KEKO ON HER MIXTAPE & UG HIP-HOP [Interview]

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

As we wait for 13th December for the official release of Keko Town's upcoming P.A.R.A.N.O.I.D mixtape (which we shall be hosting on our blog) I caught up with the rap queen to discuss her mixtape and her general overview of the Ugandan  hip-hop industry.

QN:  Good to have you here, let's jump straight to the mixtape. Why did it take this long to have a complete KEKO project?!

Hi, I have on the road a lot in my career, obviously after joining Sony it kinda restarted my career new material and all As a writer I needed peace and quiet to put the album together, that's still in progress but with the mixtape more work is going to be available for the fans as they wait up for the long awaited album.

QN: P.A.R.A.N.O.I.D?! Does the name represent anything to you and can you tell us about the craft/concept behind the entire mixtape?!

It could mean anything but for now it's simply 'Paranoid'. I didn't take any direction every song is a moment in time. My mind races a lot it's hard to stay stuck on one thing.

QN: What should we expect on the mixtape?! do we get to listen to the KEKO on tracks like 'How We Do it' or the KEKo on songs like "Let Go'?!

There's only one KEKO everything you hate and like. I know you miss me going over rap beats may be this could be your chance to judge me.

QN: To a certain extent do you think the mixtape is a reflection of your upcoming album?!

I can't say if it's a reflection of the album, I'm spoiled from loving a lot of variety my music is like a supermaket.

QN: You happened to be one of the major performers at the End of The Weak rap Queens show. Why do you think there's a wide gap between upcoming female rappers & well established rappers like you?! And how can that gap be bridged?!

I mean it's all about being relevant nowadays. Its harder now to stay original when standards are being set by Nicki and Iggy. I wish i knew the formula but I'm still learning.  I guess it's try to do the right thing and pray to God.

QN:  Finally your top new skool rappers in UG (including femcees) in no particular order?!

I don't think there's been any new stand outs. I have been in the game 4years now nothing new still.

Watch behind the scenes of Keko's upcoming video 'Mutima' off her mixtape here.



Connect With Keko
Facebook: Keko Town
Twitter: @Kekotown

Contact writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix FeliFed
Twitter/IG: @TheNinjaFelix

Email: theninjafelix@gmail.com

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THE UG HIP-HOP FAMILY GATHERING

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

In case you want to know the current state of Ugandan hip-hop or are there any people in Uganda that do/support local hip-hop then you need to attend the "UG hip-hop Family Gathering". The support goes further than quoting punchlines on social media, asking for free download links and page likes/follows. This will be the fourth edition of The Hip-Hop family party. It's an annual event where the fam (hip-hop fans), gets together to meet and greet. According to Cleo one of the major organizers behind it says this is where artists get to meet fans and vice-versa. "We will be having a lot of activity this year, like Freestyles and Cyphers, Grafitti. There will also be some surprise performances, Rap Battles and Battle of Producers. we shall also be officially releasing The S.U.P.E.R Cypher video" said Cleo. (you can download the S.U.P.E.R Cypher here)

This year's hip-hop gathering will be taking place on 13th December at Gabiros (Bugolobi). All you have to do to be a part of the gathering is send a contribution UGX 10,000 or more to 0779673778/0701824368 via mobile money and include details like the name. In case you're a rapper/producer & you want to participate or you want to offer any other kind of contribution you can get in touch with Cleo on facebook (Cleo Sphynx Murungi) or via twitter @Cleo_thesphynx.

Contact writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix FeliFed
Twitter/IG: @TheNinjaFelix

Email: theninjafelix@gmail.com

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VIDEO: KEKO - MUTIMA [BEHIND THE SCENES]

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

As Keko prepares for the release of her P.A.R.A.N.O.I.D mixtape, she shot the video of her lead single 'MUTIMA' that features Congolese Charmant Mushaga. The video was shot by Shutter Film's Jim Resley who has been behind most of the incredible projects like Mith's Go Hard Video, Patrobas's '256' among others. The shoot was graced by alot of personalities like Navio, Sylivia Owori & Gloria Wavammuno, so we expect some major cameos in the video. As we wait for the official video we present to the behind the scenes video (courtesy of shutter films), enjoy!

Contact writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix FeliFed
Twitter/IG: @TheNinjaFelix

Email: theninjafelix@gmail.com

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NEW DAY - ATLAS ft. Lillian Mbabazi [Behind The Scenes]

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

New Day is one of the singles of Atlas Da African's upcoming album 'Loyalty Before Royalty' and it features the talented Lillian Mbabazi who does justice to the hook. Earlier last month Deuces Entertainment Group got the south-african based video director Sasha Vybz to bring the audio of the song to life. This video will see Atlas and his team closing the year while setting a strong foundation for his 2015. The video will be released in 3 weeks time but for now here are the behind the scenes images and the trailer.

