Flashback Friday: When TPF's Davis and Msechu sparred verbally

 Davis and Peter Msechu. Photo: Courtesy

 In Celebville, five years can be fleeting. Like 15 seconds. Which is why few celebs remain relevant for, um, 15 seconds. Straight. This article ran five years ago in Pulse on 23rd September, 2011, in the “Celeb vs Celeb” column. And pundits tipped the two profiled budding musicians to take East Africa by storm. The two were UG’s Davis Ntare and Bongo’s Peter Msechu. And they were musicians-in-the-making in East Africa’s biggest reality TV show, Tusker Project Fame, which was in its fourth season. Let’s dispense with stubborn facts. In the article, written while the pair was still in the TPF4 house, the title was, “Msechu sits on Davis”. But it was Davis who took the TPF4 crown. “Celeb vs Celeb” is Pulse’s version of fencing. Celebs jab each other, not with slender swords, but with stinging words. And, like the rider reads, “... it’s never too serious”. When asked what Msechu would do if he won TPF prize money, Davis went for Msechu’s jugular: “I bet he would spend lots of time counting it besides buying himself lots of food ...” Ouch. David didn’t go for Msechu’s jugular, but for the gastronome’s alimentary canal. But, to prove that it’s never too serious, Davis described Msechu as a funny dude, adding that his Bongo housemate made him laugh just by his looks and actions. On the other hand, Msechu described Davis as an energetic man who hopes to run faster than Kilometric long-distance pen. (For the iPhone generation, I’ll have you know that, way back when, Kilometric – “kalamu ya kirafiki” – were the s**t. Those biros penned epic paeans, and torched more notes than Samsung Galaxy Note 7s). Moving on swiftly ... Davis swore that, if he was in Msechu’s shoes, he would change three things. One, improve his dress code. Two, stick to Benga music done in pure Kiswahili tunes. And three, hit the gym like his ticker depended on it. But, on the same subject, Msechu dropped the mic: “I would reduce on clubbing every day.” Peace. Out. Musically and personality-wise, these two were as different as matoke and pilau. And Davis was the banana split. He would cut songs in half lengthwise, top them with his ice cream of a voice, and make ladies all syrupy. Msechu was as exotic as pilau, and the spices in his personality made him affable and real. Still, music-wise, he sounded like a clone of Burundian zouk export, Kidum. That aside, there was one thing that the two unanimously agreed upon: their TPF4 crush. Pulse: “If you were to court female contestants of TPF4, who would it be?” Davis: “It would be Uganda’s ...” And Msechu’s answer to that same question? “She was my only source who gave me good tips on how you can easily court a Ugandan girl – a good example would be TPF judge Juliana Kanyamozi.” Many TPF contestants are MIA. And so did Davis’ and Msechu’s crush, Rachel Namubiru. Which is a pity, considering all of TPF’s hype.