YIGA BURSTS OUT WITH ‘ROAD TO BABYLON’
Jun 15, 2006
By all accounts, US-based Ugandan Nelson Yiga has it all. Apart from the good looks and a killer smile, he is a prime example of the American Dream.
By Joseph Batte
By all accounts, US-based Ugandan Nelson Yiga has it all. Apart from the good looks and a killer smile, he is a prime example of the American Dream.
Eleven years ago, Yiga went to represent Uganda in the US as an independent cultural exchange specialist in Afro-Caribbean music under the African Cultural Exchange programme. He decided to stay.
Today, Yiga owns Business World International Development Incorporated, a construction company that employs over 300 workers in the US. He is a member of Houston World Affairs Council, an accomplished artiste and the leader of the Brown Lions Band in the US.
Yiga was once an actor with Christopher Mukiibi and the Theatrikos and he featured in plays like Omuzadde N’omwaana, Kitalo, Liz, in which he starred as Senior Waiter Oketa and as a messenger in Nabiwata.
In the US his acting skills won him roles in two movies; Thanks For The Lovely Dinner and Sleep Eaters.
Yiga is a talented singer/songwriter. In the early 1990s, he used to rub shoulders with Shanks Vivie Dee, The Blood Brothers and Luther Martin and fight for the keyboard to practice on at the Sheraton with Steve Jean.
Recently, Yiga took a break from his construction work to record a 12-track album titled Road to Babylon. To the ears accustomed to disposable, bubblegum computer generated music, the album may not blow your mind on the first listen. However, after a while the lushness of it all will seep into your brain.
The elements that make Road to Babylon good are; Yiga’s soulful vocals, the emotion, luscious original melodies, romance, simple but poetic lyrics and an almost-flawless quality production. The biggest plus they give the CD is the live-band sound that is very rare in Uganda. The CD starts with keyboards, then the live bass drops: Boom!
The infectious rhythm and fuzzy guitar, saxophone and luscious strings weave in and out of the music, sending an electric charge up your spine. Yiga charms the ears by pouring himself vocally into the tracks.
Press the ‘play’ button and you are swinging on the beach (or in the warm arms of your sweetheart), rocking in time to his breezy tenor over a rhythmic mixture of Afro-Pop and Afro-Rock and one-drop rootsy reggae right from the first track Road to Babylon. This track tells the story of a young man’s struggle to succeed. Da Mayora, a rapper and DJ in Houston, provided the toasting (rapping) Jamaican style.
Yiga composed You Took My Heart for his ex-girlfriend, Lori, on her birthday. “I was broke and did not have any money to buy her a present. So I gave her a beautiful melody.â€
In You Make Me Cry, Yiga says that no matter what a man does, he can’t please a woman when she has decided to leave him.
Glory Bahaâ€uâ€llah is Born, which is wrapped in Afro-Rock, was written on the request of the Houston Baha’i community to commemorate the birth of Baha’uâ€llah’.
Booty-bouncing Tusikirizane has distinct Afro-pop leanings. Composed by Yiga, it talks about peace and freedom and draws attention to the cries of women and children who are trapped in a web of wars around the world.
Uganda is one of the favourite picks on the album. It talks about disease, wars and crime.
Another beautiful track is the ballad Let Me Touch, with a sultry lover’s vibe running through its vein. The incorporation of reggae, R&B, dancehall, Afro-pop and Afro-rock elements into a cohesive stew of sound plus the balance between political, environmental, romantic lyrics and cool arrangements of the live instrumentation carries Road to Babylon to great heights.
By all accounts, US-based Ugandan Nelson Yiga has it all. Apart from the good looks and a killer smile, he is a prime example of the American Dream.
Eleven years ago, Yiga went to represent Uganda in the US as an independent cultural exchange specialist in Afro-Caribbean music under the African Cultural Exchange programme. He decided to stay.
Today, Yiga owns Business World International Development Incorporated, a construction company that employs over 300 workers in the US. He is a member of Houston World Affairs Council, an accomplished artiste and the leader of the Brown Lions Band in the US.
Yiga was once an actor with Christopher Mukiibi and the Theatrikos and he featured in plays like Omuzadde N’omwaana, Kitalo, Liz, in which he starred as Senior Waiter Oketa and as a messenger in Nabiwata.
In the US his acting skills won him roles in two movies; Thanks For The Lovely Dinner and Sleep Eaters.
Yiga is a talented singer/songwriter. In the early 1990s, he used to rub shoulders with Shanks Vivie Dee, The Blood Brothers and Luther Martin and fight for the keyboard to practice on at the Sheraton with Steve Jean.
Recently, Yiga took a break from his construction work to record a 12-track album titled Road to Babylon. To the ears accustomed to disposable, bubblegum computer generated music, the album may not blow your mind on the first listen. However, after a while the lushness of it all will seep into your brain.
The elements that make Road to Babylon good are; Yiga’s soulful vocals, the emotion, luscious original melodies, romance, simple but poetic lyrics and an almost-flawless quality production. The biggest plus they give the CD is the live-band sound that is very rare in Uganda. The CD starts with keyboards, then the live bass drops: Boom!
The infectious rhythm and fuzzy guitar, saxophone and luscious strings weave in and out of the music, sending an electric charge up your spine. Yiga charms the ears by pouring himself vocally into the tracks.
Press the ‘play’ button and you are swinging on the beach (or in the warm arms of your sweetheart), rocking in time to his breezy tenor over a rhythmic mixture of Afro-Pop and Afro-Rock and one-drop rootsy reggae right from the first track Road to Babylon. This track tells the story of a young man’s struggle to succeed. Da Mayora, a rapper and DJ in Houston, provided the toasting (rapping) Jamaican style.
Yiga composed You Took My Heart for his ex-girlfriend, Lori, on her birthday. “I was broke and did not have any money to buy her a present. So I gave her a beautiful melody.â€
In You Make Me Cry, Yiga says that no matter what a man does, he can’t please a woman when she has decided to leave him.
Glory Bahaâ€uâ€llah is Born, which is wrapped in Afro-Rock, was written on the request of the Houston Baha’i community to commemorate the birth of Baha’uâ€llah’.
Booty-bouncing Tusikirizane has distinct Afro-pop leanings. Composed by Yiga, it talks about peace and freedom and draws attention to the cries of women and children who are trapped in a web of wars around the world.
Uganda is one of the favourite picks on the album. It talks about disease, wars and crime.
Another beautiful track is the ballad Let Me Touch, with a sultry lover’s vibe running through its vein. The incorporation of reggae, R&B, dancehall, Afro-pop and Afro-rock elements into a cohesive stew of sound plus the balance between political, environmental, romantic lyrics and cool arrangements of the live instrumentation carries Road to Babylon to great heights.