Kezerod’s Debut EP Set To Show Us Worlds Yet To Be Conquered
One week ago, if you held 100 kg of Matoke on my head and asked me what Afro Indie was, I would have had to die by banana. Now I am writing about a debut Afro-indie EP like a professor in Ssebonomics. What can I say? Tukusanyukidde to Uganda, guys.
Kezerod (born Joseph Montenegro Watema) is a Ugandan creative into music, cultural commentary, entrepreneurship, and entertainment tech. He’s the co-founder of The Culturing, an online EA pop culture publication; reMolders (a teenagers' and young adults’ learning program in areas of entrepreneurship, EQ & cultural influence); and SMACK Startups (an entrepreneurial ecosystem). He’s also an author-to-be and an altogether freewheeling allrounder.
As a debut collective project, Worlds Yet To Be Conquered delivers an emotionally rich and sonically expansive project that bridges personal introspection with grand thematic ambition. This is not just an EP—it is a statement of intent, an invitation into a soundscape where the echoes of existential musings, historical weight, and raw human emotion collide. For a genre, this is always about expression rather than commercial success; however, the songs in this project are majorly slated for widespread acceptance.
Kezerod’s sound aligns with the new wave of Afro-indie artists pushing the boundaries of what alternative music from the region can be. Like Kenya’s Wanja Wohoro, he crafts deeply poetic, guitar-driven compositions that hold intimacy at their core. Yet there are also traces of the layered atmospheric richness found in the work of Uganda’s AKa Dope or the experimental fluidity of Rwanda’s Mike Kayihura. What sets Kezerod apart, however, is his ability to mould these influences into something that transcends mere homage. Rather than merely borrowing from indie aesthetics, he integrates them seamlessly into his own identity that feels both expansive and deeply rooted in personal storytelling.
The first song makes you think, What’s there not to love about here? a combination of sound and strings that takes you on dallas Texas kind of vibe. This track reminds me of Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” in its setting. Honestly, if they blasted these in the plantations, I wouldn’t mind 12 years as a slave; that is a joke, guys. The poetic symbolism in this body of work is extra terrestrial; the personification of wisdom as an entity in track And She Calls is a learning point for other artists. The fact that he talks in two different dimensions while making sense in both timelines is pure artistry.
I am a dreamer; if you know me, you know that imagination, dreams, and the sheer want to achieve everything I want are my blinding lights. In Worlds Yet To Be Conquered, Kezerod tells us to open our eyes and be creative. Imagination takes you to your destination. This was probably my best song on the project. Every creative artist out there knows what it means to dream, to crave for a world where everything is as seamless as the dreams.
The EP’s sonic architecture is unpretentious; reverb-laden guitars weave in and out of cinematic synths, while organic percussive textures add a depth to the arrangements. The mix allows space for quiet vulnerability and swelling crescendos, a dynamic interplay that mirrors the internal struggle between self-doubt and determination. At times, the music feels almost weightless, floating in a sea of ambient textures and distant echoes. I have gotten lost in the moment a few times while writing this article. The instruments and the vocals are in two different wavelengths that somehow end up syncing in your ears effortlessly. There is a noticeable attention to sonic layering—background harmonies that feel ghostlike, slight distortions that suggest memory or nostalgia, and rhythmic shifts that propel each composition forward with a restless energy. These choices are not merely stylistic flourishes; they are deliberate design elements that enhance the EP’s overarching themes.
Lyrically, in Worlds Yet To Be Conquered, Kezerod favours poetic ambiguity, crafting lines that feel both deeply personal and heavily resonating with the world. There is a sense of searching in his delivery; however, as much as his voice and storytelling remain anchored in a distinctly Afro-indie sensibility, his lyrics evoke a sense of yearning, a feeling of standing at the precipice of something vast and unknown.
Another striking element of this EP is its ability to balance complexity with accessibility. This is a rare gift in the Afro-indie space, where artists often lean heavily into abstraction or raw minimalism. Kezerod finds a middle ground, offering music that is both sonically adventurous and emotionally relatable to even a new audience. While East Africa’s alternative music scene continues to evolve, Worlds Yet To Be Conquered will stand as a testament to the power of introspective, genre-blurring storytelling.
With this debut, Kezerod does more than introduce himself but sets a precedent for what is possible in Afro-indie music. His ability to weave together intricate soundscapes, poetic lyricism, and deeply felt emotion places him alongside the region’s most compelling artists. Worlds Yet To Be Conquered is not just a project to listen to; it is an experience to immerse oneself in, a record that demands to be felt as much as it is heard. If this is only the beginning, then the worlds yet to be conquered are indeed vast, and Kezerod is well on his way to claiming them.
