Karole Kasita On Work Ethic, Perfectionism and Pressure from Fans

Plus some spring style

It’s surprising to learn that, Karole Kasita, perhaps one of the most gifted entertainers to ever come out of this part of the world, grew up with a dream of being a physician. “I loved caring for my peers. My mother would refer to it as a mother hen caring for her chicks. She was so sure I’d make a great doctor – one who end up treating her as well,” she muses. “My passion later drifted to music, which I was lucky to study at school. That was Gayaza Junior School, where music was taken seriously. During school holidays, I would hold mini-classes for my peers. Things like music chords and choreography became a part of me at such a young age. In fact, there’s a school that took me on as their trainer when I was still a child.”

It’s a chilly morning in April, we are somewhere in Kabalagala for the photo shoot accompanying this story. Karole is pacing around the lobby wearing barely there tiny shorts under a giant puffer coat. “Hello, how are you?” she greets me. Her makeup is done and she’s ready for the photo shoot, but guess what! The décor team is still setting up, the photographer hasn’t arrived, and the stylist is nowhere to be seen as well. Yes, she arrived before all of us. That’s very telling of her professionalism and work ethic. Her personality is warm and welcoming – she cracks jokes every other minute. This is, clearly, a wide swatch from what I had expected, because well, we tend to put dancehall artistes in a box.

An hour later, I find myself kneeling down as I help her wear the white thigh-high boots you see on the cover at end of this story. “I love life,” she sighs. “Is loving life a hobby? I enjoy chatting with friends. I think it’s called chilling. My ideal outing would be sitting with friends, laughing as we talk about life.”

“What’s your favourite part about being an entertainer?” I ask. “Earning money from doing what I love to do and treasure is the best part. The least favorite part is not being able to control my life easily. It takes a lot to stay true to who you are. I’m still managing that. The other part is failure to deliver to my fans’ expectations.”

Karole’s success is, without a doubt, hinged on her ‘adrenaline heavy’ performances. “Trust me, there are shows I leave feeling like I didn’t do my best. When that happens I feel terrible. It takes a lot to build a fan base and when you fail to give them exactly what they want, it doesn’t feel right,” she tells me. One such moment happened just recently. “I had this performance, which I believe, I killed, plus everyone in attendance enjoyed it. However, the person who hired me for the gig had a different opinion. He expected more than I delivered. It’s still eating me up till now. My lesson from that is to always listen to our clients. Your best might just not be your very best.”

For someone who is such a perfectionist, it must be hard dealing with the pressure to be perfect. She can’t agree more. “Every time I get into that phase, I remember these words Irene Ntale once told me. “This is your calling, don’t allow anyone to control you. Nobody sent you studio to do your first record. When you set your mind to something, do exactly that, and at the time you desire. No one is going to say yes to you unless you say yes to yourself.” She swears by these words whenever low moments kick in and has nothing but gratitude for Irene Ntale.

When I ask about stage anxiety, she gets even more animated. “You are now speaking my language,” she laughs. “Goodness, I have the biggest stage fright, you cannot even believe it. Minutes before performances I get engulfed with nerves. This is why I never give interviews before performances. Interestingly, immediately I get on stage I get into character. I think I’m a natural actress.” On how she deals with stage fright, she continues, “I try so much not to talk. I keep quiet and to myself. I also chew gum. This helps to calm my nerves down.”

She has had a slew of memorable performances, although her presentation on Club Beats’ Lockdown virtual show still stands out as her most memorable. “That is still my best and favourite performance. I think everyone can testify to that. Thanks to it I have gotten countless opportunities. I love how much I put into it,” she tells me. “I’d like to thank my team that I’ve always worked with; my choreographer Xzan, my dancers Baraka dancers, and Fenon Records for producing the show.”

A week later, Karole Kasiita and I meet again at her birthday party. As soon as she runs into me she quickly asks that I help her do the back zipper of her romper. “Yes I have a glam team, but I’m trying to locate Abbas, I can’t find him,” she tells me when I ask about her glam team. “When it comes to hair I work with either Mbajja Sean or Ricky Bundles. For fashion I work with different stylists; if it’s not Posh by KC, it’s Kais Divo Collection, Ronnie Cham or Ronnie guns. It depends on the mood I want to have under the clothes.”

We then get into a quick Q & A

Which schools did you attend?

I went to Happy Hours School for kindergarten. I then went to Makerere University Primary School for I think two terms in Primary One, before I joined Gayaza Junior School. I then went to Ndejje SSS for just one year before joining St. Joseph’s Nagalama, where I finished my O’ levels. I then joined Kibibi SS for my A’ levels. After that, I went to Makerere University Business School where I did a BA in Entrepreneurship.

Are there any musicians who inspire you?

There are very many artists I love and respect. In fact, I respect every Ugandan artiste no matter how low or high they are in their career. There’s always something I love. If it’s not their fashion choices, it’s their vocal prowess and for some, it’s just how organized they are. I think Ugandan artistes are so underrated.

Your latest music video Nywaamu is a work of art. Tell us about the creativity involved especially the Michael Jackson-inspired intro

I’m glad that you love the music video. The whole creative process was managed by Sasha Vybz. He is the brains behind the whole production; the moves, the thriller intro and everything else. It came out as he envisioned it. We worked with a choreographer called Pessy Dancers, who put Sasha’s wild imagination to life. Some outfits were done by Sasha and mine were done by Ronnie Guns. I give all the credit to Sasha.

All your videos are heavy on fashion and dance. Why is this important to you?

My videos are heavy on fashion and dance because that’s what I want my fans to know me for – an artist. It’s important to stick to what our fans know you for. Our role as musicians is to inspire our fans, right from fashion to dance. To set trends. It’s the only platform I can use to inspire the people that love and follow me.