#CODESalute-Greenhill At 20!

By Byaruhanaga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

"1,300 voices still ringing in my ear. Three floors of people all on their feet, a tidal wave of cheers. The staff members came to party The students rapped word for word and almost out-sung Essie.Music is a powerful thing but NONE of my previous performances can compare to today's SHUT IT DOWN performance. And as i took my seat after the show, the last stage item was a prefect's tribute performance to the old students.Then I hear: "We came to party..."

A tribute to me! Honestly, I went to Greenhill Academy today to give back, but the level of love and loyalty they have shown me was too unreal. Definitely a career highlight for me.

Extend your horizons"

---CODE(Monday After The Greenhill Ghosa Performance)

Every person has one of those winning moments in their career and we at The Tribe UG believe that this was one of them for CODE (real name- Timothy Muhumuza). We have been closely following his musical journey and judging from CODE's open letter above, its clear that June 23rd will forever remain etched in the heart of this talented MC. CODE was humbled with an invite to perform at the Green Hill Old Students Association week event. Greenhill being CODE's former high school, stands as one of the building blocks that helped to create the Revolutionary artist we have come to respect and established himself as one of the core flag-bearers of "New School Urban UG Music".

We got in touch with CODE to tell us more about the Monday morning performance.
"Imagine walking through those navy blue gates down to a school that you haven't been in for 3 years. Looking for familiar faces and immediately being thrown back to time when you were a student. Hearing your name being announced at the same assembly you used to attend from third floor outside the arts class. Performing on stage to a crowd of 1,300 students. Now imagine each and everyone of those students rapping your first hit single word for word and singing the hook like they learnt it in class. And finishing off with a wave of enormous applause. That was Monday for me."

When asked about his time in Greenhill, CODE recalls his high levels of wit and fun that went down during his literature classes and how he seems to have fallen in love with words at that time.
"Literature was MY TIME to shine. I always had an answer for everything I was asked. It's like I was never short of words. Sometimes, that confidence got me more attention than necessary but to me, it was always great feeling to play  with words, expand knowledge and to read widely....And it shows in my music. My poetry classes had Rhythm and Rhyme lessons in them. Rhythm And Poetry=RAP!!!" CODE says.

He also praises Greenhill for being the birthplace for his major hit, Shut It Down. "Shut It Down wouldn't have happened if I didn't meet Ms .Ariho Esther at Greenhill whom you know as Essie. She sang everywhere man you name it. At assemblies, talent shows, sunday services, everywhere. We clicked and i told her that one day when we left high school, we would do a song together."
SHUT IT DOWN became that song and flung CODE into mainstream UG Hip-Hop. We now see why CODE loves Greenhill so much.

For those of you who couldn't catch CODE on Monday, don't miss the  Kwivuga Finale, a fusion of poetry music and art going down tonight at Gatto Matto. CODE announced that he will be performing a snippet of his upcoming single "ENTER THE RING" that features Apass. Show starts at 8pm!

Connect With CODE
Facebook (Artist Page) : CODE 

Facebook (Group) : www.facebook.com/groups/Army Of CODE 
Twitter : @TimothyCODE 
Instagram : @timothycode 
Reverbnation - www.reverbnation.com/CODEUG 
Soundcloud - www.soundcloud.com/codeug 
MyZiki - www.myziki.com/code 
Tumblr - timothycode.tumblr.com 
Google+ - Timothy CODE 
Youtube - www.youtube.com/user/TimothyCODE

Contact Writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix
Twitter: @TheNinjaFelix
Email: felixbyaruhanga@gmail.com

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OFF THE MIC-CODE [Interview]

 

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix) 

As we said, every Thursday will be #CODEConnect in which  CODE gets to interact with his fans. Last week we had #AskCODE in which fans asked CODE questions which went ahead to be among the top trending topics on twitter in the country . In case you missed it just go search for the hastag #AskCODE. This Thursday we have CODE back again under the segment of "OFF THE MIC". Off The Mic s a segment in which CODE takes  his audience behind the scenes of his rap journey as an artist documented through pictures, short videos and interviews of the people around him and CODE himself. So, this week he waalks us through his studio sessions and writing process.

