Suddenly his chiseled abs made sense. Apart from getting more likes than his fully-clothed updates on social media, they make him feel good and confident enough to pack a punch when he sings.
As I watched him give 100% on each take of his rehearsal with Ugandan songstress Juliana Kanyamozi. The song was a mash up of Flavour’s Shake, and Juliana’s Woman.
The lovely female background vocalists weren’t just nodding because he was talking to them, but they were listening to his direction on how he felt they could enhance his side of the song ….out of respect for the effort that he was putting into it. He even had a word with the drummer so that the clangs and bangs would sound like what was playing in his head.
Behind the six-pack and the dreadlocks and the stunners is a smart guy who knows what he wants and gives of himself to achieve it. But most importantly, he believes in himself.
“Nothing comes from just sitting around, so you have to do something. All good and bad things, you draw strength from these and move to the next level. Even if you try and fail, you have to try again and again until you get it. That is what I think, and that is why I believe in myself… I know that if I try hard enough I will do it,” Flavour said readily.
Belief is what keeps you going when the doors stay closed and when you can’t hit the right note. When your dance moves leave you out of breathe and when you can’t seem to write that song that’s bugging you.
Belief is what makes you say “mikono juu” and you know that the audience will raise their hands and show you love during concerts.
For Juliana, belief is: “Knowing who you are. I know who I am; a strong African woman. All I believe in, makes me who I am and makes me believe in myself. I know what I am good at and what I am capable of.”
To the lovely lady, it has been a journey; one made much easier the more she discovered herself.
DJ and music producer Masterkraft from Nigeria on the other hand, can count the years between his life as a hawker, houseboy, and then later touring the US with Flavour. He knows nothing is impossible.
“I am the first musician in my family. And after my success, everybody seems to have taken it up, and they are doing quite well,” he confesses. Not in a boastful way, but matter of factly and almost quietly.
“I have learnt that in this world, anything can happen. You have to have faith that if you make an effort; something will come out of it.”
Mastercraft works closely with Flavour, producing hit songs like Chinny Baby and Kwarikwa, featuring Fally Ipupa.
Flavour is a multiple award winning musician whose most popular song to date is Nwa Baby (Ashawo).
Juliana has been on the music scene for close to ten years now with tracks such as Mpita Njia, Sanyu Lange and recently Woman pegged to her name.
They all needed to believe, to be able to achieve and exceed their fluid goals.
“My mother never thought much of my singing career when I started out. She thought I would die poor. One day, I invited her and my dad to Lagos. With my first few earnings I bought them a house. I had to prove to them that my passion was worth something, and that I could make something of the money I was making,” concluded Flavour.
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