Living a dream with producer Hanz

In just a short while Hannington Tactiq aka Hanz has been able to transform his dream and passion into a living reality. He is a simple guy who tends to do complex things.

When you first hear the name Hanz, your memory journeys adrift across the Atlantic to America; dream works studios where another Hanz Zimmer heads the music division. The latter has been a music producer at dream works for over three decades and has produced sound tracks for some of the finest pictures like lion king, gladiator,pirates of the Caribbean series, da vinci code and most recently, inception. Surely when it comes to music, the name Hanz carries loads of connotations.

This was all i was thinking the day i was to meet Ugandan renown music producer Hannington tactiq alias producer Hanz.

A one modest, frail and energetic youngster, Hanz started producing beats while still at campus round about 2005. He had and has always had a talent; very swift on the key board, many folks would frequent his room to make beats. At the time he was just a free lancer and little did he know or ever envision a near future where his name would be as a house hold name on the lips of nearly every one. He at the time never sought payment from the people he produced for; his was more like a modest favor and once in a while, who ever appreciated the good work would toss him a penny or so. Indeed; “cast thy bread upon the waters for many days to come, it shall come back to you!” This seems to have been the maxim behind this guy's head, For today, he is widely celebrated and it follows almost naturally that the money comes along too.

While at school, Hanz had always dreamed to be a soft ware engineer but his love for music would eventually sluice him through into the industry. Consequently, this young gifted producer pursued a career in production (recording and audio engineering). At this point it could have been sufficiently assumed that Hanz was near waist deep in the industry as he made his maiden debut in the specialty of music production. But his big break was yet to come.

The sail was as expected not smooth at the start and Hanz did not see any open window until after he opened his own recording studio in Makyindye, a Kampala suburb. This was shortly after he had left campus.

But how and where did Hanz get the money to buy studio equipment at such an early time?

To that question, he smirks, then a shy and cunning short lived grin (as always) and then he reveals; “while at school, i was working and i also used to save my pocket money. That is how i got the money” but of course the cost of studio equipment is way more expensive that all the pocket money that an average Hanz (while at school) could have ever had! But i chose to ignore that fact instead pretended to be satisfied and some what dismayed at his reply.

After opening his studio, Hanz saw what he could call his first big break, as then, he was able to get an identity and he started to work with lots of people on loads of projects. He has produced beats for the sleak-est modern day Ugandan artistes; rabadaba, gnl, toniks, the list is endless. The question thence would be; why or what is special about his beats and what style is his?

“my style is Hanz Style” he boasts. “This is because i make a fuse of almost any or all sounds to come up with something exotic but also indigenous to appeal to a wider fan base”. He adds. Hanz makes beats off the key board, he can also synchronize with contemporary sounds from the guitar and Adungu.

“People approach me with an idea or just lyrics and i accordingly decide the right beat; a heavy beat for a dance hall jam and a smoother one for a love song,” Hanz explains. Some times the beats are custom made where someone orders for a specific beat. In that case, the challenge would be to come up with something closets to what the client wants

sounds a busy guy, uh? In a minute; this young enthusiast whose inspiration ranges from Steve jean, Silver kyagulanyi, Dr. Dre and swizz beats wakes up every morning to remind himself of the day's work, appointments, meetings etc. after a prayer and breakfast, he heads out to the studio where he spends the rest of his day. Over the weekend, he will go out only if asked by his friends as he is not the party freak type. He prefers his space in order to think. Everyday, the belief and hope within himself in his potential to reach heights is what drives him. He will one day sure reach the top. Indeed he is a simple guy who tends to do complex things, as he argues.

The path for any producer is no walk in the park. Hanz too presents among his biggest challenges, the complexity of coming up with something new and getting people to appreciate and love the new style. Also the fact that Ugandan law is not strict with copy right means that people make money off him without his knowledge. He would otherwise be flying in a jet. The law has to be reformed to protect some of these buds in the industry. His biggest achievement is having the musicians for whom and with whom he has worked gain recognition. Like Rabadaba, GNL. Vicariously, that is a score for him as well and no doubt he too gets the recognition.

So now, knowing relatively a lot about about producer Hanz, the next question should be; what has he contributed to the industry especially hip hop that we should miss him should he abruptly quit. I presented the challenge to him. "Should i quit, there will sure be left a big gap as i have been the custodian and example of a fighting spirit and determination to create new ideas and get people to love the idea. I am no doubt a source of inspiration and an example”

whether the above claim is true, i leave to you our audience to decide.

