Swangz Avenue All Star Album: the hits and misses

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Review- The All Star Album

Recod label: Swangz Avenue

Reviewd by Dennis Asiimwe

Swangz Avenue has gone and put together an album they are calling, The All Star Album.

Seriously, that’s what they are calling it. Putting aside the apparent painful lack of creativity in coming up with a name, their approach to this particular project is interesting. The album is a 16 track joint, developed to showcase the full range of their stable, alongside a couple of intriguing cameos including A – Pass and Kenya’s Bien.

Benon Mugumbya, who is a founding partner at Swangz and their Head of Production, is quoted in a press release saying “The All Star Album is our testament to high quality music production, innovation and commitment to giving local talent a global stage.”

Which is bollocks, of course, and doesn’t mean anything.

The album is an intelligent way of Swangz Avenue showcasing their artiste roster, which is genuinely impressive, and reminds you of some of the folks in their stable, the ones that might need a helping hand or two (folks like Zagazillion).

Now that we have that minor detail out of the way, let's point out that this was a bold and difficult project. Putting together an album is never an easy thing. When I received the call to review the album, I was interested and curious: what song would jump out at me immediately? What immediate weakness would grate? What strengths would hold the album together?  

The first track to jump out at me was “Mary Jane”, which I think is a work of genius. I know, I tend to get carried away when I like a track but damn. The track features the irreplaceable Azawi, a reinvented Winnie Nwagi, who raps on the track for heaven’s sakes (more on that later), Elijah Kitaka, who is talented and clean cut but curiously seems to lack the ‘it’ factor to explode and Zagazillions, the artiste formerly known as Young Zee who seems to be obsessed with the word ‘sumbusa’. Azawi owns the hook on this song, and she kills it, going nuclear with a delicious husk to her vocals.

“God Ye Buddy” is also a track that gets your attention. It is the closest thing to a gospel cypher of sorts, and that’s what makes this track possibly the most innovative on this album. The track features gospel giant Levixone, whom I have always felt is not just talented but ferociously ambitious. It’s a simple, melodic, sing along tune that helped dispel a feeling I was beginning to get – that the album was focusing a little too much on ‘beats’. Efforts like “God Ye Buddy” and “Mary Jane” have a nice balance between ‘beats’ and melodic emphasis.

The arrangement here is also impressive, working with a simple tune to give it form and structure that are compelling. This is an impressive production. Levixone dominates the song, and his ad-libbing is superlative. In his cameo, he harmonies beautifully with Winnie Nwagi like they have been doing this forever. Vinka ragamuffins her way through her verse, while Azawi and Winnie Nwagi soar vocally. Elijah Kitaka and Zafaran have more subdued roles on this track, but they act as a perfect counter foil to the other artistes.

There’s a sort of hierarchy at Swangz Avenue. The broad audience, this track is likely to appeal to make it potentially the biggest hit likely to come off the album. Swangz Avenue seem to realize this – they even gave the darned thing a remix – there’s an amapiano version, for godssakes (pun intended).

“Finally”, featuring Elijah Kitaka and Azawi has a great groove and is forgettable. Azawi does her best to rescue it, but it’s that forgettable.

“Wewe” brings together Azawi, Nwagi, Vinka and Zafaran and the girl power beautifully. The song borrows from the production style of Azawi’s hit single, “Masavu”. I think it's even the same people doing the backing vocals.

Wnnie Nwagi (right) and Elijah Kitaka (Left) performing at the Swangz Avenue All Star listening party at Noni Vie in Kampala on Nov. 8, 2024. (Credit: Hajara Nalwadda)

“I Know” had something of a flat hook – they could have done better. Featuring Winnie Nwagi, Elijah Kitaka and A Pass, the track goes with a reggae-esque groove and a hook that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in a hurry. You spend the song waiting for the A Pass cameo, and that wait is worth it. A Pass shows up showing all teeth on this one, and takes a chunk out of the song. He is the track’s saving grace.

“For Sure” gives a cameo to Arrow Bow and features Azawi. Forgettable and even Azawi can’t save this one – you get the feeling this was a filler track, something for the B side (those of you old enough to remember what that means).

