There’s something so unique about the Joka & CDAVE HONCHO duo sound; every time you listen to one of their tracks, you’re instantly transported to a calm, comfortable place – even if the song’s quite energetic. There’s a sense of peace that emulates through their melodies and it’s a massive highlight on the duo’s MUSANGO on the VWOO BUSY (1).
Joka is very relentless in his pursuit for stardom
This particular new release takes you on an emotional journey, as we start off in a warmer place, before we head into darker terrain, and end up somewhere vibrant. The track also flows so well into one another’s verse like a wave slowly building, reaching its arc, and then crashing into the sand with effortless power. It feels easy, nothing is forced and the song vibrates with a signature smoothness making ‘SIP’ so delicious to listen to.
‘SIP’ is originally produced by Kaylis T, one of the producers at Racktide records and it offers a sweet soundscape blending warped synths, light vocals, spacious percussion and lively samples to create the image of life bustling around you as the sun sets. There’s something whimsical about ‘SIP’ that’s carried over from verse to verse, seamlessly transitioning us into a warmer, welcoming and yet energetic atmosphere.
Joka’s is a promising relentless act in Uganda
The energy and diverse prowess exhibited on this new release seems to be unleashed on ‘either way’, Joka comes first with a rather more comfortable tone backed with aggressive response and CDAVE HONCHO wraps up the project with an energetic club banger aura. This track is extremely groovy, It just has a good vibe that’s so infectious and a little intoxicating.
Almost every Ugandan has sung out the phrase ‘Oh nana baby’ which are lyrics from Joshua Baraka’s hit single ‘Nana’. The Ugandan audience is in utterly delighted and happy about the unique talent that the pearl of Africa has to offer to the world.
Joshua Baraka is a Ugandan music artist whose unique blend of musical genres has set him apart in the new generation of artists in Uganda. His rich musical background exposed him to different forms and variations of rhythm and melody. He writes, sings, produces music, and plays piano as well as guitar which he picked up at an early stage. Baraka refuses to be associated with a particular genre and continues to assert that his music style depends on what he wants to say at that moment. With his debut single titled ‘Tomorrow’, he won the hearts of many and continues to do so with his music.
The road to success of Nana
Nana by Joshua is a hit in East Africa playing across various radio stations in the region.
Nana was released on the 20th of January, 2023. A month after, the official video of it was posted on Joshua Baraka’s YouTube channel and that was the same day the video was premiered on NBS after 5, a TV program in Uganda that hosts established and upcoming artists to talk about music related topics as well as share their projects to the public on one of the biggest TVs in the country. The song immediately shot to the top 10 trending music videos in Uganda on that particular day. Interestingly, it was the beginning of the stardom for Joshua Baraka as many got to know about his music.
A few days after he was already trending on twitter in Uganda and also became the most shazamed artist in Uganda which he was for a couple of weeks where he retained the number one spot. He was then also placed onto various editorial playlists on both Spotify and apple music which helped drive up his monthly listeners particularly on Spotify where he moved on to exceed 300,000 monthly listeners down from under 20,000. One can say he became Uganda’s most streamed artist on the internet and set a record as well.
Joshua Baraka refuses to be defined by genres and continues to create simply beautiful music.
He is a big inspiration to the other upcoming new generation of artists doing various genres just like him and are also aiming for international success. Simply put, he has opened the way for others to get noticed and discovered. I could attribute a lot to Joshua Baraka’s success but what sticks out more is his humility and calmness besides his talent and hard work which are all collectively essential for opening doors to success. Ugandans are now generally impressed with the direction in which Ugandan music is headed, as many never thought that the type of music which they yearned for, was made by their own fellow citizens.
I would love to call upon the other underground and upcoming Ugandan new generation of artists to follow the footsteps of Joshua Baraka so as to create their own unique path to global success right from character to work ethics and attitude. God bless all their efforts!
Nana’s music video crosses One Million YouTube streams after 8 weeks!
Baraka is inspired by Bob Marley, Maurice Kirya, Cory Henry and many more artists that have shaped his approach to music. He wishes to make this world a better place one song at a time with intentional lyrics and catchy melodies.
Found Us is a combination that is both original and dependable enough to hold your interest. Like in real life, sometimes the most unlikely alliances result in the best music. A person’s new strengths are revealed and their comfort zone is pushed by the odd couple, the unpredictable pairing.
I wouldn’t have shipped Joka and Elkay the Jaguar as a tag team because they find strength in their individual quirks rather than functioning as a seamless unit. Their collaboration’s brand-new song, FOUND US, strikes a balance between being both intriguing and dependable.
