Since the release of his first single, Circumference, from his highly anticipated album Break the Chains, singer Bebe Cool has been actively making waves.
After releasing his second single, Motivation, the artist has continued to gain momentum, both locally and internationally. Fresh from launching the Motivation Week, Bebe Cool was featured in an interview with UK-based Nigerian media personality DJ Edu on his podcast, This is Africa on BBC.
During the exclusive interview, Bebe Cool shared the story of his musical journey, beginning with his move to Kenya. He recalled how he got in touch with top producer Ted Josiah but failed to meet him. He went on to describe how he lived with a security guard before meeting a man named Mohammed, who owned a studio and allowed him to record after hearing him freestyle.
“Someone told me there was a man with a private studio. I knocked on his door, and he welcomed me. He asked me what I wanted to do for a living, and I told him I sing. He asked me to show him, and I had a CD with eleven instrumentals. I freestyled on all of them, and he said, ‘Go look for a producer; you can come and record,’” Bebe Cool recalls.
Later, Bebe Cool connected with Lucas Bikedo, one of the founders of Ogopa Deejays, and, as they say, the rest is history. He further shared how he gained popularity in Kenya by performing at various Miss Kenya pageants. Everything escalated when he joined Redsan and Jose Chameleone to form the first Bashment Crew.
DJ Edu noted that when Bebe Cool teamed up with the Necessary Noize duo—Nazizi and Wyre—the music they created, such as Fire Anthem, Combination, and Africa Unite, was unlike anything many Kenyans had heard before.
Bebe Cool also revisited the traumatic day he was shot. He explained that the incident began when he saw a group of artists from Good Lyfe arguing with a policeman. When he approached with some friends, the officer assumed they had come to intervene, so he immediately opened fire.
“Since I always move with security, I sent my guy to talk to the officer—policeman to policeman—but he simply opened fire. It was traumatic; five people got injured,” he says.
Bebe Cool was in a wheelchair for almost a year after undergoing surgery. A few months later, he survived another life-threatening incident when bombs exploded at Kyadondo Rugby Club, where he had performed at a World Cup viewing party.
“I didn’t get any therapy after that because our country wasn’t at that level. I decided to use this experience to become a stronger person, and yes, it made me stronger at heart,” he says.
Bebe Cool also spoke about Break the Chains, his new album. He explained that he chose to explore Afrobeats because it’s the genre the world is listening to. As an artist working to promote Uganda globally, he felt he couldn’t resist the sound.
Click this link to listen to the full interview: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5y68
