By Frank Ntambi
No musician operating today confronts the reality of being young and alive in Uganda with the searing candor of L-$teel real name Kiddu Leroy. From the euphoric high of a night on the town to dealing with the crippling uncertainties of upward mobility, L-$teel’s music presents an unfiltered perspective on 21st-century Uganda youth identity. The music is rife with struggle, joy, hurt, ambition, and bursts of creativity.
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
The brutal truth needs to be told and I have taken the onerous responsibility of telling it. Here it goes: many Ugandan artists don’t take their craft seriously enough. And I say this in the least critical manner ever. When I say Ugandan artists don’t take their craft seriously, I mean a lot of them refuse to approach music (as a career) as what it is: a business. Going into the details, one of the aspects in which many of these acts lack is branding.
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
Kool Herc gave the people what they wanted. Two turntables, a guitar amplifier, and thunderous speakers by his side, he mixed the breaks by cutting up the middle section of choice records and fading them onto one another. It worked magical wonders and still does today allover the world, including our own Uganda.
Ssuuna Ben, 37, is a Ugandan deejay and radio presenter at Bukedde FM. He became a national sensation after he brought the house down at a Fireboy concert earlier this year.
Baboon Forest Media team caught up with the unapologetic village boy from Masaka for a chat.
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
Who remembers Reef HD`s "Oli wamanyi"? Or what about "Love Me"? How about his feature on Don MC's "Yes Yes Remix" — one of the smoothest club bangers we have ever had? Or on the slower side of things, DJ Shiru`s "Nothing To Something" with The Mith, Morgan Isaac, Big Tril, Andre and Morgan Isaac which went on to be Nominated as Best Collaboration at the 2016 HiPipo Awards? And let's not forget "My Gal" with Don MC, which was part of his projects that introduced him to Uganda`s music scene. I sat down with Reef for an exclusive interview below:
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
Ernest Nsimbi popularly known as GNL Zamba, is a Ugandan recording, performing, and entertaining artist and a creative rapper who is behind many hit songs in Uganda whose lyrics touches even the faintest heart. Vj Junior on the other hand is without a doubt Uganda’s best movie translator. He has over the years stamped his place and for this, he has created a cult following that would support him, back him in whatever he does.
According to VJ Junior, “Mr Amazing” is really working hard and he deserve to rank on top.
Read MoreBy Ssemakula Serule
Real names Beingana Victor Kwesiga, the Ugandan rapper, song writer and producer was born on 18th May 1996 at Rubaga Hospital. Born and raised in Kampala, he started off his career as a fashion designer at Black Fashions, a hood apparel that was started by his childhood friend Peter Lugs Redra. At work, then known as Victor Vikking, he used to mime songs while sawing clothes, a habit he had developed in his high school days which eventually led him to quit his job in 2018 and pursue rap as a full-time career.
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
The tradition of rendering what is today known as the spoken word poetry to a live audience is an age-long feature of Africa's traditional poems. Verbalization of poems in the form of songs, chants, praises, incantations, et cetera is characteristic of African traditional poetry. Spoken word poetry is a breathing, embodied, multi-vocal art form, kindling an unbounded energy in Ugandan literary culture and fostering a community of veterans, newcomers, and enthusiasts across Africa and the world.
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
Kanin is a hip-hop lyricist who has already asphalted his own way into the music industry and has created a catalog of songs for every mood: poignant street narratives, inspirational testimonies about overcoming the adversity and poverty of his section and bass-heavy, top down subwoofer-rattling bangers to cruise the boulevard— all of which have coalesced to position Kanin as one of Compton’s hottest home-grown talents in recent memory.
Read MoreBy Frank Ntambi
Over the weekend, a photo of Ronald Fenty, a father to global superstar Rihanna, having a good time in Uganda went viral on the internet and Ugandan media started speculating on very many reasons for Fenty`s visit including some blogs deceitfully saying that Fenty came for a pilot study for his daughter, who intends to visit the country shortly and others wrongly postulating of a bad blood between Fenty and Rihanna invoking a misleading article published by the BBC of how Rihanna accused Fenty of misusing her name to benefit his own Entertainment Company plus false advertising and Invasion of privacy after he tried to book her for an overseas tour without her permission which all according to Ahmed Mutebi commonly known as Izzy Da Business a celebrated nightlife MC and a renowned top Ugandan DJ Abubaker Mawanda alias Bexxx a DJ who are responsible of Fenty`s Visit to Uganda say are fallacious and inaccurate tittle-tattles aimed at damaging Fenty`s reputation and credibility and the two have contacted this website to set the record straight..