QN: First tell us about how you develop your concepts?!

I like writing songs. Like actual songs. So for me its more about what am going to say than how i will say. The Illest Punchlines give you respect in a day but a song with meaning gives you loyalty to your brand. Concepts normally arise from a personal experience but in writing i broaden the view so that more people can relate. For example, the concept of Shut It Down is a Celebration of Youth. And alot of people especially in Kampala can relate to a party setting or a celebratory mindset. And the verses reflect that. Verse 1 could be the Alpha Male in his crew who loves music and loves to party. Verse 2 is the same Alpha Male approaching a Female at a Party and playfully flirting with her. Common Scenario and everyone can relate. Thats how i develop concepts.

QN: How is a typical CODE studio session set up like?! Any special treatments you get before jumping into the booth?! Weed, vodka?!

Walk In. Spit Bars. Walk Out. Hehehehe on the real tho, I come to Studio prepared. I practice my verses at home. Go over them. Master the differences in tone so that i know how to say it in the booth. All Except Writers Club (Twawambye Remix) - I wrote that in the studio and recorded the same day. I like clean sessions. No weed No Vodka. Same with my performances. I believe in Clean Energy and it runs from the booth all the way to the stage. Depending on the song, i sometimes do more than one take just to compare. All the Shut It Down Remix verses were done in one take. But i do switch it up occassionally especially if i have a change of tone in the verse. After the first take, its mostly Tweak This, Adjust that. Back-Ups and Ad Libs. I let the producer work his magic with effects after that. I am big on arrangements so when i hear a vocal that i like, i ask the producer to place it where its most suitable. Thats a CODE Session.





QN: Let's talk about your latest project REVOLUTION, its getting a lot of airplay and attention.What's the secret behind it?! Tell us about how it came about. (Download Revolution Here)

Revolution started as a discussion i had with Enygma based on a beat from Josh SB. The beat which eventually became Revolution was initially called Krazy Flow. Because i just wanted to flow Krazy on it. But Enygma decided we can do more on the song. We began bouncing ideas around and the "Life of a Hip Hop artist" came up. Challenges. Obstacles. How we are perceived. What is expected of us. And i centered both my verses on that. Enygma took a more current grass-root approach. Seeing the song from the Ugandan eye. I wrote my first 8 bars of the first verse in my room . Then changed the next 8 bars to reflect what a typical conversation about a rapper would sound like. Can He Freestyle ? Is his flow sick ? Can He Battle Rap ? Punch a Line Quick ? All these bits when put together reflect the life of a hip hop artist. I wrote the hook based on the thought pattern most artists have. Asking themselves whether what they do is worth doing. Worth fighting for. Spotlight on them 24/7. Do they entertain or Do they explain whats on their hearts ? I can say Revolution was written in a very introspective mindset.



Connect With CODE


Facebook (Artist Page) : CODE
Facebook (Group) : www.facebook.com/groups/

Army Of CODE
Twitter : @TimothyCODE
Instagram : @timothycode
Reverbnation - www.reverbnation.com/CODEUG
Soundcloud - www.soundcloud.com/codeug
MyZiki - www.myziki.com/code
Tumblr - timothycode.tumblr.com
Google+ - Timothy CODE
Youtube - www.youtube.com/user/TimothyCODE

Contact Writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix
Twitter: @TheNinjaFelix
Email: felixbyaruhanga@gmail.com

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RAPPER CODE LAUNCHES CODE CONNECT!

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

CODE is taking the Revolution in the UG  hip-hop circles to a whole a new level and the entire UG music industry with his new CODEConnect movement. CODE in partnership with The Tribe UG are proud to present -#CODEConnect

CODEConnect is a new weekly digital interactive experience going down every Thursday created by CODE to reach his audience [Army Of CODE] better, giving out exclusives and to make his audience even bigger.

CODEConnect will have four main segments; #AskCODE, Off The MIc, Xclusive and #CODESalute which will give the audience a first hand look in CODE's musical journey and the start of a new hip hop revolution.

#AskCODE  will be a monthly QnA on every first Thursday of the month aimed at answering any queries and questions that his audience may have as well as receiving comments and opinions on any CODE material.

