Kabikabi, a fast-emerging Afro-fusion Ugandan musical fire-force, has for long kept his fans on their toes, biting their nails and guessing his source of musical inspiration. Well, guess what? The cat is out of the bag. He has finally revealed the biggest influence behind his music, and it is none other than his father!
The artist, known for his versatility and genre-blending, credits his father’s extensive music collection as a major influence. It ranged from the pop hits of Ace of Base and UB40 to the reggae rhythms of Lucky Dube and the rich sounds of Ugandan legends like Afrigo Band, Fred Sebatta, and Paul Job Kafeero.
This early immersion in diverse musical styles ignited KabiKabi’s passion for music, leading him to explore DJing and production. No wonder his music has a unique idiosyncrasy that resonates with a qualitative X-factor. He measures satisfaction by how his music impacts listeners’ lives, not by numbers, clicks, or comments. Simply put, he creates music to touch souls.
”I recorded my first professional song in 2021,” the artiste told Nymy Net in an interview—safe to say he is a post-lockdown artiste. ”But before this, I had recorded two personal songs and my first song in 2010 during the Peace Revolution retreat in Bangkok, Thailand. I started off entertaining family and friends as an amateur DJ, but later picked interest in recording some of my music,” he added. Personal songs or demos are to artists what drafts are to writers, and they are something that isn’t new to any up-and-coming artiste anywhere—from Alaska to Kiribati.
Growing up in a musical household, as he says, KabiKabi’s father introduced him to a diverse range of artists through old tapes and cassettes, which slowly sparked his love for music—something that music icon Mowzey Radio also experienced with his mother. Like KabiKabi, Radio, as the young entertainer in his household without an FM radio, occasionally entertained guests with Fred Sebatta’s Sam Wange and Dole Y’omwaana, among others.
The first song KabiKabi recorded was at Bram Bram Records, written and produced by Jenesis Kimera, and mixed and mastered by Axon, of Joshua Baraka’s Nana fame. ”The first release I did for a song titled Savinga was a fusion of afrobeat and Zouk music to give it an afro-zouk feel. I am an Afro-fusion artist; I blend African music with other genres. Take My Love was an RNB song turned into afrobeat, and our latest release, Namiiro with Ben Kasozy fuses Kadongo Kamu, modern instruments with traditional Kiganda drums to bring out the authenticity and storytelling in the song.”
For an artist who broke out in 2021, it might come as a surprise that he leads a very busy, tightly-scheduled life. But the truth is, KabiKabi’s lifestyle is indeed hectic. The reason behind this lifestyle is clear: his hands are in different trades, with music being just one part of the mix, and yes, he also has a family to care for. To say the least, he has a good reason to be on a tight schedule. Take his day, for instance…
“My day starts at 5 am with planning, catching up on the latest news, and preparing for work,” he shared with Nymy Net. “Then I leave home at 7 am. Before I drive off, I say my prayer and do my vocal training on the way to work. From 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, I’m at work. From 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, I drive home, practicing music or playing beats to write some songs as I go. From 8 pm until bedtime, I spend time with my family—I’m married with two lovely daughters (say that louder, sir). I record most of my music over the weekend and also spend time learning music production,” he added.
When asked how he balances music, his job, and family, he chuckles and admits there’s no such thing as balance. He leaves us all at a loss!
“I find that there’s no such thing as balancing; you just create time for what’s important in life and plan your day around it. Not working over the weekend helps me focus on family time and my passion, which is music. I’ve learned that it’s okay to be off balance since some aspects of our lives need to be prioritized at certain times. For me, family comes first, and then the rest of the tasks take precedence,” he explained to Nymy Net.
However, we learned that to navigate his web of strenuous engagements, he has an effective management system in place. He works with Kemet Works, managed by Ram Hadji. Ram is a business coach, digital expert, marketer, and personal branding specialist with a passion for music.
‘‘ (With Kemet Works) we are using our business experience and connections to build and promote authentic talent in the music industry,” he intimated, also opening up that over the past few years, they (Kemet Works) had been learning about the music industry and establishing structures to support him and similar artists they planned to collaborate with in the future. They are officially rolling out in 2025.
To think of him as just an artiste is an underestimation. He is a maestro, a Leonardo da Vinci of his Mona Lisa. Of his The Last Supper! For boy, does he have a creative genius, hardly limiting his creative ability to genre brackets?
He proudly told Nymy Net, ”When creating music, I rarely think of the genre, but it’s more of what I want to communicate and how the fans relate, and how they feel about the music. My music is a collection of my and other people’s experiences. It addresses life issues like love (of course hahaha). The kind of music (which a particular song turns out to be categorized into) is decided in the studio with the producer (not solely by me). I am a versatile artist and I like mixing genres, so I generally do Afro-fusion music. Nevertheless, I am inspired by hip hop and RnB, traditional African music, and afrobeat because of the lyricism, storytelling, poetry, and Kadongo kamu.” You heard me right, Kadongokamu!
Since he officially started releasing music, he has so far released 3 singles and a 6 track EP which has introduced KabiKabi to the music scene. The past 2 years have been about laying his foundation, and the next years will be about providing captivating musical experiences to fans. More music and videos will be released, with more collaborations within and outside Uganda. Last but not least, his music be streamed via (LINK).
Way to go, Mr. KabiKabi! Mr Danger!
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