music to create dancehall.
‘cause honestly that is what it is, dancehall is reggae music with groovy hard stomping beats you can dance to and usually a fusion of reggae hip-hop. Now you’re going like what? Does reggae hip-hop even exist?
Yes, Beenie man, Sean Paul, Vybz Kartel are all reggae rappers and reggae musicians. Sean Paul and Beenie mostly, if you pay attention to their music again now that you know this, you will realise their flow. For the Latina music, reggaeton is similar to this, they are rappers too. Their Latina dancehall of sorts.
Back to our UG King of Dancehall 2019, Beenie Gunter borrows from Sean Paul and other artists, with his own unique twist and voice – and creates a unique Ugandan dancehall experience.
Of course, after this, many upcoming Ugandan artists are going to be inspired to come after him, which will make 2020 a very interesting year in music to look forward to.
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