| Bobi Wine | |
|---|---|
Bobi Wine
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| Born | 12 February 1982 Uganda |
| Residence | Kampala, Uganda |
| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Ethnicity | Muganda |
| Citizenship | Uganda |
| Education | General Education Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda |
| Occupation | Musician, entrepreneur, entertainer, philanthropist |
| Years active | 2000 – present |
| Known for | Music |
| Home town | Kanoni |
| Relatives | Mikie Wine (Brother) |
He started making music in the early 2000s. His first singles were Akagoma, Funtula, and Sunda (featuring Ziggy D), which brought Wine into the limelight.[1] He was previously part of the group Fire Base Crew. Later he formed a new group, Ghetto Republic of Uganja, which he leads.[2]
The Uganda Professional Boxing Commission (UPBC) has given him a professional boxing license.[3] He has had quite a number of conflicts with Bebe Cool and Chameleone. He is associated with other musicians like Buchaman and Nubian Li who have sung alongside him in various productions. Wine is also a movie actor, mainly starring in a few local movies commonly known as Binayugandda. Wine is also associated with a famous TV show that is filmed at his plush lake-view mansion. He has recently released a new song entitled "Dilemma" starring Mr.G, Cindy, and Wine himself.
Humanitarian work
Wine's lyrics often advocate for ghetto-residents in Uganda. He has supported several practical projects to improve conditions for the poor.[4]In July 2012, he started a campaign to promote more regular cleaning in hospitals,[5] and more attention to sanitization, garbage management, and hand washing to prevent disease. A YouTube video from September 2012 shows Bobi joining Kampala mayor Elias Lukwago in cleaning up Kamwokya, the slum neighbourhood where he grew up. Also in 2012, Bobi donated funds to build pit latrines and construct a drainage channel in Kisenyi II, a Kampala slum that New Vision, a major local newspaper, described as being "characterized by filth, crowded shanty structures, poor sanitation and lack of basic social facilities."[6] The newspaper quoted Wine as explaining "I am doing this because these are my people, and no matter where I go, this will always be home."
He has also campaigned for malaria prevention, with donations to the Nakasongola Health Centre, and reference to the disease in his songs.[7] "Malaria is more dangerous than Al-Shabab" became a popular refrain in one of his 2010 songs.
He visited the Bundibugyo Refugee Camp in Rwenzori region in August 2013,[8] along with representatives from Save the Children [1], UNHCR and the Red Cross to deliver funds and supplies. The same year, Bobi was appointed Parenting Ambassador by Twaweza, a NGO that focuses on education and citizen engagement in East Africa; his message in this partnership was to promote responsible parenting among his Ugandan fans. "Education is what will ultimately change the course of our country and as an artiste and a father, I believe we can all make a difference in our children’s learning," he said.
In November 2013, he held what local media reported to be Uganda's first[9] large-scale free entry album launch concert, at the Lugogo Cricket Oval, a very large venue, where donations were collected by the Red Cross for victims of landslides in Bududa in Eastern Uganda.
In 2014, Wine was appointed a Save the Children Ambassador for their EVERY ONE Campaign, and joined a team of 14 Ugandan artists who recorded a special song and video about maternal and child health. Other leading Uganda artists in the video included Jose Chameleone, and Radio and Weasel, who make up the Goodlyfe Crew. Bobi and his wife Barbie (Kyagulanyi Barbie Itungo) traveled to hospitals throughout Uganda – including Nakaseke Hospital, meeting with midwives and health workers, to popularize the campaign.[10] Save the Children also took Bobi to other regions with the EVERY ONE Campaign, including a refugee camp for South Sudanese.[11]
Controversy about anti-LGBT song lyrics
In July 2014, it was announced that Wine was to perform in the United Kingdom, at The Drum arts centre in Birmingham and the Troxy in London.[12] This led to calls for a ban because of his lyrics expressing opinions against homosexuality.[13] Both venues subsequently cancelled Wine's appearances.[14][15]Wine’s song “Be A Man” asks why certain men are gay. It uses Rastafarian rhetoric like “fire burn” as an expletive, which has been interpreted as inciting violence, but Wine insists that his wording has been misunderstood: “I am personally not out to threaten the life of any individual based on their sexual orientation. I just DO NOT agree with them.”[16] He expressed a popular sentiment in Uganda, where homosexuality is believed to be "un-African" [17] and a degenerate byproduct of westernization.[citation needed] Western pressure to accept LGBTQ rights often provokes a defensive response.[18] Wine and other Ugandans have become entrenched in their defensive stance against gay rights. Wine has explained, “The bottom line is that we should struggle to better ourselves and it's not fair when one tries to 'arm-twist' society to legalize bad habits just because they have a sponsor. We just can't compromise our Values and Dignity.”[19]
Personal life
Bobi married his long-time partner Barbie Itungo, whom he met at Makerere University, in August 2011. Together they have four children: Solomon Kampala Nyanzi, Shalom Namagembe, Shadraq Shilling Mbogo and one due in August, 2015.[20] Bobi Wine is known as a family man and good father. In 2013, after having shown a good example caring for his children on his Ghetto President Reality TV Show, he was appointed parenting ambassador by Twaweza.[21] At his home in Magere Village, Wakiso district, Bobi raises his children away from the media glare, cultivating useful skills in them like polite behaviour and farming. He said to The Daily Monitor about his home life: “I have this big garden at home and I always ensure we go together to dig and get food, whenever we can. I do that because I want them to learn to live an ordinary life, not as a celebrity’s children.”[22] In a 2015 interview, Bobi’s wife Barbie spoke of how he cancelled work trips to take care of her and the children during her fourth pregnancy when she suffered from severe morning sickness.[23]Bobi lost his father – whom he credited with influencing him to be a good parent - on 11 February 2015. The vigil and burial attracted hundreds of mourners, including government officials and other celebrities.[24] One month later, he released the song “Paradiso,” which had the message of valuing your parents while they still live.
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