#inkampala

Elijah ‘Eli’ Neema is a soul artiste. One who industry insiders say  is not even near the apex of his career. The youthful musician acknowledges that he has a lot to learn yet.  Within the genre, it is common to find Ugandan artistes copying and pasting styles, especially those of run-away success, Wilson-Bugembe.  Yet Neema seems to know exactly what he wants out of his affair with soul music. “Even though I appreciate all the different genres, soul, like its name, speaks to the deeper part of me. That is also the part of me where I write my music from; my soul,” the musician says.

A ‘church kid’ growing up, Neema knows he has chosen his path mainly because of his having been raised around worshippers. “When I was about 10 years old, I started playing the keyboard and drums, which were available in church. This first step, although it was humble, pushed me to dream bigger. And when I wrote my first song, even though it was very simple, my mother praised me for it. I should say this solidified my musical foundation,” he explains.

“Soul is essentially a foreign genre. Any artiste doing soul should work hard to integrate aspects of his culture and personality into his music,” he says, referring to the number of songs he has written in Swahili and other local languages. Neema seems to have personalized his take on Soul music to be quite comfortable swinging between languages and experimenting with styles.

Neema’s skill at the guitar is unmistakable. More than just a teenager strumming away impressively, the effect of the youngster’s music has been observed to move listeners, at least to stand up and shout. His work on collaborations with more established acts like Benon Mugumbya or Hum Kay is testimony to how far he can go.

The 22-year-old has songs such as Moving Along and Getting Along, where he seems to go out in the park to play, straining his vocal cords yet staying within his chosen octave. Every other song that he performs tells of a musician who has realized his potential. And sure enough, Neema does not only do his music in Entebbe. He performs at different gigs, as a solo artiste or as part of the band Jabrok, without any hesitation.

Neema can be caught at Gato Mato, Fas Fas Serena Hotel with David ‘Pragmo’ Nsaiga or at Happy Tilapia in Bunga. He is not exactly a fixture at any of these places. “I don’t have a permanent gig yet,” he says, his experience singing on the albums of different Kampala musicians points to him being a talented upcoming musician.

Some of the stars Neema has worked with include Sarah Tamba, Qwela, and others who are mainly known for their pursuit of Jazz and Soul. This experience, though not very long, has made him something of an authority. He is usually on the list of prospects when musicians are thinking of someone to recruit if a track in plan is going to have a soul element to it.

And what is this clout if you cannot use it to further your career? Neema leads a band, Jabrok, which does Soul music at gigs on invitation.