Contact writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix FeliFed
Twitter/IG: @TheNinjaFelix

Email: theninjafelix@gmail.com

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MEET AGEE: UG's NEW RAP QUEEN [INTERVIEW]

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

For those who follow Ugandan hip-hop or End of the Weak Uganda, Agee isn't a new name to you especially after that 'Ug Rap Queens' Show and for those getting to know Agee for the first time thank me later, this interview brings Agee 'The Rapper/Singer' up close. On 30th November Agee will be dropping her 8-track debut EP named 'ROYALTY'. This will be Agee's first  project released under Lyrical G's GMC Entertainment and with Lyrical G's guidance, St. Nellysade's advise on the side we expect to listen to  a solid project. I caught up wit Agee to discuss her EP and UG hip-hop in general. I hope you enjoy reading it as I enjoyed doing the interview.

QN: Welcome to The Tribe UG, thank you for doing this interview. To start off please tell us about AGEE, your background and how you started out to rap.

I.m an Ethiopian/Rwandese humble girl born and raised in Uganda who loves hop-hop and raps/sings. My love for hip-hop started way back when I was listening to Lauryn Hill who inspires me. I started out to rap 2 years back at school. We had a sprite competition at school and there were these guys spitting weak lines so I stepped up battled them and I ended up winning then moved on to the finals where I met people like Benezeri but I didn't win, From there I was invited on So Severe's One MIC Show and that's where I met St.Nellysade who later introduced me to Lyrical G and now we're here.

QN: And how has been the ride so far? Any challenges/achievements so far?!

It's been an incredible journey so far though with challenges. It's hard to earn people's respect the fact that hip-hop is male dominated. People take you for granted for-example when you feature on a beat with St.Nellysade, they don't want to listen to you yet you might have killed him on that beat. People think hip-hop isn't a female thing. The biggest achievement I can think of right now is the EP I'm going to release.

QN: Let's talk about your EP "ROYALTY" , why that name?!

It's what I represent in my rap. It brings out my alter ego 'The New Rap Queen' thus 'TheRoyalAgee'. When you listen to the EP the music on it's me portraying to be a Queen that's why i decided on calling it 'Royalty.

QN: Let's talk about the creative process of the EP. Describe it's creation in general from the beat selection to the writing and the recording sessions.

Well basically, I just got beats from Play 01, Lyrical G, Lawraid  mostly and I would just pen down what I felt. Most of the recording was done at Urban Aksent, studios mixed and mastered by Lawraid Vybz.
QN:  Any major features on the EP and if any why did you choose those?!
Major features I have Patrobas cause he is hella dope, Nellysade of course and Brian Giddy an amazing vocalist.

QN: There's a small margin of femcee's in Uganda what do you think is the cause for this and how can we do about it?

It's cause femcees in the country lack a platform to express themselves, they are shy and lack confidence. Even the established female rappers who have made it aren't giving a helping hand or support to the ones who are trying to establish themselves in the industry.But to push femcess we need more platforms like hip-hop battles or shows for-example the End Of The Weak Rap Queen Show that was dominated by ladies.

QN: Finally, your top Ugandan rappers apart from Nellysade and Lyrical G of course?

Ha! that's tight cause most of my favorite no longer rap but in no specific order I have Pl@y, Lady Slyke, Jhay Efekt, & Ruyonga .


Connect with Agee
Facebook: Agee
Twitter: @theroyalagee
Instagram: @theroyalagee
Reverbnation: Agee Music

Contact writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix FeliFed
Twitter: @TheNinjaFelix
Email: theninjafelix@gmail.com

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BAD MANNERS PLAY01 [SONG REVIEW + VIDEO]

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

The first time I heard Play01’s work was during the interview I did with JB about his Game Thrones mixtape. Most of the joints on the mixtape were produced by him; so I had to go out and look for more of his work and that’s when I landed on videos of him doing beats in minutes and tracks like DUNG which featured him, A-Pass & JB (I think this song/video was slept on, it’s dope) which introduced me to Play01 the rapper whom one could easily track his progress as a rapper cause all of the videos he has on his YouTube channel.

Play01 is an all-round music head who produces, raps and edits videos which puts him in total control of his music creation up to its final execution as evidently seen in St. Nelly Sade’s cypher and his latest project Bad Manners. According to play he is inspired by musicality, creativity and creating non-existent sounds and emotion more than respecting the rules of music and at the end of every song he creates he has to see the musicality in it so as to know what borders he is intending to create.

Now let’s get to Bad manners the song. The execution of this song, caught my attention the first time I listened to it. Like most play songs it’s produced, written and performed by him. The beat features a sample of a local Ugandan song “vvamukweebaka” which clearly shows Play01’s producing skills are of top notch. The lyrics on the song are easy and catchy accompanied with some witty punchlines and a smart delivery. Bad manners is basically about the bad habits people embrace or follow in life or in random relationships.

You can download the song here; Enjoy the Video!


Connect with Play01
Facebook: Play01
Twitter: @ThaGameBoy
Instagram: @ThaGameBoy
SoundCloud:https://www.soundcloud.com/play01

Contact writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix FeliFed
Twitter: @TheNinjaFelix
Email: theninjafelix@gmail.com

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