TAKEAWAYS

• Kalifah AgaNaga supplements his income by selling clothes and brokering land deals.
• He says he remains one of Uganda’s busiest performers despite not always having hit songs.
• The singer credits northern Uganda and eastern DR Congo as his strongest performance markets.

Ugandan musician Kalifah AgaNaga has opened up about how he manages to stay financially stable even when music bookings become scarce.

The Oyitangayo singer revealed that he has diversified his income through several side businesses that help him meet his financial needs outside the music industry.

According to AgaNaga, one of his businesses involves selling clothes, a trade he says he has been involved in for years. He also brokers land and plot sales on behalf of friends, using his wide network of contacts to quickly connect buyers with sellers and earn commissions from successful deals.

“When music slows down, I don’t sit at home. I sell clothes and also help people sell land and plots because I have many connections.”

Despite acknowledging that he may not always have a trending hit song, AgaNaga insisted that he remains one of the busiest performing artists in Uganda.

He explained that whenever he wants to make money from music, he reaches out directly to promoters and secures performances, particularly in northern Uganda. His regular performance circuit stretches through districts such as Nakasongola, Arua, Yumbe, Koboko, and Nebbi, before extending into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

AgaNaga credited his collaboration “Kiboko“ with Jose Chameleone for boosting his popularity in eastern DRC, saying the song continues to attract audiences across the border.

“No artist gets more bookings than me in those areas. That’s my market, and when I need money, I call promoters myself.”

The singer added that he does not wait for promoters or booking agents to contact him. Instead, he takes the initiative by reaching out whenever he wants to perform, a strategy he says has kept him consistently booked over the years.