Off The MIC- In this segment CODE will be taking his audience behind the scenes of his rap journey as an artist documented through pictures, short videos and interviews of the people around him and CODE himself.

Xclusive-This will be a platform for CODE to release new music and material exclusively for his audience.

#CODESalute- This segment will beappreciation from CODE and as a way to give back, he will reward his
loyal fam and most interactive listeners. This may involve giving out merchandise and any other commodities.

Anyone can be a part of the CODEConnect all you have to do is subscribe to all six of CODE's social media platforms (see them below), keep a close eye to his online music pages and wait every Thursday for a different CODEConnect segment.

This week we start with Off The MIC segment showing you what CODE was up to at the BENEZERI CHAMPION Concert. Support, Share!

Starting A Revolution With The Sensei Enygma

Connect With CODE


Facebook (Artist Page) : CODE
Facebook (Group) : www.facebook.com/groups/Army Of CODE
Twitter : @TimothyCODE
Instagram : @timothycode
Reverbnation - www.reverbnation.com/CODEUG
Soundcloud - www.soundcloud.com/codeug
MyZiki - www.myziki.com/code
Tumblr - timothycode.tumblr.com
Google+ - Timothy CODE
Youtube - www.youtube.com/user/TimothyCODE

Contact Writer;
Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix
Twitter: @TheNinjaFelix
Email: felixbyaruhanga@gmail.com

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#RevolutionCODE [Song Review + Download + Lyrics]

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix)

After the drop of the monster anthem 'Shut It Down' the remix CODE had everyone asking where he is at well, he’s been starting a Revolution with the Army Of Code (#AOC). Code bounces back on to our playlists with Revolution a track produced by Josh SB and Samurae (@Lamasam) who crafted a master piece. The track features the talented kushe (@Kusheyvy) who does justice to it with her soothing vocals and the sensei Enygma (@IamEnygma) who delivers his punchlines on point as usual.

Revolution was perfectly executed from the word go; the production, topic/message of the song, the choice of people to feature on it in relation to its topic (one new school rapper and one old school rapper) and the perfect timing. Code and Enygma approach the topic with different perspectives which give you the entire package with different views of rappers on the industry.

Code opens the song with two verses giving you an insight of the judgement new rappers face that test their persistance and determination to stay true to themselves and relevant.

Enygma throws some punch-lines to close the song with a verse that’s so relevant with what’s happening in our music industry (UG Artists Vs. DJs Vs. Nigeria/Jamaica Music) thus the perfect timing further proving the start of a revolution not only in the Ugandan hip-hop circles but also in the entire Uganda music industry.

Check Out Revolution Lyrics On riftLyrics.com 

Download Revolution Here

Connect With CODE:

Twitter: @TimothyCODE

Facebook: CODE

Contact Writer:

Facebook: Byaruhanga Felix

Twitter: @TheNinjaFelix

Email: felixbyaruhanga@gmail.com 

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#MTVMAMA-WHY WAS EAST AFRICA LEFT OUT?!

By Byaruhanga Felix (@TheNinjaFelix) – Dissatisfied Blogger and Music Fanatic & Kyle Duncan Kushaba (@uptownkyle) - Dissatisfied Media Journey man and Recording Artiste.

Last Wednesday (16th April 2014) MTV Base announced the 2014 nominees (see full list here) for the MAMAs after a 3-year break. First of all congratulations to all the sponsors, a big thank you to the sponsors and the team at MTV but we as East Africans, we are not satisfied in the least.

So let’s focus on the nominees; this year has Nigeria with the most nominees, as usual (11 out of the 15categories) including the non-musical categories, and then followed by South Africa. East Africa managed to scoop only four nods (Sauti Sol, Amani, Diamond, Radio and Weasel) which left us with a lot of unanswered questions. What does this mean for East Africa?! What are the chances that East Africa was left out in most categories? Does this mean East Africa isn’t at par with the rest of Africa when it comes to producing quality music and videos that surpass the MTV Base standard or are our artistes not creative/hardworking as we thought? The answer is definitely NO!!!! And a resounding NO.

