Bebe Cool Launches New Album ‘Maisha’
Feb 05, 2004
Bebe Cool’s new album Maisha, could easily be dismissed as yet another collection of bubble gum music, calculated to make a quick buck.
BEBE Cool’s new album Maisha, could easily be dismissed as yet another collection of bubble gum music, calculated to make a quick buck. However, a closer look reveals there is actually something artistic about Bebe Cool’s work.
One cannot help thinking that behind the simmering anxiety to dominate radio charts, dance floors and sell big, this zany fellow actually yearns to leave a musical legacy!
This inspiration, which I have only noticed in Kawesa, sets off Cool’s creative juices maximally. In other words, Bebe Cool strikes that delicate balance between his need to sell and the desire to be create lasting music.
Maisha a product that is likely to be marketable beyond East African’s borders, the ultimate goal of most young artistes in East Africa.
This is the probably one of Maisha’s greatest strengths.
The album was launched at WBS’ fifth anniversary party at Speke Resort, Muyonyo last Saturday.
Cool’s distinctive creativity however, manifests itself only on the roots reggae tracks. This is why Never Trust No People, which FM radio stations barely noticed in Uganda, caught the ears of judges at the Koras.
The song, which cautions people about the scheming nature of man and dwells on betrayal amongst friends, together with Gwenonze, Bad Man Status and No Wonder Why, falls into the one drop roots reggae category. These songs with a message, strike a cord with reggae lovers.
That he sings a couple of verses in Luganda and actually produced Never Trust No People is an added bonus to him. The rest were done by Ogopa DJs and Dawoo.
On the rest of the album though, Cool strips himself of the reggae singer title for mainstream and up-market stuff. Many of the songs, are opportunistic collaborations with Kenyan artistes calculated, perhaps, to secure Cool a market in Kenya. For these, he teams up with super producers Ogopa DJs to create a high tempo and ambitious, high-powered and energetic sound.
The songs are danceable – typical Ogopa cuisine that blends elements of everything from funk, Afro hip-hop (Sheng) to R&B and dancehall music.
The message here is basically happy-go-lucky. The songs are made for the dance floor and radio and are sang predominately in Swahili.
Dada Njo features fallen Kenyan rapper K-rupt. Bad Boyz, which features another Kenyan rapper, Nameless, is a slamming jam that gets your feet tapping.
Burn Dem, is set to rock the dance floors.
Silikiza, which is my favourite on the album, features Yvette, an underrated and relatively underexposed vocal talent whose sultry vocals are juxtaposed with Cool’s throaty voice against a backdrop of up tempo Kwaito beats. The song is already burning the charts.
Tuwagire Gaetano, the tribute Cool sang to Gaetano Kaggwa, Uganda’s Big Brother Africa representative, is also on the album. So is Twezinire, a multi-lingual treat on which Cool attempts to sing in Kinyarwanda.
Guma Abwooli, which features singer Rama, is sang in Rutooro and breaks the monotone with a zouish-beat.
Cool’s inclusion of a remix of Bad Man Status, which features Klear Kut’s spirited hip-hop flow, brings a vibrant aura of a different nature to the album.
This is one of the few albums where the artiste does not assume listeners are all club goers.
One cannot help thinking that behind the simmering anxiety to dominate radio charts, dance floors and sell big, this zany fellow actually yearns to leave a musical legacy!
This inspiration, which I have only noticed in Kawesa, sets off Cool’s creative juices maximally. In other words, Bebe Cool strikes that delicate balance between his need to sell and the desire to be create lasting music.
Maisha a product that is likely to be marketable beyond East African’s borders, the ultimate goal of most young artistes in East Africa.
This is the probably one of Maisha’s greatest strengths.
The album was launched at WBS’ fifth anniversary party at Speke Resort, Muyonyo last Saturday.
Cool’s distinctive creativity however, manifests itself only on the roots reggae tracks. This is why Never Trust No People, which FM radio stations barely noticed in Uganda, caught the ears of judges at the Koras.
The song, which cautions people about the scheming nature of man and dwells on betrayal amongst friends, together with Gwenonze, Bad Man Status and No Wonder Why, falls into the one drop roots reggae category. These songs with a message, strike a cord with reggae lovers.
That he sings a couple of verses in Luganda and actually produced Never Trust No People is an added bonus to him. The rest were done by Ogopa DJs and Dawoo.
On the rest of the album though, Cool strips himself of the reggae singer title for mainstream and up-market stuff. Many of the songs, are opportunistic collaborations with Kenyan artistes calculated, perhaps, to secure Cool a market in Kenya. For these, he teams up with super producers Ogopa DJs to create a high tempo and ambitious, high-powered and energetic sound.
The songs are danceable – typical Ogopa cuisine that blends elements of everything from funk, Afro hip-hop (Sheng) to R&B and dancehall music.
The message here is basically happy-go-lucky. The songs are made for the dance floor and radio and are sang predominately in Swahili.
Dada Njo features fallen Kenyan rapper K-rupt. Bad Boyz, which features another Kenyan rapper, Nameless, is a slamming jam that gets your feet tapping.
Burn Dem, is set to rock the dance floors.
Silikiza, which is my favourite on the album, features Yvette, an underrated and relatively underexposed vocal talent whose sultry vocals are juxtaposed with Cool’s throaty voice against a backdrop of up tempo Kwaito beats. The song is already burning the charts.
Tuwagire Gaetano, the tribute Cool sang to Gaetano Kaggwa, Uganda’s Big Brother Africa representative, is also on the album. So is Twezinire, a multi-lingual treat on which Cool attempts to sing in Kinyarwanda.
Guma Abwooli, which features singer Rama, is sang in Rutooro and breaks the monotone with a zouish-beat.
Cool’s inclusion of a remix of Bad Man Status, which features Klear Kut’s spirited hip-hop flow, brings a vibrant aura of a different nature to the album.
This is one of the few albums where the artiste does not assume listeners are all club goers.