Jose Chameleone reflects on his early days: “I did it all myself”

• Jose Chameleone started his career with the Afrobeat hit “Gwenafuna Kati.”
• He wrote, produced, and performed his early hits independently, including Dorotia and Sanyu Lyange.
• His self-driven approach cemented him as a versatile and influential Ugandan music legend.

Ugandan music legend Jose Chameleone recently took a stroll down memory lane, opening up about how he got his start in the industry. He revealed that his very first song, Gwenafuna Kati, an Afrobeat hit from the early 2000s, marked the beginning of what would become a string of timeless tracks.

Hits like Dorotia, Kuma Obwesigwa, Sanyu Lyange, and Nekolela Maali all came from his own pen, produced and performed by Chameleone himself.

“I reached a point where I thought, maybe if I had a producer, he would’ve gotten jealous of me. So I decided to do everything myself,” he said.

Chameleone explained that some producers can feel entitled once they’ve helped craft a hit, and he wanted to avoid that entirely.

Back then, he was truly a one-man powerhouse—writing, producing, and performing all his music. His brothers, Chagga and Weasel, only joined him on stage during live performances, providing support where it was needed.