Uno Boy eyes international reach with ‘Kerata Wena’

Namibian musician Martin Abner Kangumbe well known as Uno Boy is set to release his new track Kerata Wena next week, a love song that signals his ambition to expand beyond local borders.The unreleased single, whose title translates to “I love you”, features vocalist Renata, who sings in Setswana, a native language spoken in Botswana.

Speaking in an interview with Tjil, Uno Boy said the collaboration forms part of his strategy to grow his audience internationally.“Renata is singing in Setswana, so I will also send the new song to Botswana for it to start playing that side. We've been around here enough now,” he said.

On the production side, Uno Boy revealed that the track went through multiple hands before reaching its final version.“The original version started with Kronik, then we went to Mashaba, who is a producer from Botswana. From there, I brought it back to Elbow from Namibia,” he explained.

The release will be accompanied by a music video, which Uno Boy describes as a visual love story.“I met the lady, from there I asked for her number, then I took her out, and from there everything is history,” he said.

He added that the song carries a universal message.“It’s a general love song. You can dedicate it to your girlfriend or to anyone you love,” he said.

Looking ahead, Uno Boy confirmed that Kerata Wena is the first of three upcoming singles, all set to be released with accompanying music videos.“For now, there are three singles that will be released soon. Kerata Wena is the first one, the second one is titled Jealousy Down, and the third one features TKB. That one is Kapada Kambambi, which is more of a house traditional song,” he noted.