Singer Bagonza Alexander, popularly known as A Pass, has spoken out against the trend of music battles in Uganda, saying that he would rather collaborate with fellow artistes than compete with them.
The singer made this statement on his X(Twitter) account, where he addressed the rumors of him holding a music battle with dancehall musicians Beenie Gunter and Vyper Ranking.
“I can never battle Beenie Gunter or Vyper Ranking, I would only collaborate with them which I have done already and I think that’s the energy we need as brothers. Battles are fights, they split fans who love us and what we do. People start taking sides & throwing insults. We don’t need that. #CollaborationOverCompetition”, A Pass tweeted.
A Pass’s tweet comes at a time when music battles have become a popular phenomenon in Uganda’s music industry, attracting large crowds and generating huge revenues for the participating artistes.
The most recent music battle was between songstresses Cindy Sanyu and Sheebah Karungi, which was hailed as one of the year’s best shows by music analysts.
Both Sheebah and Cindy delivered outstanding performances, surpassing the hype and expectations surrounding the event. Fans flooded social media platforms to crown Cindy as the undisputed champion, with online polls also favoring her.
However, not everyone is a fan of music battles, as some argue that they are detrimental to the unity and growth of the industry.
A Pass is one of those who hold this view, as he believes that music battles create unnecessary rivalry and division among artistes and their fans. He also thinks that music battles overshadow the essence of music as a form of expression and creativity.
Meanwhile, another music battle is in the pipeline, as renowned singer Moses Ssali, known as Bebe Cool, has expressed his enthusiasm for a showdown against Joseph Mayanja, also known as Jose Chameleone.
The singer believes that this event would be a major spectacle that the entire country would eagerly embrace.
He also said that he would only participate in the music battle if the government injects money into them, as he thinks that this would show the government’s support for talent in Uganda.