Eddy Kenzo

Edrisah Kenzo Musuuza, known professionally as Eddy Kenzo, is a Grammy-nominated Ugandan singer, music executive & the president of Uganda National Musicians Federation who is a founder and a member of Big Talent Entertainment.

Kenzo began making music using his stage name, Eddy Kenzo, in 2008.

That year, he released his first song titled "Yannimba" with Mikie Wine.

In 2010, he released another single, "Stamina".

The song was used as a theme song by 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".

He received international attention after the release of his 2014 single, "Sitya Loss" and an accompanying viral video that featured the Ghetto Kids.

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 in September 2014.

As of March 2022 the video has accumulated nearly 42 million views on YouTube.

Kenzo also started a petition to earn the children an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

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.

Around that time, he produced a remix to his 2014 single, "Jambole", with a guest appearance from Nigerian singer, Kcee.

Kenzo was the first Ugandan artiste to win the BET Award in 2015 and the first Ugandan artist to be nominated for a Grammy award.

Eddy Kenzo whose real name is Edrisah Musuuza was born in Masaka, Uganda.

His mother died when he was 4 or 5 years old, and he spent the following 13 years living largely on the streets of Masaka and Kampala.

Initially, Kenzo aspired to be a professional footballer and joined Masaka Local Council FC's camp at age 9.

He would later receive a sports bursary to attend Lubiri Secondary School in Kampala, but he never finished his studies since he had talent in music also.

Kenzo is naturally left-handed, but was constantly beaten by his foster family for eating with the left hand.

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.

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.

In December 2015, Kenzo released the lead single, "Soraye", off of his second album, Zero to Hero.

The original version of that song later appeared on the soundtrack for the 2016 film, Queen of Katwe.

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.

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 total, he has released 4 albums, including Roots in 2018 and most recently Made in Africa in 2021.

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.

In 2022, Kenzo was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Global Performance, for Gimme Love, (Matt B featuring Kenzo).

The song's U.S. Afrobeats Billboard chart peak was in November 2022, when it hit number 36.

Matt B and Kenzo performed, Gimme Love at the Eddy Kenzo Festival at Kololo Airstrip in Uganda to an audience of over 20,000, including Uganda's Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.