Though it has often times made him a target for mockery, rapper GNL Zamba says his choice to marry a woman from a different race is an opportunity to expand his tribe as a Muganda and an African.
GNL and his wife, Miriam Tamar who is also his singing partner in their duo ‘Nsimbi’, have been married for three years now. The couple got married in 2018 in the U.S. where they had relocated from Uganda.
Tamar, an American world fusion artist has a Jewish heritage.
She had been a student at the New England Conservatory of Music and Tufts University’s Peace and Justice Studies Program in Massachusetts before the winds blew her to Uganda. Her internship with a charity organization that supports refugees had led her to East Africa where she worked in villages in Gulu and Pader.
Later on in 2012, she met GNL and the two collaborated on a track together to raise HIV awareness.
Two years on, they both were awarded by Twaweza Initiative for the positive social impact of their song We Cry which tackles street violence and promotes safe sex.
While performing on the latest Episode of Tusker Malt Lager’s Conver Sessions, GNL talked about his music journey, what it represents, the impact of his work, and also touched on his relationship with a white woman which in societies like Uganda is viewed with stereotype.
“As a Muganda man, wherever my seed spreads, those children are Baganda,” said the rapper whose hit songs made him a sensation a decade ago.
“In fighting for African rights, people like Obama have gone further to open up doors where our brothers have been curtailed.”
In explaining his decision to marry a white woman, GNL who considers himself a Pan Africanist cited names like Frederick Douglass (American social reformer and abolitionist who was the very first person to write the negro experience), Nina Simone (American singer and civil rights activist) and former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, all of whom he said had white spouses.
“For me, I think it is an opportunity to expand our tribe of humanity and further our causes as Africans. It’s an opportunity to connect on a plateau and bring in other people on what makes us special as Africans,” he added.
“As Africans, when we get rich, we don’t build high fences. We build a longer table and we invite everybody. Lucky for me, my wife is from Nebbi. She looks white but she’s from Nebbi. She’s called Apio Miriam Tamar.”
RELATED: ‘Mbaga’, Nsimbi’s first single off the Infinity EP is a piece of love poetry
There have been times when GNL’s marriage with Tamar has made him a soft target of mockery from his music nemeses. One of the cases being Gravity Omutujju’s 2020 single, Nyabo, in which he launched a scathing attack towards GNL, sarcastically labeling him as “her”.
In the lyrics, Gravity describes GNL as an underdog and goes on to advise him to concentrate on cooking and laying the bed for his “husband” Tamar. According to Gravity, the Kikankane singer isn’t man enough considering, he says, the power relations place Tamar at a far advantage. He has previously described GNL’s marriage with Tamar as simply a means to get a green card so as to relocate to the U.S.
In a previous interview with The Observer, Tamar said she was attracted to GNL by his warm spirit and loyalty.
“All of his close friends and family know this about him and these qualities were always the most important for me in a partner,” she said.
Their shared sense of humor and creative interests along with his sharp intelligence made GNL “a match for me” she added.
Tamar however said her Jewish family “had a harder time accepting our relationship in the beginning”.
“While they liked G as a person, they expected me to marry someone Jewish to preserve our culture. But I’ve always been someone who follows my own path, and eventually they were able to support us and know that ultimately the most important thing is for us to be in a happy and nurturing relationship.”
