By Andrew Irumba
Sweden: Celebrated Ugandan hip-hop artiste Daniel Lubwama Kigozi musically by stage name known as Navio has wedded his longtime fiance Nasimbwa Matilda in a private ceremony at Västlands Kyrka.
It will be remembered that Matilda introduced Navio to her parents in a colorful traditional ceremony at her parent’s home in Magere along Gayaza Road in December 2017 after giving birth to Navio’s son Kingdom.
Daniel Lubwama Kigozi popularly known as Navio, was born on 18 October 1983 and is a Ugandan rapper.
Starting off his career, he was part of the award-winning Hip hop group Klear Kut that introduced the term “Ugaflow” to describe Uganda’s hip hop scene.
Navio is best known for his successful solo career with hits such as “Ngalo”, “Bugumu”, “One & Only”, and “On and On” (with American R&B legend Keith Sweat).
Since 2010, Navio has been a part of the African supergroup One8. Other members include 2Face (Nigeria), Fally Ipupa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 4×4 (Ghana), Movaizhaleine (Gabon), JK (Zambia), and fellow East Africans Amani (Kenya) and Ali Kiba (Tanzania). The first release from the group was “Hands Across the World”, written and produced by R. Kelly.
In 2014, he was one of the featured artists in the second season of “Coke Studio Africa”
Before leaving for South Africa, Navio wrote and recorded a song, “Rukus” with another Ugandan recording artiste Peter Miles. The song went on and became one of the most popular records of his career. It was featured in the season finale of Big Brother in 2008, four years after its release. During his hiatus, he was occasionally featured on other artistes’ recordings such as the all-girl group, Blue*3’s single “Burn” in 2007, Jamimah Sanyu’s “Amaaso go googera” in 2011 and many more
Navio officially returned to the music scene in 2008 after graduating with a degree in communications from Monash University’s South African branch. His debut solo album, “Half the Legend” was released in 2009 and generated positive reviews from critics and the audience and generated the singles “Bugumu”, “Salooni” featuring GNL Zamba, “Ngalo”, and “Respect” with the Kenyan artiste Jua Kali. He was also featured on Bobi Wine’s “Badman from Kamwokya”. The album earned him the Best Hip hop Artist award at the Pearl of Africa Music Awards and nominations at Kenya’s Kisima Music Awards for Best Male Artist, Best Music Video, and Best Hip hop Artist.
Musical style
Music critics have described Navio’s sound and style as unique. “He strikes the balance between an African sound and a contemporary and international flavor that means he appeals to a wide demographic locally and internationally”
