Bringing Uganda on the Map

In Kampala, musicians, DJ’s, and video producers work hard to compete with artists in big markets like Nigeria and Kenya. Some artists created pan-African fan bases and perform in Europe and the U.S. Others work long hours to fullfill their dreams one day. Hear and watch latest tracks and clips from the Equator: Ragga-flavoured songs, hardcore rap, Kitsch and some Bling Bling.

Copying music in Jinja (photo: Thomas Burkhalter)

Dr. Jose Chameleone

Dr. Jose Chameleone is one of the international stars from Uganda. I met him at Audio1 Records in Kampala. His track «Born Fighter» with rapper Mun G has become my personal earworm of June 2014. The video was produced by Frank JahLive.

Dr. Jose Chameleone at Audio1 Records, Kampala (photo: Thomas Burkhalter)

DAXX Kartel


Keko

I visited rapper Keko in a studio with her producer The Weezy. Both are working on some amazing tracks right now ...

Keko, Rapper from Uganda (photo: Thomas Burkhalter)
The Weezy (producer) and Keko (rapper) in Kampala (photo: Thomas Burkhalter)
«Don’t photograph our shoes» … Rapper Keko (right) and producer The Weezy (left). (photo: Thomas Burkhalter)


DJ Shiru

DJ Shiru is one of the most talented dj's in Africa. He will tour the world with DJ Black and other great dj's from Africa soon. (DJ Black is featured in our XL Teaser «Ghana is the Future».)

DJ Shiru in his shop in Kampala (photo: Thomas Burkhalter)

Bataka Squad


Bebe Cool

Bebe Cool is an international artist too, and a great competitor of Jose Chameleone.


Radio & Weasel


Klear Kut

Rap crew Klear Kut (with Navio) produced some amazing tracks and video clips in the past. Enjoy this weird clip from 2012.

Video not available anymore.

Biography

Dr. Thomas Burkhalter is an anthropologist/ethnomusicologist, AV-artist, and writer from Bern (Switzerland). He is the founder and director of Norient and the Norient Festival (NF), co-directed AV-performances and documentary films (e.g. «Contradict», Berner Filmpreis 2020 + Al-Jazeera Witness), and is the author and co-editor of several books (e.g., «Local Music Scenes and Globalization: Transnational Platforms in Beirut», Routledge, «The Arab Avant Garde: Musical Innovation in the Middle East», Wesleyan University Press). He teaches regularly at universities, and runs workshops for arts institutions. Since 2022 he produces the Norient Mixtape for Swiss National Radio SRF3. Currently, he is working on his new music project «Melodies In My Head», and on the podcast series «South Asian Sound Stories» with musicians from the UK, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Published on July 02, 2014

Last updated on October 16, 2020

Topics

Capitalism
Music Video
Place
All Topics
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