Cool to stage return show

By Sebidde Kiryowa
and Roger Mugisha

Following his unceremonious disappearance and reappearance to and from the US, the self-proclaimed ‘King of Ugandan Reggae’, Bebe Cool, feels it is time he took up his ‘rightful’ place on the local music pedestal.

Tomorrow, the 2004 ‘Best Reggae’ PAM Awards winner, will perform at Steak Out starting at 7:00pm, to a crowd that has almost forgotten his cheeky table-trot antics. Fans eager to catch a glimpse of the tap-root-locks singer, will part with sh10,000.

But the feat is not coming cheap for Cool either. He is flying in Necessary Noize, the Kenyan urban hip-hop outfit of Naziz and Wyre.

Most Ugandans will remember Naziz, the ‘first lady of Kenyan hip-hop’ from her latest collaboration with Tanzanian crooner, TID, on their single, Wachewasema. The duo has also garnered significant rotation on the Kenya airwaves, East African TV and radio with songs like Kenyan Boy and Bless My Room bursting our ‘East Africa’s Finest’ chart show on Sanyu FM.

There will also be a long queue of local openers like Bobi Wine, Julianna Kanyomozi, Emperor Orlandoh, Klear Kut, Peter Miles and Menson, Black Boy and Mega Dee with Menton Krono.
“I will perform Sambagala with Halima Namakula for the first time on my own show and also sample three songs from my forthcoming album, Talimba,” the singer says.

Talimba (Yesu), Cool’s first Gospel song, is the title track off the album he says is expected early next year. So far, three songs off this project are playing on radio, Weta (already on ‘East Africa’s finest’ and a new kisanja anthem inclusive.

But more than just a struggle to prove his staying power, the concert will also enable the artiste to express his gratitude to his fans’ for appreciating of his craft.
“I will be thanking my fans for voting me in the PAM Awards.” Cool’s Maisha, a 13-track album released last year, spawned such memorable songs as the Kora-nominated Never Trust No People, Tuwagire Gaetano, Silikiza (featuring Yvette Seguya) and a remix of Bad Man Status, which featured Klear Kut’s spirited hip-hop flow.

The singer had just got his hands off Sambagala, the PAM-Awards nominated duet with Halima Namakula, when he disappeared to the US. While rumours were circulating that his sojourn in America was a calculated move to evade taxes and debts, Cool was instead seeking music promoters and producers.
“I was in the states for five months in search of connections that would institute me on the international market. I met a number of producers, artistes and studio owners, who taught me how to create a name even on billboards with my music,” Cool says. “While in the states, I lived in California and Boston. I met Sushi Saul, a renown female studio owner and drummer for Janet Jackson. I also met a Kenyan producer and actor, Benji, (appeared alongside Bruce Willis in Tears of The Sun) at his Los Angeles studio called Afromerica. They also taught me self-realisation and the importance of making the most out of ones opportunities.”

However, it was not all bliss for Cool. Making it in the music business is extremely stressful and challenging. “Because I wasn’t working for five months, I literally lived on contributions from friends and family. After listening to my last album, Maisha, some people encouraged me to push on because they felt my music would appeal and compete with music abroad. It was also a difficult time because my family was back in Uganda and my son, Thierry, was barely three months old.”
“America might be the ‘land of opportunity’ but it can make one (especially a budding Ugandan musician) desperate. You have to be on your best conduct, and most importantly, try to locate the right people. This was evident when I met Hardstone, a dancehall artiste from Kenya, who is also trying to gain ground in the states.

People in Uganda thought I had either quit singing or I was on kyeyo. This is what has prompted me to hold a concert that will rejuvenate their hopes in me.”