Ugandan music star and icon, Moses Ssali, alias Bebe Cool, has been busy in Nairobi. The artiste arrived in the 254 on Tuesday morning to promote his new album Break the Chains, and after a press conference, he embarked on a media tour.
Bebe Cool reiterated that his album is about a change in mentality and a challenge for artistes to navigate uncharted waters, even where people believe they shouldn’t be.
The album has since received positive reactions from Kenya’s key media personalities, with most of them divided on what they believe is the standout song on the album.
Kiss FM’s Muchina picked Motivation as his favourite song, while Cyd, on the other hand, said Check (ft Joshua Baraka) is her best.
Based on media conversations around the album, Check seems to have many Kenyans dancing. During an interview on Nation FM, Bebe Cool met students of Mitaboni ABC Girls’ School, and when asked which song they wished to sing with the singer, they all screamed out—Check.
Joy Ogwedhi, who hosted Bebe Cool on Sound City FM, a sister station to the Nigerian radio and TV brand of the same name, said that her best song is African Love, because of the way Bebe Cool and Yemi Alade sounded together.
“It is an amazing song. Yemi Alade is a princess,” she said, adding that she also loves Cheque, featuring Joshua Baraka.
“We love Joshua Baraka. He’s such a big talent from Uganda. I really love his voice, so Cheque is the other song I really love on the album.”
But many are still divided on which song is their best from the album; Remmy Majala of K24 chose Home as her best song, saying—“The song feels different.”
“Home has a different vibe. It takes you to a different place. I am glad that I listened to the entire album, and I like how they put the whole thing together,” she says.
But it was her co-host, Tony Mwirigi, who was most starstruck; he started off by trying to sing Bebe Cool’s Luganda lyrics from Mbozi Za Malwa, his collaboration with Sauti Sol, before confessing that his best song on the album is Motivation.
“I played the song for my wife yesterday, and she hasn’t stopped playing it,” he said.
Mwirigi also said that Bebe Cool has been key in bringing East African music together through collaborations with Kenyan stars Nazizi and Wyre during the East African Bashment Crew days, and later, with Sauti Sol.
Bebe Cool launched his career in Nairobi in the early 2000s, and coming back to promote his new album was a homecoming moment, punctuated with lots of reunions.
During his press conference, he was joined by the East African Bashment Crew members—Wyre and Nazizi—as well as Fundi Frank, the man he said designed the first outfit he performed in.
Born Francis Onyango Oboo, Fundi Frank is a pioneer Kenyan hip-hop artiste and producer. He acknowledged Bebe Cool’s resilience, noting that not many artistes from his generation are still making music today.
While visiting various media houses, the artiste also shared his humble beginnings in Nairobi—from sharing a room with a security guard, until a good Samaritan gave him a chance to record in a professional studio, which later doubled as his home.
Bebe Cool acknowledged that Kenya’s music scene has changed a lot over the years, but decried the fact that East Africa lost the spark and influence it once had on music.
“I decided to come to Nairobi after Buju Banton performed in Uganda, alongside a Kenyan dancehall artiste. I told myself if they are bringing a Kenyan artiste to perform with Buju Banton, then I should be going to Kenya,” he said.
Bebe Cool’s Break the Chains is a reset for the artiste. He says this is him as he has not been seen or heard before. For him, the album is about changing mentalities and doing what everyone thought you shouldn’t be doing.
He says the world has overlooked East African music for a long time, and with the album, he’s leading the way to show up-and-coming artistes that there is room for them at the top.
The Kenyan tour is just the beginning of the artiste’s African tour, with the next stop being Tanzania, and later Rwanda and South Africa.
