By Dennis Asiimwe
Selecta dropped nine years ago. It was then that the music industry in Uganda realised that Cindy was going to take this dancehall genre thing seriously.
Cindy’s foray into dancehall caught a lot of folks off-guard. Riding off her pop background with Blu3, it was certainly a surprise. The surprise was intensified by the fact that she brought a refreshingly original spin to traditional dancehall, merging it seamlessly with Luganda.
She was suddenly a dancehall queen, a former pop singer that churned out material that cold only be defined as club bangers. No one saw that coming, but then again, Cindy has always been the sort of person that pivots comfortably.
It made you understand suddenly why Blu3 simply had to break up. Apart from Cindy, Jackie was another significant talent from the band, and the group really thrust Lillian into the limelight. How Steve Jean made the whole thing work is something of a miracle when you come to think about it. All three girls are musical powerhouses and single minded.
Another irony is that nobody has attempted to imitate Cindy’s take on dancehall. She has thrown barbs at Sheebah for doing so in the past, but the truth is that if Sheebah attempted to, she would hurt herself.
There’s a melodic resonance to Selecta that gives it that extra oomph, and the song comes packed with structural gimmicks that only enhance its musicality, including an interlude. As a track that dropped nine years ago, it has aged well, and would still work on a dancefloor today.
