Vinka says that Irene Ntale left Swangz Avenue after walking out on her during the video shoot for their ‘Stylo’ collaboration in 2017.
Joining Swangz Avenue, the then 19-year-old Vinka had her fears as it was the first time she was managing an artist. She had to juggle the new job Julius Kyazze had entrusted her with whilst pursuing her Bachelor of Tourism degree at Makerere University.
She remembers being quite afraid at the start but the assurance and trust she was shown by her bosses gave her the confidence to learn artist management while on the job as Irene Ntale’s manager. She also later started recording music.
“I used to do voiceovers and jingles for different companies while still acting as her manager to get that extra money. One day my boss told me that they were scouting for an artist who could dance and had a lot of swag and I agreed to scout with him. He, however, said that I was the one they were looking for and said I could do it but I thought he was joking,” Vinka told Ruth Bwanika Kalibbala during an interview.
She later thought about it and presented the idea during one of the meetings with her boss. “What if I want to sing?” she remembers asking to which Kyazze said, “It’s okay.”
She then started recording in 2016 after school but initially, it wasn’t really working out right until they found that one particular song that opened the doors for her.
Vinka says that when she started working as Irene Ntale’s manager, everything was good until she invited her to the shoot of their collaboration dubbed ‘Stylo’.
“I didn’t replace her. People just got it wrong. In 2016, I stopped managing artists but Irene (Ntale) was still under Swangz. I had started recording my songs and she knew the songs, she listened to the songs because we used to spend time in the studio together and even worked on a song together,” she remembers.
She was shocked by Irene Ntale’s attitude during the video shoot for their collabo in 2017 and remembers her throwing a tantrum and leaving the set before the end of the video.
Vinka says that Ntale didn’t even promote the collabo and she quit the label the week after. She says that when they met a few years later and she asked about the attitude, Ntale laughed it off.
In 2017, I had to shoot the video for my very first song ‘Level’. Irene didn’t come for the video shoot yet she was my best friend. She didn’t come for the video shoot and for me, that was okay because she was busy.
A time came when we had to shoot the video for our collaboration ‘Stylo’. My friend came with an attitude and I didn’t know why. She came with an attitude and didn’t even want to greet me. She even refused the outfits they brought her. I got emotional.
While we were shooting, Irene threw a tantrum, got off the set, and left. We cried at the shoot. I hadn’t offended her at all. Till now I don’t know what happened between us.
Vinka