Ugandan singer Dr Lover Bowy says he spent just Shs 70,000 promoting his breakthrough song Welaba, which gained popularity on TikTok about three years ago and helped raise his profile in the music industry.
The singer’s account offers a glimpse into the modest budget behind the song’s rise, while also revealing how a disagreement over money from a show affected his relationship with a woman who had offered to manage his career.
According to Dr Lover Bowy, he met the woman at a bar in Bweyogerere when Welaba had not yet become a hit. She was selling slippers and shoes at the time, but he says she recognised his potential and insisted on managing him for an extended period.
“There’s a woman who was working in Bweyogerere selling slippers and shoes, and she found me in a bar. By that time, the song hadn’t hit yet, but someone can tell good music, and she insisted on being my manager for a long time,” the singer recalled.
Dr Lover Bowy later suggested organising a show in his home area to help promote his music. The event was reportedly organised on a budget of Shs 250,000, with the singer asking for tickets worth Shs 70,000 to be printed.
He said he received that Shs 70,000 and handed it to someone to promote Welaba while he continued preparing for the performance.
The singer’s story highlights how he used a relatively small sum to push the song as he worked to build his audience. However, he did not provide further details about the specific promotional activities funded by the money.
The show itself was reportedly successful and generated revenue, but Dr Lover Bowy says the disagreement that followed eventually ended his working relationship with the woman.
He claimed that she left him in his home area after the event and contacted him two days later, sending him Shs 250,000 and saying that was all he had earned from the show.
“The show was successful and we got money, but what made us separate is she left me in the home area and called me two days later and sent me Shs 250,000, saying that’s all I worked for the entire show,” he said.
The account does not establish the event’s total revenue or provide the woman’s response to his claims, so the precise circumstances surrounding the disagreement remain unclear.
Still, Dr Lover Bowy’s story places the promotion of Welaba at the centre of his breakthrough, with the singer pointing to a modest promotional spend rather than a large campaign. His experience also illustrates how early career partnerships can become complicated when questions about earnings arise.