Read MoreThis week, the team at Baboon Forest Media caught up with Greenhit Studio signee and NTM affiliate Pryce Teeba, a veteran in the industry under former alias Big Pryce, also arguably the hottest hiphopper from Ntinda to bag the rap mainstream, for a hiphop address. The rapper who has seen most of his time in the boulevards and avenues of Ntinda where he resides, has been part and partial in the trap sound revolution which caught the attention of Uganda hiphop recently…..
Read MoreMalikah Shabazz, one of the daughters of Malcolm X, has been found dead at her home in New York.
Police said Shabazz, who was 56, was found at around 4.30pm unresponsive in her home in Brooklyn, and later declared dead.
Two officials told NBC News that the city’s medical examiner responded to the scene, and that the death did not appear to be suspicious.
It comes around 57 years after Malcolm X’s killing and at a time when two of those convicted over the civil rights leader’s death are expected to be exonerated.
Shabazz was one of Malcolm X and his wife Betty Shabazz’s six children….
Read MoreRap, in Uganda and the whole world at large, has always been centered around men with women usually referenced as appendages to the ‘hardcore’ genre. In the past ten years, the Ugandan music industry has seen a growth in the number of female rappers unafraid to challenge the norm and lead with passion-filled bars and punchlines much like predecessors like Lady Slyke, Keko, MC Yallah did in their heyday….
Read MoreNo musician operating today confronts the reality of being young and alive in Uganda with the searing candor Brian Naganga who has just released hi second studio album, Completion . From the euphoric high of a night on the town to dealing with the crippling uncertainties of upward mobility, Naganga’s music presents an unfiltered perspective on 21st-century Ugandan youth identity. The music is rife with struggle, joy, hurt, ambition, and bursts of creativity and we had a deep conversation with him to know much more about him as below:…..
Read MoreAs a Producer, Nase Avatar makes a unique and progressive flavour of hip-hop. Boom bap may be his forte, but boxes don’t exist as far as his art is concerned. Avatar’s sounds are forward-thinking and futuristic, influenced by his love of space and extra-terrestrials. His productions blur the lines of traditional hip-hop structures, making him the go-to-guy for the new age of hip-hop artists in Uganda over the last decade and still going…..
Read MoreWise beyond his years and filled with unquenchable fury over the sorry state of the world, Ugandan rapper Kavali King follows his successful debut “Drunk Intelligence” with a tighter, more cogent project that solidifies the young rapper’s name as one to remember. He’s a first rate wordsmith who is challenging himself, perhaps a bit too hard, to build a masterpiece and seal his name onto Uganda`s rap hall of fame. He has just dropped his new EP Still Water Run Deep which is duly ambitious and important, but the powerful lyrical display greases all parts of this hulking machine……
Read MoreAs hip hop continues to dominate other genres in Uganda and be a driving force, it's easy to forget how young the culture is given its influence. Less than 30 years have passed since its birth in Uganda and hip hop has grown so much, making its current place in society even more impressive. And akin to wine, hip hop has only gotten finer with time , and looks to evolve and reach higher heights with each passing year, only getting better than ever, and has no signs of slowing down thus allowing us to reflect on just how far its come, as well as one of the many participants who have helped shape it in to what we know it as today. He is none other than Ibrahim Lwanga aka Ibraw or Deluxe Dilinger…..
Read MoreLong before the resurgent crop of young emcees in Uganda, there was Vanessa Veronica Okoth Amali aka Mcee Flower, raising the heat with bars upon bars. She was one part of a crew of precocious youngsters who used to attend rapping sessions at Babaluku’s Bavubuka Allstarz Foundation. At around 9 years, she was already boldly rocking the mic with rappers such as Nneka, Kween G, Babaluku, Atlas, Tshila, who were way older than she was. She inspired lots of other rappers in her age gap with her skills of self-expression and creativity. She also did a mini TV series called Letz Chat as the hostess, on which she hosted ASP Asan Kasingye circa 2012. 10 years later, we caught up with her, legendary in her own right, for a quick interview……
Read MoreRowland Kaiza, stage name BigTril, former member of Baboon Forest Entertainment had his biggest break when his hit ‘Parte after Parte’ became a mantra and blew up extraordinarily all over the continent and the world at large. International celebrities like Cardi B and Wizkid among others were seen vibing to it.
The star is back on the scene with a new song titled ‘Long Way’ “This is a story of my journey, my triumphs, and losses. It's about my family, my friends, and my music and all that is important to me. Thanks to my supporters for being patient,” BigTril said while sharing the song in July 2021.
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