Kenzo, first Ugandan nominated for Grammy, had humble start

Eddy Kenzo doesn’t know precisely when he was born, a quirk of personal history that goes to the heart of how the Ugandan singer sees himself: a humble man who’s sometimes anxious about what happens next.

And yet Kenzo, who became the first Uganda-based singer to earn a Grammy nomination, keeps scaling heights that defy his expectations and those of his fans and rivals in this east African country where his work is sometimes questioned.

Some Ugandans dismiss his musical style as rather playful, saying he’s not that much of a singer. But others see in his experimentation the creative potential that marks him as an artiste with original gifts.

For Kenzo, any recognition of his work is a reminder of how far he’s come.

“Honestly speaking, I am so overwhelmed. I am so nervous at the same time,” Kenzo said in an interview with the AP, speaking of his