From Obsession to Toxic

It is one year after pioneer Obsession members Hellen Lukoma and Brenda Nambi left the wrangling group to form HB Toxic. They tell all to STEVENS MUENDO

Pulse: Why did both of you leave Obsessions after so many years of showbiz success?

Brenda: Personal issues. It was long overdue. A time comes when one has to move on.

P: Personal issues? Word has it that the members of the group had constant battles over alleged love affairs with the manager. Was that the reason why you left?

Hellen: I don’t know about that and we were not the ones at the centre of it. Besides, we didn’t want to fuel the ongoing hatred, which had made it impossible for the group to progress. I personally wanted more freedom and time to concentrate on my fashion line while Brenda needed more time to attend school.

P: It was also claimed that you became disloyal and skipped practice sessions while on trip with your foreign boyfriends…

B: Gosh! (Laughs) Which foreign boyfriends? Those are all lies.

P: Would you say you were the power behind the group’s success now that not much is being heard about the new- look Obsessions?

H: Well, we were a team and everyone had a role in the group’s success. Obsessions broke up into three different groups and you can only tell who-was-who by judging from each group’s current success. After all, a chain is as strong as its weakest link.

P: People still refer you as ex-Obsessions, how does that affect your image as HB Toxic?

B: It feels bad to walk in the shadow of Obsessions as it is only through making our name that we can command our own audience. But with three new hits out, we now have our groove on and the Obsessions is becoming a thing of the past.

P: Has that been your biggest challenge?

H: Let’s just say it has been part of our many challenges as HB Toxic. The main challenge has been the fact that we had to get down to working by our own without the help of a manager. We have had to hustle all the way, upto to this point. It’s not like back then in Obsessions were we would sit and have everything done for us. But we have been working around talented people and that has enabled us get breakthroughs faster that we had expected.

P: How was it performing before thousands of Kenyan fans during the P Square concert. I mean, it was barely seven months after the formation of HB Toxic?

B: It was exciting to be invited for such a big show and that was a great platform for us to prove our singing and dancing talents. Both of us are good vocalists and dancers and we use both strengths to charm our audience. Kenyan fans are lively and you have live performers with great energy. We are considering coming back soon.

H: Sure! We might have another show in Nairobi in two or so months. We have had two major concerts in Tanzania where our songs are now popular. The single All I Need, a collabo we did with AY has been receiving massive airplay both in Kampala and Dar. We have also been having many shows here in Kampala.

P: What genre of music do you sing and what are your strengths?

H: Most of our songs are club songs with a danceable beat. The dancing experience we have had works for us. We have had a great chemistry ever since and I believe that works to our advantage. You know how flirty we can get especially when we sing those girly love songs (laughs).

P: Critics argue that you are better as dancers than being musicians?

H: Those are critics and that is their role in the industry. But you don’t argue with results. Our three singles All I Need, Toxic and Mwagala Nyo were on the Kampala radio charts long before the videos are out. I would say, we have had a great start.

P: You have been working closely with Blu 3, Tonix and Navio. What is the connection?

B: They are all great and we don’t mind being associated with them. Thing is, we are all signed-up to Talent 256 which is Uganda’s greatest showbiz organisation.

P: The Ugandan media has portrayed some of your dance routines as obscene and a little extreme. What do you say on this?

H: People had all sorts of things to say simply because we were the frontrunners in this in East Africa. I mean, it has been happening everywhere else in the world…

B: Now, everyone has taken it up. Probably we need to take it to the next level and see what they will say (laughs)

P: Is the HB Toxic we see on stage the same you would in real life?

H: You wouldn’t believe that we are laid-back in real life. Away from music we work on our fashion designs, model or act which are some of the other things we are good at. We rarely go out in clubs and when we do, we are on soda and water (laughs). But it’s ok to get paranoid once in a while…