GNL; The Legend of Zamba

“I’m blind to haters! I love the game and I am at the top. I love being at the top”

The influx of hip-hop in Uganda and Africa has led to the birth of  a horst of hip-hop artistes and all sorts of sub-genre of the hip-hop genre. Favorite of them all and probably basking in the “lime-est light” is the renown legend of Zamba popularly known as G.N.L- the king of luga flow. A calm but sophiscated G.N.L with a modest sense of humor and a pronounced sense of self righteousness boasts; “I gave hip-hop a soul” as he speaks about the “game” and his place in the “game” I mean hip-hop

Poetry and flow are fundamental recipes for the dish of hip hop. It will be so as it has been, yet in the greater past, poetry is something that has not been intrinsic, rather lacking, of many hip hop artistes in Uganda. Well, until the birth of the “legend of Zamba”. It is of such significant efficacy as it appeals even to the 6^th sense- your self conscious. Poetry, the chronological flow of a story has the power to capture the audience and it would be hard to escape. You flow along with the beat as the stanzas of the poem would follow each other as you do not want to lose grip of the thread.

This seems to have been the secret behind Uganda's sensational; GNL Zamba, a signee of platinum entertainment Aware of this fact, and needless to say, good at it (poetry), the latter seems to have ably turned it into his pot of gold from which he has continually mined the acclaimed allegiance and diligence of an unrivaled fan base ecstatic about the notion of lugaflow, the freshest genre in town.

One of East Africa's most influential artists, Gnl zamba was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda. he started professional music in 2007 after completion of his bachelors degree.
His break out hit was soda jinjale off the record breaking album koyi koyi/ riddles of life he has won numerous awards, including best male artist of the year BUZZ AWARDS,album of the year and 2 best hip hop singles PAM AWARDS.
Gnl has gained international exposure and recognition through performances on international ...

GNL can be said to be the patron and custodian of lugaflow, but how did the idea come up any way? “I felt there was a need to relate hip-hop to an African sense which the Africans could understand, that way, I hoped to address the problems of society with an African touch”. Says Zamba. “Hip-hop started in Africa and the Africans should be able to relate with it. It is unfortunate that in the past people have fallen in love with western music which they do not even understand. So it is our role as artistes to make people appreciate their own music and to me, luga flow was the best way of doing that”. He adds.

“The legend of Zamba” is a philosophical folk story in the African traditional setting. Zamba was born during time of “sowing” and has come all this way. So it is a story of his journey from the start-koikoi up to now. so it is my philosophy, the story of his life that he tells through music and it keeps him going on. His first album koyi koyi, he reveals was his time of “sowing”, the time of his debut entourage into the music industry and the later albums including the forth coming are, to him, more like the harvest; the reaps of his hard work, sacrifice and determination. That is the legend of Zamba.

A calm but sophisticated G.N.L with a modest sense of humor and a pronounced sense of self righteousness is of two character traits; off stage, he is quiet, shy and soft spoken, so he says. “when am off stage, i am a gentleman, i am GNL.” so he says! On stage, he is a beast, a monster, an animal. By his words, “That is Zamba-the ghetto guy”.

GNL, the self styled king of luga flow draws his inspiration from his mum. His attitude of having a positive conscious has also played a great deal in shaping him worthy of praise and following from his fans. He had however wanted to be a basket ball celebrity so probably he would be “shooting hoops”. if he were not doing music. On a normal day, GNL wakes up to say a prayer, after which ;he will check his gmail, facebook account to see if he has any messages and to reply any including those from his fans, he then call his manager from where the rest of the day follows in studio or prapring for shows. Over the weekend there is a lot to do for him, most cases, he will spend it doing shows or recording music, when he has the time, he will go out.

There is so much the icon, whose big break came after his single soda has achieved in the recent past but to him the love from the fans has been a great achievement. “Each time i get on stage and people show you the love- they scream, hug etc, that is a great achievement and such an inspiration because i know i am doing something, speaking to someone,” he says. Other wise he is the father of baboon forest entertainment which natures a lot of young talent.

For the future GNL plans the furtherance of his acting skills. In fact he is rumored to have featured in a recent movie although he reveals not the details as per contractual terms. (kglam will bring you the details soon)

he also plan to start a serious clothing line and music label under baboon forest entertainment. He is also working on his album called speaking vernacular after which he will take his game international with the forthcoming album called union of colors.

