Musician Ava Peace opened up about how she landed an opportunity to work with renowned music manager Jeff Kiwa, revealing that she boldly approached him years earlier and asked him to sign her.
During a recent YouTube interview, Ava Peace said she grew up admiring Kiwa because of his contribution to Uganda’s music industry and the successful artistes he helped nurture.
She revealed that working under Kiwa had always been one of her dreams and that she first met him while she was still in high school.
At the time, Kiwa had contacted another artiste and wanted Ava Peace to appear as a video vixen. Seeing the opportunity, she gathered the courage to tell him that she wanted to work with him as an artiste.
However, Kiwa turned her down and advised her to first complete her studies before approaching him again.
“I thought to myself that I would tell him when I got the chance. I didn’t care if he had insulted me, but I would be content that I told him. I greeted him, told him I was excited to see him and that I wanted to work with him,” she recalled.
Ava admitted that approaching Kiwa was intimidating, especially because she was still young at the time.
“He is scary, and I don’t know where I got the courage from. I was really young. He looked at me and asked me if I knew who he was. He told me to go back to school and come back to him after I was done. I wondered if he would still accept me five or six years later,” she said.
Years later, Ava Peace graduated from Makerere University in 2023 and had already begun making a name for herself musically, including with her hit song Shabada. However, she said her career and finances were not progressing as smoothly as she had hoped.
Her long-awaited opportunity came when she unexpectedly crossed paths with Kiwa again at Caramel.
“I was at Caramel and saw Jeff Kiwa again. I remembered what he had told me. I immediately knelt down, greeted him and reminded him about his promise. He asked me about my degree, and I told him. He then told me we would work on a song together,” she said.
Ava revealed that she had remained persistent throughout the years, regularly sending Kiwa audio recordings of her music.
She said Kiwa sometimes responded to her submissions, even after several months, while other times he did not respond at all.
However, her persistence eventually paid off. Impressed by her determination and talent, Kiwa decided to give her a chance.
The two went on to record her first song together, Romantic, which gave Kiwa an opportunity to see what Ava Peace could offer as an artiste and ultimately opened the door for their professional relationship.
