Eddy Kenzo

 ( 1989 Births ) 

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

Kenzo continued releasing 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 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.

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 Kigali. 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. 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 won awards at that year's All Africa Music Awards, including Best East African Male Artist. He later donated the 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 Hotels 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.

Kenzo followed up with the 2021 studio album "Made in Africa" featuring Hunter Nation from Tanzania for the hit love song "SoulMate".

In 2022, Kenzo collaborated with US musician Matt B on Gimme Love. The song entered the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs at #49 in October and Peaked at #36 in November that year. He and Matt B received a nomination for the song for Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. The nomination made Kenzo the first Ugandan musician working and living in Uganda to receive a Grammy nomination.]]

On 22nd August 2024, Eddy Kenzo was appointed as the Senior Presidential Adviser on Creatives by President Yoweri Museveni. This role involves advising on matters related to the creative industry, which includes music, performing arts, and other creative sectors. Kenzo’s appointment is seen as a significant step towards bolstering the creative industry in Uganda, which has been seeking more governmental support and recognition.

His appointment followed a meeting with President Museveni and other musicians at State House Entebbe. He joins a growing list of over 160 presidential advisers.

On January 4, 2019, Eddy Kenzo commemorated his 10-year anniversary in the Ugandan music industry with the concert "10 Years of Eddy Kenzo." The event aimed to foster unity between two of Uganda's prominent musicians and political figures, Bobi Wine and Bebe Cool, who have had a longstanding feud.