MC Yallah

Kenyan-Ugandan rapper MC Yallah matches experimental, futuristic beats with intense, tongue-twisting rhymes in multiple languages. Active since the late '90s, she gradually became a staple of East Africa's hip-hop scene, then made her international breakthrough after she became affiliated with Kampala's Nyege Nyege Tapes and began performing in Europe. Her debut album, Kubali, with French producer Debmaster, appeared in 2019, and Yallah Beibe followed in 2023. Yallah Gaudencia Mbidde was born in Kenya but raised in Uganda, where she is currently based. She began listening to American hip-hop as a youth, and started making her name as a rapper in the late '90s. She gained exposure as a host on Kampala's popular Newz Beat show, in which anchors rap the news. Yallah gradually refined her complex, ever-evolving style, delivering fierce, empowering lyrics in a hybrid of Luganda, Luo, Kiswahili, and English. After occasionally releasing singles for more than a decade, she became one of the first artists signed to Nyege Nyege Tapes and its club-focused Hakuna Kulala imprint. She began regularly recording and performing with French producer Debmaster, and the two released the single "Ndi Mukazi" in 2018, followed by the full-length Kubali in 2019. A regular presence at the annual Nyege Nyege Festival, Yallah began performing at other festivals such as Unsound and CTM. In 2020, she released the EP Mama Waliwamanyii with experimental techno producer Eomac. She was featured on albums by Scotch Rolex and DJ Die Soon, as well as Debmaster's remix of Mdou Moctar's "Tala Tannam." Yallah also released "Olympiaaku," a collaboration with singeli producer Bamba Pana and Japanese taiko drummers Kodo. Her second full-length, Yallah Beibe, arrived in 2023, with tracks produced by Debmaster, Scotch Rolex, and Chrisman, as well as featured appearances by Ratigan Era and Duma's Lord Spikeheart. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi