myweku.com

It is rare to find an enormously talented vibrant musician who captivates her audience as Tshila does. Her fusion of African music and western funk is simply exhilarating and has won her many plaudits. She has defined Ugandan music like no other and has wrapped her soul around songs like “Scientific Love” and “Namboozo”.

 

MyWeku.com: When did you first realize you could sing and who were your musical idols?

Tshila: I have been writing songs from an early age although I didn’t start singing till much later while growing up. However, I never had any musical influence in my childhood and didn’t attend music school or have a musical family. I started singing professionally in 2005 when i joined the Bataka Squad, an underground Ugandan Hip-Hop group that was doing music in Luganda. I felt very inspired and began singing with them and rapping. We later split up but by then I had become very inspired to start singing.

MyWeku.com: What would you say is unique about your music and what was it like being named one of the 20 best unsigned acts in the world by the BBC a couple of year ago?

Tshila: My music is fusion. All music is fusion, but mine is a specific form of Afro- Fusion which could also be categorized as world music. It involves a diverse mix of African Traditional music with Western styles like Hip-hop, Jazz, Spoken Word poetry, some RnB, Zouk, etc.

I felt great and honored to know that people from the West were appreciative of my music and recognized that I was unique and had something going. This has been a stepping stone for me, from which I have been able to move on to bigger and better things and will hopefully continue to do so in the near future.

MyWeku.com: Where do you get your inspiration from?

Tshila: I am inspired mostly by being a witness to the dire situation in third world countries in Africa. I know that our voices will one day be heard and we will have a better life through the awareness created by our music of our people. I also draw inspiration from unique artists like Erykah Badu, India Arie, Jill Scott, the list goes on.

MyWeku.com: What do you like to do when you’re not singing?

Tshila: When am not singing I love to read. Not so much academically, even though i may be on the verge of doing a master’s degree in the near future. However, my biggest pastime outside of music is books.

MyWeku.com: Do you have any suggestions to help aspiring musicians?

Tshila: In Uganda, I think aspiring artists should stick to being unique and not try to be like the popular local artists who all almost sing and sound the same.

MyWeku.com: Anything else you’d like to add?

Tshila: I would like to say that good things take time to create and good things come to those who wait. So Ugandan musicians should learn to take their time and create music with quality and richness so that we can export our culture and be known to the rest of the world.