Eddy Kenzo’s story begins on a low point and crescendos to a glorious tale. The musician is now a ray of hope to millions of people. Kenzo was many things before his big break in the world of music. For 13 years, he lived on the streets, sold water, was a stadium ball boy, did welding, sold milk, played soccer, sold drugs and even did construction work to make ends meet. Despite that, today he is one of the most sought-after musicians in the Afrobeat genre. He is also a man with a big heart, giving hope to the poor street children of Uganda through his acts of philanthropy.”
In several interviews, Eddy Kenzo has always used the phrase ‘zero to hero’ to describe his story. Eddy Kenzo was born to a poor Ugandan gateman and a refugee mother from Rwanda who died when Kenzo was barely five years old. This forced him to go to the streets and fend for himself. It took him more than 10 years to meet with his father and brother again.
Kenzo’s father couldn’t take care of him and his brother. He worked as a gateman and lived in the tiny gateman house. In one of the interviews with Mama Maria Prean, Eddy Kenzo reveals heartbreaking interactions with his pauper father.
“My father was a gateman at World Vision. When we met him he told us “you are not allowed near this gate. My employer said my workstation is too small and cannot accommodate extra persons, so just stay from a distance. I will meet you there.”
“He told us he can only give us a small posho, we eat from a distance and after eating, we need to go because he doesn’t want his boss to know he has kids. So all the time we visited him that is what we did,” said Eddy Kenzo.
Eddy Kenzo would later move to Kampala, Uganda’s capital by hiding under the bus seats of a soccer academy team where he was a ball boy. With the hope of being a footballer, Eddy Kenzo joined Sports Club Villa academy hoping his star will shine brighter in that field. He would mostly sleep under the stadium seats every night. To supplement his needs, Kenzo Eddy would even peddle drugs.
However, he did not make it into football but in music. Mike Wine, the brother to Bobbi Wine, opened doors for him when they met in 2008.
Real name, age and date of birth
Eddy Kenzo has a Rwandese mother and Ugandan father. He comes from the Buganda tribe. Eddy Kenzo speaks fluent Luganda and standard English. Eddy Kenzo’s birthday is not very clear because of his tough upbringing, however, it had been rumoured to be 25 December 1989 or 9, April 1989. Born in 1989 in Masaka Uganda, Edrisah Musuuza also known as Eddy Kenzo started his music career after enduring a tough upbringing.
Eddy Kenzo is 34 years old as at 2023.
Education level
Education is light but for Eddy Kenzo, everything stopped when his mother died. At the time, he was set to join the primary one.
Luck shone on him again when he was 16 years old. He got a sponsor who took him to Mbarara Municipal Primary where Kenzo joined at Primary. But, his joy was short-lived. After one year, his sponsor went broke cutting short his education.
Eddy Kenzo academic journey ended when his mother died. At the time, he was set to join the primary one. At 16, he was sponsored to Mbarara Municipal Primary and joined Primary. However, his sponsor had financial problems and short his education. He won a sports bursary to attend Kampala’s Lubiri Secondary School, but did not complete his studies.
Eddy Kenzo career
Eddy Kenzo’s music career began in 2008. His debut single was titled ‘Yannimba’, a collabo with Mikie Wine. The song was an instant hit, oiling his pockets with his first biggest amount of money UG sh50,000.
“Stamina” was Eddy Kenzo’s second single, which he released two years later. During the 2011 Ugandan national elections, many politicians used the song as a theme song, and it became a national hit.
The song “Sitya Loss” (I don’t fear loss) gave Kenzo his first big international breakthrough in 2014. After being shared on social media by record executive Sean Combs, the “Sitya Loss” video featuring a group of Ugandan children known as the Ghetto Kids dancing, the song went viral.
Kenzo also started a campaign in order to get the kids on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The video has received over 37 million views on YouTube as of 2021.
Kenzo went on a brief US tour with dancehall musician DeMarco after the success of “Sitya Loss”
Kenzo’s star would shine brighter in 2015 as he shared the stage with celebrated Senegalese-American singer Akon at the opening ceremonies of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. He also performed in the final of the tournament.
