World Translation Center Music Blog

October 26, 2015

The German singer Deena Herr is a pop star sensation! The interesting part is that she is hardly known in Germany; her fame is in happening in Uganda, East Africa. The 22-year-old sings her songs in Luganda, the language of Uganda. Her voice is beautiful and her accent is almost perfect. She has a talent for unusual languages and can pick them up quickly.

Her new hit “Mumulete” is played in nightclubs, on the radio and in shops everywhere. Her fans simply call her “the Muzungu singer” – which means “white” in the Luganda language. “Mumulete” is a love song and means “Get Someone.”

Deena went to Rwanda in 2013 to participate in a project to help with children. During that time, she traveled to neighboring Uganda and fell in love with the country instantly.

It would be understandable if she were singing in German or English, but how did she decide to sing in Luganda? She mentioned in an interview that she was walking on the road in Kampala when a street musician asked her if she could sing in Luganda, so she listened to the words and repeated them flawlessly in her song. She already speaks English, French, Italian and Rwanda’s national language Kinyarwanda. Now learning Luganda fluently is her next step.

She has also recently released another song called “Sabie onamponya”. The title means “You’re the one who will save me”. This song is also quickly turning into a hit in Uganda.

Deena will return to Germany to complete her studies in Special Education in Berlin. She then wants to return to Uganda with her degree as quickly as possible. Besides being a teacher and helping kids, she can also imagine a career as a musician as well as staying in Uganda forever.