In a recent revelation, A Pass shared that he played a quiet yet pivotal role in Baraka’s early career, nudging him away from the safety of cover songs
When Joshua Baraka stepped onto the stage for his first major concert in Uganda last weekend, the crowd saw a rising superstar… confident, original, and unmistakably himself. But according to singer and songwriter A Pass, Baraka’s journey to becoming one of Uganda’s most celebrated young talents almost took a very different path.
In a recent revelation, A Pass shared that he played a quiet yet pivotal role in Baraka’s early career, nudging him away from the safety of cover songs and toward the bold terrain of original music. And that shift, he says, may have been the spark that ignited Baraka’s rapid rise.
“I knew he would be a big star,” A Pass explained. “But he had to stop doing certain things and just be a musician. He had to stop singing other people’s songs because listeners would then get used to him doing Radio’s covers and others, and not see him as a musician.”
At the time, Baraka was a gifted vocalist, no question, but much of his traction came from reinterpretations of other artists’ work. A Pass saw the danger: public perception is sticky. Once fans box you into a category, he warned, it’s hard to break out.
So he pushed Baraka to take the leap.
Focus on your own sound. Build your own identity. Let the world meet you.
Baraka listened and the rest, as the country is now witnessing, is history. Today, few people even remember his cover-song beginnings; Baraka has become a symbol of fresh Ugandan creativity, with a catalog of original music that stands firmly on its own.
But the lesson, A Pass says, extends beyond just one artist.
“If an artist wants to be part of a band, that’s fine,” he noted. “But if their aim is to be a recording artist, they have to quit band music and start their own projects. It’s like someone being a Kadongo Kamu artist for five years and suddenly shifting to RnB people will be locked on the first genre.”
To illustrate the point, A Pass pointed to his own career, shaped from day one by deliberate versatility.
“That’s why I was versatile from the start of my career,” he said. “I made people understand I can do all genres.”
Now, with Baraka soaring and carving out his own musical identity, A Pass’s early guidance feels prophetic.
Enock Mugabi aka iWitness is a Journalist, Seasoned Writer and Music Analyst with a passion for sports.
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