Eddy Kenzo released a remixed version of his song “Mbilo Mbilo” in October of that year, featuring Nigerian singer Niniola. The original version of that song was later included on the soundtrack for the film Queen of Katwe, which was released in 2016.
Kenzo embarked on a European tour in July 2017, a month before the release of his third studio album, “Biology”. Artists such as Mani Martin, Werrason, and Mi Casa, among others, made guest appearances on the album.
“Roots”, his fourth studio album, was released in October 2018 and featured the single “Body Language.” In addition, Kenzo announced a 10-year anniversary concert to commemorate his career as a musician. The concert took place in Kampala’s Serena Hotel’s Victoria Ballroom on January 4, 2019. Kenzo released a new music video for a song from “Roots” every week for two months leading up to the concert.
In March 2019, Kenzo’s Ghetto Kids appeared in Chris Brown song “Back To Love”
Eddy Kenzo songs
Yanimba, Stamina, Sitya Loss, Jambole, Mbilo Mbilo, Soraye, Jubilation, Body Language, Signal, Semyekozo, Tweyagale, Sonko, Zigido, So good, Inabana, Dagala, Yogera bulungi.
Eddy Kenzo new songs
Eddy Kenzo released his latest album “Made In Africa” on 30 April 2021. The album has 21 tracks. This was launched in New York’s time square billboard. Some of Eddy Kenzo’s new songs include “Leero Party”, “Nobody”, “Weekend”, “Nzinilamu”, “Kansunde”, “Pili Pili”, “Kimuli”, “Shakamo”, “Bambi”.
Eddy Kenzo has featured Fredo YahBoy, Kokode & Herbert Skillz, two of the boys he groomed from the Ghetto Kids dance team in the song Leero Party.
These are Eddy Kenzo’s latest songs in 2021
Eddy Kenzo’s family and siblings
Kenzo doesn’t have a wife. However, he is rumoured to be dating Bella Myra Bakhresa, the daughter of Tanzania business tycoon Salim Said Bakhresa. Eddy Kenzo lost his brother and he was laid to rest in October, 2022. The brother died because of wounds from an attack.
Aside from the rumours of dating Bella Myra Bakhresa, Eddy Kenzo is single with no wife after his breakup with Rema Namakula.
However, the relationship between Eddy Kenzo and Rema Namakula resulted in the birth of a lovely daughter known as Amaal Musuuza. Kenzo has another daughter named Maya Musuuza from one of his previous relationships.
Dating, marital status, and relationship life
Eddy Kenzo relationship
Eddy Kenzo has been rumoured to be in a relationship with Tanzanian-Canadian beauty Bella Myra Bakhresa (this name is rumoured to be fake). Photos of Eddy and the lass have been circulating on social media.
Previously, Eddy was dating Ugandan recording artist Rema Namakula. Eddy and Namakula’s relationship resulted in the birth of their daughter on 26th October 2014. Unfortunately, the couple separated in mid-2019. Eddie has since revealed that the inability of the two to separate their private and public life resulted in dissatisfaction, particularly on Kenzo’s part. Seems like Rema enjoys the public glare, even if it means sharing everything with the public. Eddie was not ready for that.
Moving On
After two years in the cold, it seems like Eddy Kenzo has found love again. Eddy Kenzo has been a lone ranger but he is currently rumoured to be dating a Tanzanian beauty Bella Myra Bakhresa. Could he be Eddy Kenzo’s new wife? Well, time will tell. If everything goes to plan, we could witness Eddy Kenzo’s wedding in the not so long distant future.
Though the pair have not confirmed the relationship, Eddy Kenzo’s new wife photos have been making rounds online. In some of them, she’s alone. In others, we see Eddy Kenzo with his potentially new wife. Kenzo’s fans claim that she is “wife material”.
Eddy Kenzo is rumoured to be in a relationship with Tanzanian-Canadian beauty Bella Myra Bakhresa and their photos have circulated online. Before this, Eddy Kenzo was in a relationship with a Ugandan recording artist Rema Namakula. Their relationship gave them a daughter, Amaal Musuuza, on 26th October 2014. The couple separated in mid-2019. The reason for their Eddy Kenzo and Rema Namakula breakup was their inability to agree on how to treat their public and private life as celebrities. Could he be Eddy Kenzo’s new wife? Eddy Kenzo is currently not married. Eddy Kenzo also has another daughter called Maya Musuuza from one of his previous relationships.
