Grace Nakimera is a singer, dancer & songwriter who was born on February 2, 1985, to Rose Nabulya and David Kalema.
She went to St. Kizito Namasuba, Bat Valley Primary School, Old Kampala S.S. & dropped out in S.3 due to financial reasons.
Her father died when she was three and her mother raised them as a single mom. At some point, she stayed with her step-grandmother, but things got tough — as she would go some nights without eating, so she left to pay her own rent when she was in high school.
Since it was hard to work and study at the same time, she decided to drop out of school.
At the time she was going to a church where she met a Kenyan lady who took her to Nairobi to study hairdressing.
When she came back, she worked in people’s salons for a bit, then her brother JuJu — who was a deejay in Rwanda — called her to sing in a music band that would sing at Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali, Rwanda and she would be paid $100 every weekend.
It’s this money that she used to partner with someone to start a salon in Wandegeya when she returned to Kampala. They were forced to close it after a John Doe urinated and defecated in it at night when they were not around.
She then opened up another one near Katatumba Suites on Colville Street, and it picked up.
It’s while at the second salon that JuJu convinced her to take her music career seriously and leave the salon business to their mother.
She had sang a song called Ani akumanyi with Gatimo and Paragon. Juju took her to producer Henry Kiwuwa of No End Entertainment and they worked on Anfukula, which was her breakthrough
She followed it with Kiva Kuki, Nvawo Nawe & many other great songs. Grace Nakimera, who is now a gospel singer, is also involved in the real estate business.
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