Uganda: Rucci's African Dream
The Monitor (Kampala)
COLUMN
Posted to the web December 27, 2006
Moses Serugo
He went back to the US in 2005 to convince the others to return to Africa but they did not see his vision even when he told them that as Limit X, they owed it to their homeland to multiply the gospel talent on the continent by spurring other groups.
Four lads; Isaac Ruccibigango, Dennis Sempebwa, Paul Mutebi and Paul Serukenya broke away from the New Wave Band, a top live gospel act to pursue various interests in Europe in 1989. Isaac was visiting in Germany, while the other three were pursuing studies and doing kyeyo (odd jobs) in the United Kingdom.
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Isaac joined the other three in the UK in 1990 and sold them the idea of starting a music group. "We agreed that the call on our lives was to do music and it was beyond a passion. It was a conviction," Isaac explains.
But pursuing their dream meant giving up school and kyeyo, which was a source of livelihood for some of their families back in Uganda. "We did not see music as a career but as a calling. We did not want to be like any other secular group," says Isaac.
Hard times
It would be two years before the quartet could reap anything from their decision to swap school and odd jobs for ministry. "Although we felt it was the best decision we had made, times were hard because the cost of living in England was high.
We were not refugees and that meant we could not get free accommodation or live on the dole," Isaac explains, adding that their friends often taunted them for giving up their jobs to serve God fulltime. "But the feeling that this was a calling to ministry brought a balance in our lives and made us hang in there even during the hard times," he says.
Still, waiting two years to make a break was daunting. According to Isaac, the born again Christians in England were still a conservative lot who were clueless about taking care of a singing group. "Preachers always got a (monetary) love offering while singers got applauded and no love offering, yet we had rent to pay and food to buy. Yet we felt a strong conviction that this is what God had called us to do and we refused to get back to doing kyeyo," Isaac says.
Although money was still hard to come by, the church performances made Limit X popular "We quickly realised we could not eat fame and since most of the promised record signings were not yielding anything, we got smart, scrapped together whatever money we had and hit the studio to record our first album," says Isaac.
Isaac, the proprietor of Fishnext, a company that promotes Christian musicians. Photo by Dennis Muhumuza
Unashamed was released in 1992 to critical acclaim but for Limit X, the album became a gravy train. "We sold the tapes at seven pounds each and 10 sales got us 70 pound sterling, enough to buy us food that would last a week," Isaac says with glee. But when he felt they were starting to get into a comfort zone, Isaac suggested they relocate to the US, which they did without Serukenya who had to complete his Engineering degree in the UK.
In the US, the Christian folk showered Limit X with an abundance of love offerings. "America unlike the UK knew how to bless a music ministry and some churches have an entertainment budget to reward talent," Isaac explains excitedly. He recounts Limit X going to churches and singing for 30 minutes after which a church would give them $4000 unlike the UK where the most they got was 300 pounds and lots of God-Bless-You chants.
The American dream
Chasing the American dream saw the group adopt an Afro-driven style compared to the heavy RnB-pop influences they had thrived on in the UK. "We quickly realised that they loved the African stuff in the same way we love their music here because it is foreign," says Isaac. That revelation had them dig up their 1988 New Wave Band song Malibongwe, which became an instant hit.
Before long, they were performing in a different US city every week. They quickly got signed onto a record label and released four additional albums; Malibongwe, Send Me, For Real and a Greatest Hits compilation.
A desire for companionship saw all the three getting married and before long a rethink of the tour programme was inevitable. "The dynamics changed when our wives and children came into the picture. While we were okay with sleeping in one room as bachelors, we started to get particular about the hotels we were being booked into now that our families were in tow," Isaac explains.
In 2003, a decision was made to put Limit X on hold. Sempebwa and Mutebi opted to stay in the US while Ruccibigango returned to Uganda. He went back to the US in 2005 to convince the others to return to Africa but they did not see his vision even when he told them that as Limit X, they owed it to their homeland to multiply the gospel talent on the continent by spurring other groups like First Love, Milele and Sauti. They preferred to remain in the US and raise their families there so Isaac decided to go it alone.
Uganda: Rucci's African Dream
(Page 2 of 2)New dream
Ruccibigango's dream is to stimulate the gospel music industry here to be at par with the lucrative secular music scene. "I want to also change the perception that everything Christian should be free. Just as Ugandans love to pay for secular entertainment, they should pay for Christian gigs especially if they have been done excellently. I hate mediocrity," he explains.
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He is looking at the American music model where gospel music competes head-to-head with secular music and hopes that bringing in foreign gospel singers will stimulate the industry.
He is aware the church may not take to this formula and he accuses it of stifling budding gospel artistes. "The best talent is in the church but the church just uses the artistes without encouraging them to grow. And when the talent grows old, the church dumps it in preference for the younger ones that have been looking up to this ageing talent," he explains.
He should know considering that as part of Rubaga Miracle Centre's New Wave Band in the late '80s, he, together with Serukenya, Mutebi and Sempebwa were seen as rebels because they accessorised with jewellery and wore "French-cut" hairstyles that rubbed the mainstream churches the wrong way.
"You can still do these things and even play in night clubs without compromising the message and I am ready to rock the boat because I can't let myself be fazed by any pastor. I have paid my dues," he says.
Isaac, who is married with two daughters aged five and two, has this recipe for success: "Follow your dream but look at the big picture and steer clear of whatever may hold you back."
Rucci runs a company called Fishnext and still sings as Limit X. And when money is tight, he performs with a two-piece band comprising an acoustic guitarist and a djembe (West African drum) player to do unplugged gigs. He is also trying his hand at doing films.
He wants to add events management, a TV production house and recording studio to the Fishnext stable.
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