Net value, home, house, cars owned by Eddy Kenzo
Is Eddy Kenzo rich? Eddy Kenzo net worth is estimated to be around $1.5 million. Eddy Kenzo owns a number of high-end vehicles. For instance, he drives a Range Rover Sport and a Toyota Land Cruiser V8. Eddy Kenzo also owns a house worth 1.5 billion Ugandan shillings. Eddy Kenzo’s house has 15 rooms, five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a backup solar power system. He lives in a King-sized mansion in Seguku, Kampala. He is also a landowner with a few plots of land in Kampala.
Controversies
In 2019, Eddy Kenzo was subject to online attacks from fans and fellow musicians in Uganda after the release of his collabo “Inabana” with Tanzanian Bongo Flava artist Harmonize.
Fans pointed out that the “Inabana” song was an exact copy of an earlier version by Uganda’s finest Jose Chameleone.
Eddy later confirmed he was equally shocked because he never knew about the earlier version of the song but when he called Harmonize, he admitted how he unsuccessfully worked with Jose Chameloene on the same song before roping him into the project.
Philanthropy
Eddy Kenzo loves music but he is also a selfless man who does not forget his roots. After a tough upbringing and a wavy journey in his rise to stardom, the man from Masaka is giving back to the community.
In 2015, he established the Eddy Kenzo Foundation as a charitable organisation. Together with other well-known people in Uganda, they donate goods to nursing mothers at the Masaka local hospital.
In July 2017, he hosted two charity football matches in Kampala and Masaka, featuring talented footballer Victor Wanyama. The funds raised from the two events were used to help Ugandan children living with HIV.
Kenzo also founded the Big Talent Soccer Academy in March 2019. The academy helps local talented individuals in the community by providing them with education to help them develop their soccer skills.
In an interview with Mama Maria Prean in 2021, Eddy Kenzo confirmed that he takes care of over 100 street kids. For the last four years, he has been housing 60 young footballers, whom he feeds, pays for their medicals and education.
On his young dancers, Eddy has been a mentor and a chief networker to ensure they land big gigs.
Awards & Recognition
In 2015, Eddy Kenzo was awarded the BET Awards for Viewer’s Choice Best New International Artist. He has also won many regional awards like:
- Eddy Kenzo was named the Best Male in East Africa Award at the 2021 AFRIMMA
- Also in 2021, Eddy Kenzo won the Best Afrobeat Act Award in the CAMA Awards.
- Favourite African Star in the 2018 Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards
- Artist Of The Year and Best Male Artist in the 2017 TUMA Music Awards
- Best New Artist in the 2011 Pearl Africa Music Awards
Social media handles (Instagram, YouTube Channel, Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter)
- Eddy Kenzo’s Instagram: @EddyKenzo
- Eddy Kenzo’s Twitter: @EddyKenzoOfficial
- Eddy Kenzo’s Facebook: Eddy Kenzo
Q & A
Is Eddy Kenzo rich?
As of 2021, Eddy Kenzo net worth is estimated to be around $1 million.
Who is Eddy Kenzo’s new wife?
Kenzo doesn’t have a wife. However, he is rumoured to be dating Bella Myra Bakhresa, the daughter of Tanzania business tycoon Salim Said Bakhresa.
What tribe is Eddy Kenzo?
Eddy Kenzo has a Rwandese mother and Ugandan father. He comes from the Buganda tribe.
What language does Eddy Kenzo speak?
Eddy Kenzo speaks fluent Luganda and standard English.
Did Eddy Kenzo get married?
Eddy Kenzo is not married.
Which country does Eddy Kenzo come from?
Eddy Kenzo comes from Uganda, however, his mother is Rwandese.
When was Kenzo born?
Eddy Kenzo’s birthday is not very clear because of his tough upbringing, however, it had been rumoured to be 25 December 1989 or 9, April 1989.