When musician A Pass came out and stated that there should be gatekeeping in the Ugandan music industry, many people did not probably even understand what he meant by that or even his reasons for suggesting such a measure.
“We need a bit of gate keeping in the Ugandan music industry, too much stupid music out here. Anything funny and stupid is now a song. What is the standard ! Back then you had to have something good to be on radio or tv but nowadays all you need is to be viral & boom. We need more good music playing on Radio, Tv and clubs naye Tuswala. How can Ugandan music compete on the world stage with this kind of music. I am not here talking about what you listen to on the internet. I have been clear in my submission. Some of you need to learn to read. The internet can have as much garbage as it wants but our traditional media should have standards naye Tuswala,” he wrote on X
Whereas he got support from a few of his followers and fans, there are some that came out to criticize him, saying they should let Ugandans choose the kind of music they want to listen to and not dictate for anyone because it is their choice and no one has the right to interfere.
Well, during an interview with Sanyuka TV, A Pass got a chance to explain what he meant by his post which caused a lot of debate in the recent weeks. According to A Pass, it is not about dictating what Ugandans should listen to and what they shouldn’t listen to but rather, it is about limiting what is less important than the other.
“We are not saying that kind of music should not be played. All we suggest is that it should be more limited with the way it gets to the public.” He stated.
For his reasons for this contribution, A Pass stated that vulgar music should be limited and educative music be more uplifted if the music industry is to grow as everyone expects it to. He further stated that it is not good for vulgar music to be over played on National TV because even young children sit down to listen to music on Television hence the exposure to vulgarity.
“The more vulgar music is played, the more it is heard by younger children. This is why I talked about gate keeping. We need to stop exposing young people to such things. I believe an artiste can package a song so well that it doesn’t have to be vulgar to be heard. Let us do better as Ugandans.” Said A Pass.
A Pass further termed the Ugandans who come out and defend the vulgar music as ‘spoilt' and this is the reason why they love vulgarity to an extent that they don’t see an issue with being vulgar.
“People enjoy such vulgarity because they are spoilt. They see no issue with being vulgar and to them it seems normal.” Said A Pass.
