Based: Uganda
Edrisah Musuuza, known professionally as Eddy Kenzo, is a Ugandan singer and music executive who is a member of Big Talent Entertainment. He received international attention after the release of his 2014 single “Sitya Loss” and an accompanying viral video that featured the Ghetto Kids. In total, he has released 4 albums, including most recently, Roots, in 2018. Kenzo has also won numerous national and international awards; including a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award in 2018; a BET Award in 2015; and multiple All Africa Music Awards.
Kenzo began making music using his stage name, Eddy Kenzo, in 2008. That year, he released his first song titled “Yanimba” with Mikie Wine. In 2010, he released another single, “Stamina”. The song was used as a theme songby many politicians during the 2011 Ugandan general election. At the Pearl of Africa Music Awards in 2011 Kenzo was given the Best New Artist award. Kenzo also established his Big Talent Entertainment record label early on in his career. He continues to serve as a member of that venture.
Kenzo continued releasing new music in 2012.\ In 2013, he held his first concert at the Kyadondo Rugby Club that year in support of the track, “Kamunguluze”. Kenzo’s first major international breakthrough came with 2014’s “Sitya Loss” and the accompanying album of the same name. A YouTube video featuring a group of Ugandan children known as the Ghetto Kids dancing to the song went viral after it was shared on social media by record executive, Sean Combs. Kenzo also started a petition to earn the children an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. As of 2019, the video has accumulated over 22 million views on YouTube. After the release of “Sitya Loss” and the album of the same name, Kenzo went on a brief United States tour with dancehall musician DeMarco.
In January 2015, Kenzo performed at the opening ceremonies of that year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea alongside Akon. He also performed at the tournament final. Around that time, he produced a remix to his 2014 single, “Jambole”, with a guest appearance from Nigerian singer, Kcee.In June 2015, Kenzo was honored with the BET Award for “Viewer’s Choice Best New International Artist”. He was the first East African artist to win a BET Award of any kind. In July 2015, he performed at the KigaliUp Music Festival in Rwanda’s capital In October of that year, he released a remixed version of his song, “Mbilo Mbilo”, featuring Nigerian singer, Niniola. The original version of that song later appeared on the soundtrack for the 2016 film, Queen of Katwe.
In December 2015, Kenzo released the lead single, “Soraye”, off of his second album, Zero to Hero. In March 2016, he went on a tour Africa, with stops in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Mali, and others.Later that month, he released Zero to Hero.[28] Throughout the remainder of 2016, Kenzo earned a writing credit on Jidenna’s “Little Bit More”,was featured on the Mi Casa single “Movie Star”, and won an All Africa Music Award for his “Mbilo Mbilo” remix.He also went on another US tour late in the year. In May 2017, Kenzo was named the ambassador of the Kenyan Tourism Board and was appointed to a similar role in Uganda the following year.
In July 2017, Kenzo went on a European tour ahead of the release of his third studio album, Biology, a month later. The album featured guest appearances from artists like Mani Martin, Werrason, and Mi Casa, among others. It also featured the single “Jubilation”, which had an accompanying music video that won the Best East African Music Video Award at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. He would go on to win two awards at that year’s All Africa Music Awards, including Best East African Male Artist. He would later donate that award along with his 2015 BET Award to the Uganda Museum in Kampala.
In March 2018, Kenzo won a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award as the “Favorite African Star.” In July 2018, he performed alongside Triplets Ghetto Kids at multiple African music festivals in Canada, including Afrofest in Toronto. He also performed at the One Africa Music Festival in Dubai later in the year. In October 2018, he released his fourth studio album, Roots, which featured the single “Body Language”. Kenzo also announced a 10-year anniversary concert in celebration of his time as a musical artist. The concert took place on 4 January 2019 in the Victoria ballroom of the Serena Hotel in Kampala. Leading up to the concert, Kenzo released a new music video for a song from Roots each week for two months.
In March 2019, it was announced that Kenzo would be featured alongside Triplets Ghetto Kids in an upcoming music video for American singer Chris Brown’s “Back to Love”.In April 2019, Kenzo released the single, “Signal” with an accompanying music video