He helped shape Lugaflow
Feb 04, 2011
LUGAFLOW is a staple brand in local hip-hop today. Everyone, including the president is rapping. But do we ever stop to ask about the genesis of Lugaflow? Many young Lugaflow fans think GNL Zamba started it all.
By Dominic Muwanguzi
LUGAFLOW is a staple brand in local hip-hop today. Everyone, including the president is rapping. But do we ever stop to ask about the genesis of Lugaflow? Many young Lugaflow fans think GNL Zamba started it all.
But Lugaflow’s real roots are found in the works of Bataka Squad — a group of teenagers who used to rhyme in Luganda at hang-outs in the mid 1990s.
SabaSaba aka Crazy Native (Alex Kirya), 33, was part of that squad and with nostalgia remembers how everyone thought they were crazy with their sound; including radio presenters and club Dee- Jays of the day.
After productions like Ssesentula and Atooba, their music got some airplay.
From then, the rap squad which included Momo MC (now Dee-Jay Momo), Lyrical G, Babaluku and Saba Saba then called Krazy Native, never looked back. Although some members took on different careers, Sabasaba and Babaluku are still together, flying the Ugandan Flag in the US.
The Lugaflow artiste is working on his album, Kap of Coffee, to be dropped this year. Saba Saba also owns and runs a record label called Tujjababya and a clothing line both based in the US.
But why did he (together with the Bataka Squad) choose to rap in Luganda and not any other language? How come he never raps about women, sex and money? “We wanted to sound home- based and we opted for social awareness rap because we wanted to change the communities in which we lived through our music,†he says.
To reflect this quality of social awareness, Saba is planning a hip-hop convention this year, as a platform to educate the youth on the importance of hip-hop culture in their social lifestyle.
LUGAFLOW is a staple brand in local hip-hop today. Everyone, including the president is rapping. But do we ever stop to ask about the genesis of Lugaflow? Many young Lugaflow fans think GNL Zamba started it all.
But Lugaflow’s real roots are found in the works of Bataka Squad — a group of teenagers who used to rhyme in Luganda at hang-outs in the mid 1990s.
SabaSaba aka Crazy Native (Alex Kirya), 33, was part of that squad and with nostalgia remembers how everyone thought they were crazy with their sound; including radio presenters and club Dee- Jays of the day.
After productions like Ssesentula and Atooba, their music got some airplay.
From then, the rap squad which included Momo MC (now Dee-Jay Momo), Lyrical G, Babaluku and Saba Saba then called Krazy Native, never looked back. Although some members took on different careers, Sabasaba and Babaluku are still together, flying the Ugandan Flag in the US.
The Lugaflow artiste is working on his album, Kap of Coffee, to be dropped this year. Saba Saba also owns and runs a record label called Tujjababya and a clothing line both based in the US.
But why did he (together with the Bataka Squad) choose to rap in Luganda and not any other language? How come he never raps about women, sex and money? “We wanted to sound home- based and we opted for social awareness rap because we wanted to change the communities in which we lived through our music,†he says.
To reflect this quality of social awareness, Saba is planning a hip-hop convention this year, as a platform to educate the youth on the importance of hip-hop culture in their social lifestyle.