Bebe Cool’s Fitina album speaks out to everyone

Sep 20, 2001

Ragga artist Bebe Cool will release his long awaited Fitina album on Monday September 24 at Epic Entertainment Centre on Kyaggwe road in Kampala.

By Sebidde Kiryowa Ragga artist Bebe Cool will release his long awaited Fitina album on Monday September 24 at Epic Entertainment Centre on Kyaggwe road in Kampala. Cool, whose real name is Moses Ssali, said plans to launch the album will however, be in October. “I have not come up with a specific date because I am still in negotiations with the Benson & Hedges to buy the launch concert for their October 27 street bash with Club Silk, at the club premises in Industrial area,” Cool said. The album will be initially released on compact cassettes but later availed on Compact Disc (CD). Fitina is a six-track album basically consists of what Cool terms as ‘African dancehall.’ Included on the album are such massive hits as Tala Ssebo. Popularly known as Tantalantanta, the song sang both in Luganda and Swahili is an intrepid attack on nepotism as a weakness of African governments. Propelled by an interpolation of the popular Kiganda folk rhyme Kamunye Tantalatanta, the song which was initially shunned by Ugandan radio music selectors topped the East African Top 25 on Nairobi’s 98.4 Capital FM for a straight five weeks. Lately, it is been making so much progress on Uganda airwaves, Cool was prompted to remark, “I am surprised this song is becoming more popular than Fitina, the title track. I expect it to be the next big hit.” Fitina which was the second single to be released had long surpassed the popularity of Tala Ssebo and gone on to receive near household status. Produced by celebrated Kenyan producer Lucas Ogapa DJ, who was also responsible for Chameleon’s Mama Mia, Fitina has held the number one spot on Simba’s African Top 20 for a month now. The song has gone on to top the Top Seven At Seven and Kampala’s Top 20 on Kampala’s 91.3 FM, Capital Radio. Other songs on the album like Sente Yalero, which blends urban and Afrocentric beats were released much earlier. Though they did not do well here, they got pretty good exposure and reception in other parts of East Africa. Cool continues his winning formula of merging both lyrics from two different languages for effect, on The Heho Song, a slamming hiphop offer sang both in English and Swahili. Its tasty infusions aside, the album features some great collaborations. Kenyan diva Mercy Myra measures up with Cool on Wongo. Nairobi’s ragga icon Red San does his bit in there, while the singing duo Jawabu feature on Don’t Walk, a song that intricately mixes dance and dance hall styles. Jawabu are Nairobi’s number one Spanish music group. As aptly summarised by Cool, this album, “has got a little something for everybody. It contains a variety of music for all ages in all languages,” Cool says. So get out there and grab your copy.

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