“Wanika Bendera” is a chance for John Blaq to strut his stuff, and he does not misuse the opportunity, giving us an ‘aya bas’ in the opening bars of the song. The track also features Vinka and Elijah Kitaka who is almost a third wheel here. What’s up with this kid? Love the energy on this track though.

I love the sass on “Red Flag”, featuring Vinka and Azawi. It’s a girl anthem with a brass section and a rhumba groove, and is part of the reason why this album was such a good idea – the production process is guided by creative freedom and none of this nonsense about whether the folks downtown will like the material. The girls are having the time of their lives on the track, and it shows. I envied them.

“Amin Dada” goes strong with the afro beat vibes, something that is not common place on the album, so it was sorta welcome to listen to. The opening track on the album features Azawi, Vinka and Elijah Kitaka. Possibly the thing that stands out on this track is that groove. It is sumptuous.

“Wedding” again features Azawi, Vinka and Elijah Kitaka and had me develop a theory about why I seem to have an issue with Elijah Kitaka. He doesn’t stand out on the material he features on – he has no problem tagging along, but standing out? Being a little extra? Bringing the oomph? Nada. And I think the folks at Swangz Avenue know this. He is front and centre on this album for a reason.

“Full Service” is a beautiful track. I am not certain whether that is Myko Ouma on the acoustic but it’s a heavenly sound. The song features Elijah Kitaka and Winnie Nwagi and in his defense, giving credit where it is due, he sounds wonderful on this, dominant, sure of his place. This song is built for him. Winnie sounds gorgeous on the track, and the chemistry between the two is palpable. This collaboration worked, and it is easily the most soulful bit of music on the album.

Guests attending the Swangz Avenue All Star listening party at Noni Vie in Kampala on Nov. 8, 2024. (Credit: Hajara Nalwadda)

This album has helped define how refined a talent Nwagi is – singing like a siren on one track, and rapping on another. More importantly, this might be Elijah Kitaka’s strongest bit of music to date. This is why he is considered a talent, why Swangz signed him up. If he puts out material consistently, he can comfortably headline his concert.

“Falayidid” is flat and forgettable. The song has Zafaran on the lead and features Azawi. I have said before about how similar Zafaran and Winnie Nwagi are but this album underlines how vastly superior Nwagi is. She is more versatile (can’t forget that rap) and just has way more vocal control. Where is Zafaran superior? Well, she is less likely to punch you on a bad hair day.  

“Kikumi Kinana” is about as retro as you can get, and sounds like a pop hit taken off Radio Uganda in 1978. This was bold. Featuring Azawi, Elijah Kitaka and Vinka, it is the sort of music our parents grew up listening to off their FM radio, which were taken very seriously back then. I was caught off guard by this, and by the fact that they made it work. The lyrics are horribly simple – they are meant to be. Hats off, sirs. This elevates this album immensely.

“Dawa” has Elijah Kitaka on lead and features Kenyans Bien and Savara. It is a remix of an Elijah hit, so it was probably already on strong ground by the time the Kenyans rolled in. “Dawa” had a lovely hook, and Bien and Savara bring some cosmopolitan oomph to the track. The production work on this track is superlative, and the radio friendly format of this song will help “Dawa” do well, along with the original’s success. Another plus for Elijah, this track.

“Batuleke” is another strong outing from the ladies on this album. With a cameo for Ava Peace, this song comes packing sass and has a heady, sexy vibe you cannot ignore. This song will own dance floors in this dusty, often muddy town.

This album underlines a few things we already knew: Azawi is the most important artiste at Swangz Avenue – there is no one like her in the industry. Swangz Avenue is packing some impressive talent in its stable. Winnie Nwagi is incredibly versatile (alright, we had no idea she could rap and all) and technically, their most formidable vocal talent. They also have an incredible production capacity.

I like the Swangz Avenue All Star Album in spite of its staid, predictable nae. I didn’t want to like it, and I didn’t think I would like it, but it kept catching me off guard and I am always honest when it comes to music.

I think it is possibly the most important album we will have for the next 5 to 10 years. I think our industry needed this.

The album has its weaknesses, of course, but it mostly has significant strengths. Swangz Avenue has laid down a marker.

This is the sort of album that one would expect to come out of their stable, what with their line up of artistes, their resources and the amount of production talent they have in-house.

This is what they are supposed to do. This is what we expect.

The album is available online