Joka & Elkay teamed up for found us
Both Joka and Elkay are from places with distinctive flows and rich scenes. The thickest English accent belongs to Joka, who also has a strong drawl on the vowels that gives his frequently used singing style a syrupy texture that seeps out slowly like molasses. Elkay’s delivery exemplifies the distinctive relentlessness of New wave hardcore rap, just as it did on his previous single “CONFIDENCE,” and on FOUND US, he hardly lets up to deliver a vivacious yet infused lingual verse and chorus.
I’ m lucky they found us. We running the game like ford cars.
Joka
The title FOUND US is surprisingly literal, as a project that splits the difference between Underground new wave rap and the ongoing illusion for rap music. Despite their varied delivery styles, the artists share a similar sense of hunger and growth. When Joka and Elkay are at their most symbiotic, it’s simple to understand why they are drawn to one another. Found Us achieves an uncommon balance, a fusion of styles without losing any of the distinctive regional flavor that makes Joka and Elkay each so alluring.
Artwork for Found Us
Even though there is room for reflection, the unlikely pair, two rappers who are constantly working to advance their careers, find much to celebrate through their alliance. The most triumphant parts of Found Us shows both artists looking over their respective kingdoms with a hunger still present because neither man takes what he has created for granted.
DJ Arta born Arthur Okuta is a Ugandan Independent EDM Artist, Producer & DJ. His music is characterized under the genres of Afro Dancehall, Moombahton & House. Having been inspired by Progressive House music, he finds a way to make happy dance music that is slowed down which he calls Afro EDM.
For starters, the other side of DJ Arta is that he is a normal Ugandan citizen who deeply loves music and has just graduated from University with a bachelor’s degree in an engineering course. This is the point where he decides what career path to take as there are two options. At the moment, he still chooses both Music and Engineering but hopes to solely pursue music with love and have it as the chosen career path in the near future. All plans and efforts lead to music eventually and may the stars & universe align so that he can make it in his dream career.
DJ Arta
DJ Arta born Arthur Okuta is a Ugandan based Instrumental Artist, Producer & DJ. Though born in 1998, he started making music in 2017 following inspiration from progressive House DJs Avicii and Martin Garrix due to love for that genre and style of music which always made him happy. His style of music which he calls Afro EDM is largely influenced by Major Lazer and DJ Snake to which he has a similar sound that is characterized by a blend of electronic sounds and native culture-diverse instruments and accompanied by rhythmic percussion. His main goal for making music is to make people happy, feel good, and make them dance as they enjoy the music and have songs on repeat.
DJ Arta brand & Logo
His Afro EDM is characterized under the genres of Afro Dancehall, Moombahton & House. The music appeals to African, Latin and Arabic cultures as this speaks to the diversity of his sound as he is also inspired by unique sounds from those cultures and communities. One can distinctively classify his music by the genres of Afro EDM and Afro House.
He released his first track Dance With Me in 2020, an Afro Dancehall song and has gone on subsequently releasing tracks. Most recently he released a Moombahton song titled Mumbah and another single titled FAV will be released soon. FAV is a house song that will drop at the end of the year 2022. DJ Arta’s style and twist of music is similar to the sounds of artists like Sico Vox, Ikson, Qoee & Kygo to which he is a big fan to all.
“Grateful for being a top fan of five people” – DJ Arta
For now, I believe that I am my biggest fan and hopefully someday others will join me and topple me as regards that position. I will keep pushing out my style of music to Ugandans and the rest of the world in a bid to capture the attention of new listeners who could possibly turn into super fans. Thanks to everyone that listens to my music and I hope that the DJ Arta community grows bigger as we listen and share my music to make people feel good and better.
In the heart of Kampala and other urban areas in Uganda, there is an uprising of local musical talent with foreign influence as most of the music they consumed was international standard. Prolific young artists are seeking to recreate the same great music in their own styles.
Urban music is the music usually consumed by urban dwellers and tends to be of western influence say hiphop/rap, Electronic Dance Music (EDM), Raggaeton, Raggae and Pop. Literally, the artists do what the stars do but in their own blend and vibe coupled with their originality and background. These new styles of music include Afro pop, Afro Soul, Afro EDM, Afro House, Afrobeats and Amapiano.
Lucas Blacc performing at the Vibu Event
Vibu is an event scheduled quarterly at various locations in the capital where these creative artists vocal out their musical creations to an audience that is most welcoming to their style as they seek to attract more and more people. One of the ways this is achieved is by inviting friends and family and asking a friend to tell a friend that the international styles of music you like are made also in the pearl of Africa and you can give it a listen. In turn, this makes people more aware of the urban music scene since people spare time to give the music a try as the artists pick up fans and an audience right here in their home country.
