Having been around Lobst4r in our earlier days in the music industry, and seeing what he did on the local scene with limited resources during the time he worked with J Wats and later Shawn Maine, when I saw Baraka’s work rate and talent, I knew this was a match made in heaven.

After releasing his first project, Baby Steps, in 2021, Joshua Baraka got his big break two years later when Nana went viral. Unlike Eddy Kenzo with Sitya Loss or Big Trill with Party After Party, you could tell Baraka and his team had prepared for this moment and were ready for it.

Many artists must have reached out to jump on the remix, but knowing the position they wanted that remix to put them in is probably the main reason they chose Bien, King Promise, and Joeboy — and it worked perfectly for them.

Even before Moves Recordings came into the picture, his management was already moving differently, and you could tell they were onto something. Their consistency on social media, the way they released music, and how they pushed it were just a few signs of how intentional and dedicated they were.

Looking at his catalogue over these almost five years of making music, it is bigger than that of many artists who have been in the industry for over ten years. He has worked with people like Jae5, King Promise, Bien, Sarkodie, Ice Prince, A Pass, The Compozers, Fave, Axon, Simi, Qing Madi, Shenseea, Gyakie, to mention but a few.

He has moved from 30K monthly listeners on Spotify to 1.4M in just three years; you can imagine the level of motion it took for management to pull this off. If we are to look at the hits locally, you can compare his run to John Blaq, Fik Fameica, or even Mun G during their prime.

When the artist’s career took off, the manager too had cracked the code on how to break an artist to the global stage, and I believe this is something he can do over and over again. I cannot think of any artist-management team on the continent that has had a better run over the past three years than them, from the music they have put out, the stages he has performed on, the people they have connected with, and the many achievements they have accomplished in such a short time.

This includes performing at AFRIMA, Afro Nation, and AFCON, as well as receiving a nomination for Best African Music Act at the 2026 MOBO Awards, where he lost to Wizkid, and the tweet they put out after that probably earned him some new followers from Wizkid FC.

He is one of the few artists whose award nominations genuinely felt deserved because of the quality of his music. Unlike many Ugandan artists who sometimes get nominated locally and internationally more for PR reasons, Baraka’s AFRIMA, KORA, and MOBO nominations felt earned through the music itself.

With his exceptional talent, his former management truly did him justice. Together, they achieved something no other Ugandan artist and management team has managed to do before, something even those considered the biggest names in the industry have failed to accomplish.

Some may argue that it comes down to resources, but even those with resources have not been able to replicate what they have achieved two or three years later.

After releasing his debut Album, Juvie, he embarked on a world tour, performing for his fans in different countries, unlike many artists who end up performing mainly for Ugandan communities in the diaspora. The team managed to build a solid fan base that not only streams his music but also goes on to buy tickets and attend his shows.

A few days before the news of Baraka not renewing his contract hit the internet, I was talking to a friend and told him, “Don’t be surprised if we see Baraka at the Grammys or BET Awards within the next two years.” Looking at how they have been moving over the past few years, it only made sense for them to eventually reach those spaces.

As someone who has always been inspired by seeing Baraka and Lobst4r on the global stage waving the 256 flag, I genuinely wanted to see how far they could go and how much more they could achieve together. Unfortunately, that chapter ended before we could see its full potential.

You dreamed big, believed, and went all out in chasing the vision. Because of you, I am sure many music execs around the world now have their eyes on Uganda, waiting for the next big star to emerge from the 256 and East Africa as a whole.

Kudos to Ssese Nation. Kudos to Joshua Baraka. Kudos to Lobst4r.

Thank you for the unforgettable run, the great music, paving the way for up-and-coming artists, and for putting Uganda in the global music conversations. You have inspired many artists, managers, and people who want to join the music industry and music business.