The Ugandan MC sets the tone of his upcoming bomb with “Mmaso”, an explosive techno-trap single.
Since his EP Tuli Banyo released via Hakuna Kulala in 2018, Ugandan rapper Ecko Bazz has challenged perceptions of East Africa’s burgeoning rap scene. The project, particularly raw, sees the MC fuse hard raps with techno and rave culture. On Mmaso, his upcoming debut album, this style will be explored even deeper alongside his Nyege Nyege comrades. The project has been described as “an explosive call to action that balances his manic presence with production from MC Yallah collaborator Debmaster, Kenyan club futurist Slikback, Berlin-based Japanese beatmaker DJ Die Soon and the inimitable DJ Scotch Rolex.”
The title-track of the project, already available, shows an even rougher side of Ecko Bazz. His kinetic performance on the mic is accompanied by an instrumental of far out singeli rhythms and the hard trap beats, giving a taste of what will probably be a particularly eruptive album. The video sets the track in a dystopian, ravaged environment, amplifying the sonic intensity.
Blending elements of dancehall, Ugandan music, grime and US hip-hop, Mmaso will see Ecko Bazz address themes such as violence, religion, drug abuse and poverty in the Ugandan slums, all written and rapped in Luganda. The rapper will alternate “freely between sober truths and hyperactive screams, flipping between intensity from verse to verse”.
Mmaso by Ecko Bazz, out on March 18 via Hakuna Kulala.
Listen to “Mmaso” in our Pan African Rap playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