Look at guys like Navio (Uganda), Octopizzo (Kenya), Victoria Kimani(Kenya), Keko (Uganda), Ruyonga (Uganda), Ommy Dimpoz (Tanzania), Vannessa Mdee (Tanzania) and many more. These guys have worked their asses off but MTV doesn’t recognize that. WHY?

Probably someone reading this is thinking that yeah East Africa had nice music but they considered music between March 20^th 2013-March 19^th 2014 and also airplay of the songs on MTV Base; you are right and we put that into consideration. When you do some digging for example for the artistes we have mentioned above they released some great material within that time frame and amazing stuff at that. As for airplay those artiste’s songs did get some heavy rotation some ended up on the MTV Base countdown, on the MTV Base website. The songs went ahead to get airplay on other Africa’s music channels like Channel O, Sound city and Trace Urban. So why does East Africa have few Nominations?

It’s Business Nothing Personal.

So we dug in and realized MTV is pretty much a business organization that cares where it cashes in the most!

At the end of the day we will have to come down to numbers, are sponsors and the team at MTV getting their worth?! As of 2012 East Africa (Uganda, Kenya & Tanzania) has over 22Million internet users all together while Nigeria has over 48Million users and South Africa over 8million users. MTV boasts of 48.5million viewers in 48 African countries.

So roughly let’s consider (assume) 1/4 of each country’s/region’s internet users contribute to the MTV viewership, they are interested in the awards will vote and contribute to the hash tag ‘#MTVMAMA’ (making it trend/go viral). That will give us over 5million active online viewers in East Africa, 12million active online users in Nigeria and 2million active online users in South Africa. Ideally if you’re not running an NGO like a commercial TV station you will consider different ways of minimizing expenses and ensuring a viral/trending (promo) for your event the fact that it involves voting online. As a result you have to consider the stakeholders (countries) with the numbers and give them first priority, because at the end of the day you have a sponsor (who wants to sell his product as you also achieve your goal) and a large number of people who subscribe to your TV to entertain (giving them a reason to stay tuned in and bring others on board); Thus some countries being left out and some artist’s hard work not being recognized.

But how come Channel O doesn’t follow this theory? How come they balance their nominations? Wait for this year’s nomination list and you will see what we mean here. (And by the way Kudos to Leslie Kasumba and the entire Channel O for their exceptional work and their undying love for African Music)

Don’t get us wrong, we are not saying artistes from West Africa or south Africa don’t work hard, they do in fact every artist who is nominated deserves it and has put in a lot to get there. All we are saying is that East Africa was given little consideration (left out). There is still time MTV, Make some changes.

Connect/Contact Writers:

Facebook:Byaruhanga Felix

Twitter:@TheNinjaFelix

Email:felixbyaruhanga@gmail.com

Facebook: KYLE

Twitter: @UptownKyle

Email: uptownkyle@gmail.com

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#Yansakata-Kyle ft. FlexD'Paper [Song Review + Download]

By @MarriedToKush

I am pretty sure the phrase “Yansakata, yansakata, yansakata kiboko nazimatira” is familiar to most of us from our childhood days. Well, Kyle (@uptownKyle) borrowed that phrase, called up one of his buddies first name Flex, last name D’Papper and made a song about it.

Whaaat?

Hey, relax. The man released a song; he did not bring world peace. As I was saying, Yansakata  is  song telling  a story/ experience/ feelings of  a boy (young man) who is smitten by a girl (young lady) he just met and just like one would expect, it is the ultimate song for people who are drunk in love or working towards achieving that goal.

Kyle has continued to prove to us that he means business in our entertainment industry and is here to stay, as he releases hit after hit. Brother is shaking things up!

There are many things that contribute to a good song for example; a great beat, catchy lyrics, great production, well thought & selected out artists to be featured and a unique voice. Yansakata is what we call a breath of fresh air as it combines all the above aspects. It is because of this that I can confidently request you to go ahead and DOWNLOAD it.

Producer:Dreign

Length: 3:40

Genre: RnB   
Watch Behind The Scenes Of The Yet To Be Released Yansakata Video Here.
Connect with Kyle;
Twitter: @UptownKlye
Facebook: KYLE LIVE ON SMASH
.reverbnation.com/iamuptown 
Connect With @MarriedToKush (twitter) 

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