Kampala, Uganda · rap · experimental

MC Yallah & Debmaster

1 upcoming festival

Rapping in four languages over production built from industrial clatter — one of the hardest, most physical rap sets coming out of East Africa.

MC Yallah is a rapper born in Kenya and long based in Kampala, Uganda, who performs in Luganda, Swahili, Luo and English, often switching between them within a single track. Her delivery is fast, hard-edged and rhythmically insistent, drawing on decades of experience in East African hip-hop.

Debmaster is a French producer whose beats favour distorted, metallic textures and blunt low-end rather than conventional rap instrumentals. The pair have worked together across releases issued through the Kampala-based Nyege Nyege Tapes and its Hakuna Kulala offshoot, including the album Yallah Beibe. Live, the combination is stripped down and physical, with the production's harshness pushed to the front.

rapexperimental