Veteran Ugandan music producer and singer Washington Ebangit says he has never viewed fellow producers as rivals, insisting that jealousy and beef have no place in his approach to the entertainment industry.
Speaking from his experience working with other players in Uganda’s music scene, Ebangit said he does not envy his fellow producers or engage in negative competition with them.
“I don’t envy or beef anyone,” Ebangit said, while describing his relationships with people across the industry.
He then made an unusual claim about his connections outside the mainstream entertainment world, saying that some traditional healers are among the people who support him.
Ebangit claimed that some of the traditional healers he considers friends are also his fans and sometimes pass information to him about people who visit them. He specifically alleged that they alert him when other industry players come to them.
His comments about producer relationships, however, were only part of what he had to say about the business side of Uganda’s music industry.
Ebangit also questioned why music producers rarely receive endorsement deals from major companies, despite the role their work plays in creating sounds used to promote brands.
“Has any company ever endorsed a producer?” he asked, arguing that producers should have opportunities to become faces of brands whose platforms use their music.
The veteran producer said companies can benefit from music and sounds created by producers for years, yet the people behind those sounds may not receive comparable recognition from the brands benefiting from their work.
His argument centers on a broader issue of recognition: while singers and other performers frequently become the public faces of endorsement campaigns, producers can remain behind the scenes even when their creative work is central to the music being used.
Ebangit believes that should change, calling for producers to be celebrated and rewarded for their contribution to the entertainment ecosystem.
The comments add another layer to the ongoing conversation around how Uganda’s music industry values the people working behind the microphone. For Ebangit, the issue is not simply about producer-to-producer competition—it is also about ensuring the creators behind the sound receive recognition when that work becomes commercially valuable.
His message is clear: producers may work behind the scenes, but Ebangit believes their contribution should not leave them out of the spotlight when brands come calling.