Grenia Nyamwija: The backup vocalist polishing Ray G's sound

Grenia is to Ray G what Djena Mandako and Abby Surya were to Kanda Bongo Man in hits such as Muchana and Wahito.

PEOPLE | Grenia Nyamwija's world of showbiz has that thudding moment and sends all the wrong anxiety-inducing adrenaline racing.

It came down big on May 10 at Lugogo Cricket Oval where the pressure to impress was on display in a surreal night filled with pulsating beats, soulful melodies, and an electrifying atmosphere.

Ray G took everything but Grenia can rightfully claim she was the heart of the soulful melodies. She is to Ray G what Djena Mandako and Abby Surya were to Kanda Bongo Man in hits such as Muchana and Wahito.

Grenia is not your average vocalist who needs a seven-day computer editing to make sense of the charts.

The daughter of Imelda Ainembabazi and Gregory Kazoora not only got weaned on vocals in church choir but also polished it up by studying what she lives to do in Ghana.

Born on December 15, 1993, in Nyamitanga, then in Mbarara District, Grenia is a follower of twins, hence the name Nyamwija.

While at St Aloysius Primary School, the devout Catholic Grenia was singled out by her school choir director to be the lead vocalist for all of the choir's performances and competitions.

She was only in Primary Four but from school through to church, she was getting the big props for her vocal range.

“When I was still young in primary school, our choir master called me and asked me to do the lead role and everyone started to compliment me for singing well and that’s how I started this journey,” Grenia says.

She went to Boni Consil Girls Vocational School Kyabirikwa in Isingiro District for both O and A Levels before her destiny with music took her to Ghana's audio sound management institute.

In the Accra music school, she was the lone female student among nine male peers in the Audio Sound Engineering programme that she excelled in.

That professional Midas touch has made Grenia particular about sound quality, especially for bands during live shows.

“Very few people know whether it’s bad or good sound, but a bad sound is a bad sound and for me as a singer if the sound is bad then it nags and my voice will go bad,” she says.

Grenia's relationship with Reagan Muhairwe, known professionally as Ray G, started in 2022 when she was introduced to then upcoming western Uganda singer by a friend.

At the time, Ray G was preparing  for his second concert in Mbarara.

“Actually Ray G did not identify me, I came to join his group when he was preparing for his second concert at the University Inn Mbarara City in 2022," she says.

"I had just returned from Nairobi and Moses, who at the time was working with Ray G, introduced me to the singer. Moses had spotted me somewhere singing a birthday song for someone and we were four backups but later Ray G asked to work with me and the rest, like they always say, is history.

Grenia garnered significant attention following Ray G's performance at the Cricket Oval in Lugogo in Kampala on May 10, due to the enchanting quality of her voice.

Despite feeling nervous, she attributes her flawless performance to thorough rehearsal.

“I was scared because rarely or even never in history does a big artiste use one backup singer," she says of the day Ray G Kampala ate in the palms of the Mbarara-based singer, who gave out arguably the best ever show by a local artiste at the Oval.

Grenia was given the lyrics for all the songs Ray G was to perform during rehearsals and despite the intense preps, tension was the one thing she couldn't put to bed. She had to work hard.

"After the show, almost everyone was saying 'yooooo that girl did well' so I felt appreciated.”

Grenia, who has featured in many Catholic hymns, both recorded and unrecorded, attributes her success to the guidance and mentorship she received from individuals such as Rev Fr Vicent Tumwebaze Kaboy of Youth Friends of Jesus in Mbarara.

Rev Tumwebaze not only introduced her to the world of music but also provided her with her first opportunities to record in the studio, ultimately shaping her into the artist she is today.

Presently, Grenia collaborates with a live band and, drawing from her expertise in live stage performances, she and her band engage in weekly live gigs both within and outside of Mbarara City.

“Yeah, I am married and a mother of two handsome boys," she says of that question everyone asks a beautiful woman who has come of age.

Her chocolate complexion glows in the rays of the day's sun and you can see the confidence in every smile she exudes.

"I sometimes work late night when the band has a gig and I will be home in the wee hours of the morning but he is understanding enough and supportive so that way we have managed our marriage,” Grenia says of her relationship.

In a way, Grenia has made it life already and beyond Ray G, there can be much more for someone with a talent such as hers. She will probably go into music herself one day.

But for now, she is happy where she is. Yet, beyond that, what more would she say?

The Nile Post put quick questions to Grenia and she came through.

What’s your advice to that young girl or boy who wants to be like Grenia?

Grenia: Identify what you are good at, Package yourself well. Don’t do mediocre work. Someday someone will be able to spot and identify you, and that will be the beginning of your breakthrough.

What’s your biggest achievements in singing?

Grenia: Social capital, and I have travelled countries and sung outside Uganda, for example, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana.

What are your best moments or worst moments?

Grenia: My best moments are every time I have a successful show, big or small, then every time and moment spent with my family, My worst moment is failing to provide for those I care about.

What’s the good side of Showbiz and the flipside?

Grenia: Social capital, Social network and references and the bad side is lack of privacy, pressure to live to impress.

Does Grenia have a role model?

Grenia: Yes, Tyler Perry

Where do you see yourself in five, ten years?

Grenia: In the next five years I will still be on stage, but in the next Ten years I want to be a performance director, and that’s my dream, on stage directing people what to do”