Zymez Zagaza

Atibuni Ayiko Emmanuel Brighton was born June 16, 2004, at Arua Hospital in Uganda's West Nile sub-region — a fact he brings up specifically because it makes him, in his own words, "a true Lugbara." He now splits his time between Entebbe and Kampala. His entry point into music was accidental: in 2022, a song he recorded on his phone, "People Talk and Pretend," got passed around and sung back to him by his schoolmates at Caltec Academy Makerere after it was played at school — the reaction that convinced him music was worth pursuing seriously.

He describes his own genre as "Ugandan Afro fusion," pulling from Amapiano, Afrobeats, classical music, and hip-hop, and names Diamond Platnumz, Asake, and Omah Lay as his key artist influences. His writing process starts with rhythm and a storyline before he settles on a title and freestyles the lyrics into place — "I don't have a specific time of writing," he says, "it's just all about me being in the mood." He describes his own vocal delivery as moving across bass, tenor, soprano, and alto registers, and favors customized, "creative and innovative" fashion choices to match.

His breakout live moments came at Caltec Academy Makerere's night live band, performed "several times," and a performance at Uganda Martyrs Namugongo. His first real studio record, "Samara," was inspired by Anzo Soft and Metapho and built around what he calls "a cool, sweet Amapiano vibe" — the session that led to his working relationship with producer Romy Wald, his only named collaborator to date. That partnership has since produced "Mammy Yoo," released February 5, 2026 under his own OTTGOKS banner — RIA's own release catalog confirms it as his most recent single to date, ahead of his still-forthcoming debut EP, "God's Plan." No public writeup of "Mammy Yoo" beyond its title, date, and label has surfaced, so no theme or backstory is invented for it here. The EP itself is now building alongside a certificate he earned through Caltec Academy Makerere's choir program.

Zymez Zagaza's current single, "Mammy Yoo" (Feb. 2026), carries his OTTGOKS imprint into practice. His stage name carries its own explanation, and he's specific about it: "Zymez" comes from the speed of enzymes, "Zagaza" from the unpredictability of a zigzag, and the letter Z was chosen deliberately as the alphabet's last letter — a way of saying, in his words, that "no one can tell how I will go, only God knows." His own label concept, OTTGOks ("Over The Top, Only God Knows"), carries the same idea. Asked what he wants from his music, his answer is simple: "I want my fans to feel part of me after hearing my music, cause being me explains where the song came from."