SONG REVIEW: “Emisege” by David Mukalazi

 A SOUL ON FIRE FOR A CULTURE IN RUINS

By Joseph Batte

David Mukalazi is not the kind of musician who simply churns out hits for radio rotation. He’s a storyteller, a cultural archivist, and a soul whisperer. And in “Emisege”—his latest offering—he is also a man in mourning.

Producer David Mukalazi

From the first note, “Emisege” doesn’t just ask you to listen. It pulls you into a funeral of a forgotten way of life, where tradition, pride, and identity lie in coffins sealed by colonialism, greed, and self-destruction.

“Heirs are selling land...
They sleep in single rooms.”

Mukalazi doesn’t mince words. He is deeply disturbed by how far we’ve drifted. Western education, once paraded as the answer to all our problems, has become a bittersweet inheritance. You earn a Master’s degree—then return home to joblessness and land disputes. The song’s narrator can almost hear the elders crying from their graves.

“If those who came before us rose today, they would weep.”

But “Emisege” is not all darkness. Mukalazi slips in a flicker of hope: “This will end soon.” You can almost hear him pleading—not just with the system, but with us, the listeners. To wake up. To look around. To remember.

Musically, this is a rich blend of world music, soul, and contemporary pop. The arrangement is minimalist but potent. No overproduction. Just carefully crafted layers that leave enough space for the lyrics to breathe—and sting.

Mukalazi is no stranger to greatness. Many know him as one of Uganda’s finest pianists and music producers. He is the genius behind Fiona Mukasa’s groundbreaking “Yanyamba Nansumulula,” and more recently, the hand behind Ronald Mayinja’s “Necklace”—a ballad that melted hearts across the country.

Listen to his track below

But “Emisege” feels more personal. It’s as if Mukalazi looked at the country, sighed deeply, and said, “Let me write a song for what we’ve lost.” It’s a lament—but not a lazy one. It’s the kind of song that stirs something uncomfortable inside you… and makes you think twice before selling that ancestral land for a boda boda.

This is not just another nostalgic ballad. It’s a cultural wake-up call wrapped in beautiful chords. In a time when pop music is obsessed with bubblegum love and flashy lifestyles, Mukalazi reminds us that real art still exists—art that dares to ask: Who are we becoming?

Uganda needs more of this kind of music—bold, honest, and soaked in soul.