At the beginning of the year, Joshua Baraka came under fire from fellow artists.
Most of them argued that he has managed to do as many things outside Uganda, in Kenya and Nigeria, but does anyone know who Baraka is, if he staged a show in Arua.
As they always say, be careful of what you wish for. A few weeks back, Joshua Baraka announced his nationwide tour, he set out to go to places most people said he did not have a fanbase, Gulu, Arua, Mbale, and Mbarara.
On August 27, Johnnie Walker named him the icon walker, thus joining him on the road as he transverses Uganda.
“Joshua Baraka is not only the face of our new Keep Walking campaign; he is living proof of progress,a philosophy that is deeply ingrained in the DNA of Johnnie Walker. We are taking this journey with him, and it was only natural that we show up and go all out for him,” said Johnnie Walker Brand Representative Julius Ssennungi.
Over the weekend, Joshua Baraka took his Into the B’raka Land national tour to Mbale at the Bandali Lounge.
The quiet town was set in motion with visible excitement from young people who freely shared about their best Baraka song and why they had come from as far as Soroti for this show.
“I can’t wait to see him perform Nayomi,” said one Viola, who is also a university student.
There was another one, a third year law student who said things have started becoming really tough and she needed to loosen up.
Most of these ones came early enough to enjoy DJ mixes and their resolve couldn’t even be broken by an early rain scare.
Joshua Baraka took to the stage a few minutes to midnight with What Do I Know, a song off his upcoming EP; at the time, most of the people, both in the VIP and ordinary were on their feet, singing along but also recording for their social platforms.
“If a song is good, we do it twice, halo Mbale,” he said before restarting the song.
This was just the beginning of a night where the audience and stage were almost one; the song alongs, screams and requests for encores.
In between, he would talk to them about the different songs and what they mean to him, he told them that Nana is the song most people knew him for.
When most Ugandans were just learning about him, he had his first mega performance in Mbale. He said this was like a homecoming.
“The first time Joshua performed in Mbale, he had only one song everyone knew which was Nana, today, he comes back when he’s one of the biggest artists in Africa, he’s proof that you have to keep walking,” said one Sanyu Lovisha.
Through a slew of songs such as Dalilah, Tonight, This Time and Wrong Places, his audience at Bandali held their breath, eating out of his palms.
Then he invited Geeza Rabel, a local dancehall artist from Mbale who seems to be picking up quickly. They performed together with Joshua adding a freestyle to his song.
Then he transitioned to his final song, Yoyo, the rhumba influenced song that has been taking over airwaves across East Africa.
The easy and bouncy tune is catchy and has lots of throwaway lines that people easily eat up, “shots of tequila when you come over….” They sang.
His next stop is Mbarara before his other shows in Mombasa, and later, Kampala.
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