Leone Okello and Mwine Ngabo are the chief organizers and founders of this event as they believe the urban music scene has great potential and talent to make it big and reach international coverage. Nobody knows how and why they picked up interest but it is clear they love the music and the artists as well. To my surprise, they are not artists but rather entrepreneurs seeking to promote urban music in Uganda and internationally. Leone and Henry maintain fruitful relations with these many artists and provide them with various opportunities and avenues to expose their crafts and obtain local audiences.
People enjoying the urban music at the Vibu event
The most recent Vibu event happened in August this month as we so a variety of urban artists perform and some alongside each other. Held at Panamera bar & Lounge in Naguru, the venue was filled with guests that were in excitement and appreciation of the young urban artists and they believe the next global star will be from the urban music group of creatives. Another way to put it is that the next Azawi will be from the urban music scene.
A couple of artists lined up for the event and I will gladly list them for you: Tai Dai, Elle B, Tera Nitric, Joshua Baraka, Akeine, Lucas Blacc, Wander Jr, Drillz, Joka. Other artists that attended include, Fleak Type DJ KosGabby and DJ Arta. Genres such as reggae, soul, rap, EDM, R&B and Afrobeat filled the waves on that Friday night. Most importantly, the artists were able to link up and associate with each other since they are one family as the artist communinity is the artist’s first audience and fan base.
Vibu III Artist Line Up
One of the guests at the event said they are impressed with sounds of the urban music group and appreciate the direction that Ugandan music is taking as there is so much diversity, creativity and quality in the music. Uganda could very well compete with other African countries in the global music industry with this immense talent and rival states like Nigeria and South Africa which dominate the Africa music industry.
I would like call upon anybody out there that is a fan of western music to listen and give these young talents just a little bit of attention because they may surely love with what they have to offer. Most times, fellow Ugandans find it unbelievable that urban music is made by Ugandans and this shows that urban music group has a long way to go as regards to making locals aware of the good quality music they create. Certainly, they will reach global dominance as they promote their underground music styles into the mainstream music scene.
The audience at the Vibu part III urban music event
Early in the month of August 2020, Spotify editors made a reckoning in the urban music scene in East Africa through creation of the ‘Oontz’ playlist that encompasses the best blends of Electronic music across East Africa. Artists from all over the world feature in this playlist including but not limited to Europe and America, though majority are African EDM artists. East African countries feature the most artists and these are Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Other noticeable countries with acts on the playlists are South Africa and Morocco.
Spotify introduces playlist for East African Electronic music
Given that Africa is the mother of Afro House music which is a subgenre of house music which is classified under EDM. In a way, it is nice to notice that the genre has spread and diversified all around the globe with creators sprouting from South America and European countries such as Netherlands where a DJ known as Adrian Noble is known and recognized for playing and promoting Afro EDM. Other deejays are DJ Ayane from France, DJ Arta from Uganda, to mention but a few. Afro EDM is still a bit underground but with time as all the stakeholders work tirelessly towards the promotion of the sound, it will find its way up to the mainstream just like Amapiano.
The mood of the playlist
Just like any other Spotify editorial playlist, there is a particular mood presented by the tracks placed onto this playlist. Descriptively, the vibe from the tracks can be termed as chill, relaxing, uplifting. Afro EDM makes your soul want to dance and the music certainly is good for a drive as well as other events and this is just the way electronic music is described in accordance to mood or emotion. Furthermore, the music is rich in Afro percussion styles as well as rhythms which are all infused with modern electronic sounds to give it the unique nature and feel.
Best blends of Electronic music across East Africa
In terms of the tempo (speed) of the music, Afro EDM is moderately fast with the range of BPM between 100 and 125. Some styles of Afro EDM may have a slower or faster BMP number depending on the particular style of the songs. Nevertheless, this beauty of African music sounds amazing and very nice as well therefore, the fans would love to hear more of it and new listeners should not miss out on tapping the amazing masterpieces created by these ingenious Afro EDM producers and deejays. Notably, female deejays support and play Afro EDM and they are at the center of the promotion of the music.
About East Afro EDM
Not long ago the movement of electronic music started in east Africa, events such as Nyege nyege festival in Uganda started giving Afro EDM artists a platform to present and showcase the electronic music made in east Africa with headlining acts from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The event pulls crowds from all the east African countries and happens annually in the pearl of Africa (Uganda) just at the source of the Nile River. MTN Uganda is the main sponsor of the event who should be applauded for the efforts in promotion of Afro EDM in the East African region. Other Afro EDM events are held periodically in Kampala and Nairobi such as Urban Flow Vibu event and Underground Kampala events. All I can say, the music is slowly by slowly gaining traction across the region and all over the world.
Music Matters 