Mowzey Radio's key moments: I am a lion, I stopped taking weed

On July 8 2014, Moses Sekibogo, aka Mowzey Radio, the first half of the former Goodlyfe Crew’s Radio & Weasel, talked to The Observer's Diana Nabiruma about his life and career.

Radio passed on in the early hours  of today at Case Hospital where he had been admitted last week after he sustained head injuries in a bar brawl.

We reproduce the interview.

 

[Gesticulating the way hip-hop musicians do] Ah, why do you want to know my age? You wanna kill me?

No no no. [At the beach, Radio offers Quick Talk a seat in a fisherman’s canoe while he perches on the edge.] I’m going to ask for your age again, Radio.

I am 31. I was born on January 25, 1983. It is not that important but it is ok.

What is your favourite food?

Right now I would have to say fresh beans and posho [you don’t say! This is an unusual celeb, Quick Talk thinks].

Oh yes, I saw you having beans and posho for lunch. [The food was served from a nearby tonninyira (food shack).] What is your favourite beer?

Club beer.

Because they sponsor your shows?

Yes. Since I started, they have been the best beer.

Ah, such truthfulness! What is your favourite colour?

Blue. The sky is blue and it is the limit. If I am dressed in blue, I am the sky, man.

You are the sky?! Hahaha. Who is your favourite MP?

But you know me; I don’t like MPs! I don’t want to talk about them. They only want to increase their salaries. I only recognize [KCCA boss, Jennifer] Musisi [who is not a politician]. I thank her for the work she is doing.

Aaah, you like her…

I love her. For us we have moved around cities. Ours is a real mess. Musisi is trying to make the city better. In fact, Musisi and Ian [Clarke] are the upcoming Radio and Weasel. I can tell you that for free.

Hahahaha, I wonder how they would react to that; so, would you want to tap Musisi’s butt? Or is there another politician whose butt you have secretly wanted to tap?

None. They steal from ordinary people. I would rather tap an ordinary woman’s butt. In fact, theirs are nicer.

Ok. How about musicians?

None of them. Why? I’m already ok.  There is nobody’s behind I wanna tap.

You are already ok? Are you married?

No. I will marry when I want.

Do you have any children?

Yeah. But I don’t talk about my family. [Whispering] They are my favourite people. They are my secret people.

Hahaha. Your language! What is the colour of the underwear you are wearing right now?

Me? Right now? Romantic colours. [Shows Quick Talk and they are floral black and white boxers.] You know for me I am a random shopper. I am a small guy; I buy what fits me because it is difficult to get what fits.

What animal are you?

I’m a lion. [Roars] I am the king of the jungle. Do you have anything to say about that?

No, I don’t. When did this king of the jungle last cry?

I cry all the time. That’s one thing you don’t know about me. When people piss me off, I cry because it doesn’t hurt.

Speaking of people pissing you off, are you afraid that you broke up with Jeff Kiwanuka, your manager?

Me? I have never been afraid of nothing. I have tried to challenge myself and I survive. I have a big dream and that dream [cost] me a friend.

What exactly happened between you guys?

Me, I don’t want to talk about my friends. I am not a snitch.

Oooh. But you can talk about weed. Have you taken some before?

[Pauses, then:] Yes, I used to take it, ten years ago. I took it twice [Huh? Well, moving on; this is not an interrogation].

If you were allowed one memory, which one would you keep?

My name. It’s everything for me. If I lost it, my identity would be lost; I am Moses Radio, the musician.

If a biography were to be written about you, what title would you want for it?

Well, that’s a big one. [Thinks, then:] I don’t know.

Is there a writer you would be interested in writing it?

You. I don’t know any writers. Can I tell you something? I don’t know how everything (stardom) happened. It was like magic. I woke up in the morning, I was the same guy who went to P2, who sat S4 (at Holy Cross, Wanyange, now Lake View Wanyange), but our music was hitting.

[Their manager, Chagga, tells Quick Talk that Radio and Weasel each write their own verses and are at their most creative after a few beers. “They can do three songs a day and can get inspiration by looking at a tree!” Radio tells Quick Talk how proud his mother is of his success, because “I was nothing before”.]

Awww. Finally, what would you take to a desert island?

I must take fresh water.

Huh?

[Looks at Quick Talk like she is silly for not getting it and demonstrates. He jumps from one foot to another saying:]

Desert. Water. [Ooooh. Hahaha.]

Radio, who attended Kibuye Public P/S, Kiira College Butiki for A-level and Makerere University, was insistent that Quick Talk chats with his “brother” Weasel too. So, off goes Quick Talk to find that Weasel. Yeah, clearly these two are not breaking up

Interview first appeared in The Observer of July 8, 2014.