While it may seen to be a smooth sail for this star, he reveals to me that many huddles ripple the path of a hip hop artiste, the greatest being the stereo-type. When you do hip hop, many people mistake you to be a thug and forget that you are also a human being trying to make a living. Consequently, only love for what you do can keep you aloft in the game otherwise you will chicken out at the slightest blow from the media and other haters. He however is modest enough to agree that he is also there for the money; to make a living. Speaking of haters, GNL is only glad he inspires them and they motivate him!

To the hip hop fraternity, Zamba has given a soul and because of him, people can now listen to hip hop especially Lugaflow thanks to his poetic lyrics that are inspired by any thing that goes on around him and his own life experiences.

For the fans of GNL, of luga flow and hip hop, I leave you with this thread from one or two of his songs that should help you identify you “hero”; Banzalira mu ghetto, awatali mu?
GNL Zamba ndinga omwana Yesu Kristo ..GNL nze jena va, abana teba mbala ngato ..Enkuba wetonya, oku vayo obera wetaga lyato.....Eno ensi tulinga aba nyiga olwazi okulujamu amazi
Mpita mu Kampala ndaba banji ba tunula angazi

Meet Moses Masiko

What is your academic qualification?
I am a professional journalist in print writing but now I am a business person, in fact I am about to finish my masters in something not connected at all to journalism.. in business. So I am a journalist turned business man
So how did you start as a business man?
Well, I Started off as a freelance writer for Monitor news paper where I worked for about a year and later moved to New Vision as a sports writer. After I started my own news paper called the Strip with some partners but we fell almost immediately after start due to financial challenges and also for having wrong partners. Later on I got the opportunity to go to the USA to study a course in education. That is where the doors opened for me, I could say.
Did your capital miraculously fall from above?
Most of the capital to establish my self was from my salary. While in the US and Iraq, I saved a lot. I was earning well yet I was not spending in any way. There is no way to spend your salary when you are on a mission in a war zone.
Tell us how you ended up in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Three months into my studies in the USA, I got a contract with state department which was a branch of the USA government security arm so it is like we work on contract for the US army. I got a small job which I started with. For the next 6 months I went on high desert training and I was immediately posted to Afghanistan, Kabul for the next 9 months with the same company doing force protection, securing sites and other establishments of the US army. The company later got a contract in Baghdad.
In Baghdad, I worked as an administrator controlling the air base, driving the forces. In the same year I did a tactical training in high speed shooting for 3 months and came back as personal security detail and went into high shooting drill. My next job was to escort VIPs. It was well paying; 1500 dollars and I used to save a lot.
What are the different businesses that you own?
After returning from Iraq, I started a company called Water Tight Services which was to recruit human resource like guards, IT specialists to go work in Iraq. Pinnacle Security started as a section which was for supplying dogs and dog handlers. Currently I have more than 78 dogs in Uganda, some are in South Sudan. We also deal in cement importing and supplying cement. I also have a night club.
Any business quote(s) that have guided you through;
I have none exactly, but I should say different businesses have different tactics, but four things stand out; proper planning, human resource, discipline, passion and consistency. Am 30 years old and all I can say to young men is, to first identify what they want and are interested in doing, then put themselves in disciplinary structures to achieve that and never give up. Chase your dream to the end.
Any fears/challenges in the business?
Most definitely, there is unfair competition in the sense that some people get security deals on the basis of who they know, bureaucracy is another; if you want to do something and it takes long to get a mere letter e.g I have the best dogs for bomb sniffing but failed to get the deal in African summit because of bureaucratic procedures, also the clients have not fully appreciated the role of the security guards.
What are your future plans as well as for the company?
To begin with as you know, tomorrow am getting married to my beautiful fiancé so I am gonna start a family. As regards my personal business, well, the future is ours because we have the right vision, we apply the right philosophy. I am involved in my work, I have a wedding tomorrow but I am working. Some times in the night I can put on my uniform and go out to supervise my guards which shows that I pleasure in what they are doing.
Personal qualities that have contributed to who you are...
Hard work, humility, discipline, consistence. I am also passionate about what I do. Those qualities have played a huge role in shaping me and the person I am.
First salary...
When I was a writer we were paid per story but my first real salary was 140 000
Why are you so conscious about security?
I have about 13 cameras around my house and even motion sensor lights among others but that is because am in love with security and also my background as security person. I have no burglar proof at home but I make up for that.
What should change about the Ugandan Entrepreneurs?
There are different profiles and the more successful are the foreigners because we lack financial discipline and poor book keeping, a company can make money but be in losses. I love cars but even when I buy a 400million shilling car I have to squeeze my self to compensate. Many business men in Uganda are too local and do not know how and when to expand. However we have smart people in Uganda unlike in other countries.