- The Nyege Nyege luminary's second album is brash, inventive and restless.
- On her second album Yallah Beibe, MC Yallah relishes her position near the top of East Africa's hip-hop scene—a place she has strived towards since the late '90s. Despite the success of singles like 2008's "Abakyala," the Kenya-born artist struggled to build traction early in her career—speaking to RA in 2020, she said she "reached the point of giving up." While presenting the hip-hop news bulletin NewzBeat in 2013, she became involved in Uganda's Nyege Nyege collective, finally rising to wider, global attention as one of its leading lights with her dextrous, breakneck flow. If Yallah Beibe is suitably assured, following her acclaimed 2019 debut album Kubali, it's also a volatile, breathless LP. Rapping in a mix of English, Luganda, Luo and Kiswahili, MC Yallah flits between genres spanning trap, dancehall and punk, tirelessly searching for new forms of expression.
This constant state of transformation is aided by three producers from Nyege Nyege's international family: French-born Debmaster, The Democratic Republic Of Congo's Chrisman and Japan's Shigge (AKA Scotch Rolex). All three bring alien, often industrial touches to several of the styles on Yallah Beibe. Chrisman turns his hand to trap on "Sunday" and dancehall on "Big Bung," his grittier palette contrasting with Debmaster's cold, gleaming production. Shigge's tracks are lurching, elastic affairs. This produces a collage-like effect, which MC Yallah exaggerates by bundling multiple tracks from each producer together in the album's running order.
The textural changes on Yallah Beibe underline MC Yallah's own vocal shapeshifting. Over Debmaster's steely production, her flow recalls the precise, eerie elegance of robotic arms working in a car factory. The shift to Chrisman's rougher palette on "Sunday" turns MC Yallah more slippery, preceding the dancehall-inspired vocals of "Big Bung." She's most inventive on the tracks produced by Shigge, who furthers her wild, writhing performance on "Baliwa" with a raft of vocal effects. Moving between call-and-response, chopping and reverb-drenched shouting, the effect is distinctly punk.
MC Yallah's lyrics are often biting and political, particularly on the metal-inspired "No One Seems To Bother," which features chilling roars from guest vocalist Lord Spikeheart (of Kenyan duo Duma). "The world is going under and no one seems to bother," she snarls in English, amidst references to the Battle Of Juba, racial tensions in South Africa and other conflicts. This track also points to the political implications of MC Yallah's movement between languages. Delivering the first verse in English, she switches to Kiswahili with "jirani yako pia amegeuka aduyi" ("your neighbour is now your greatest enemy"), underlining how easily miscommunication can turn into violence and hatred.
Despite these darker themes, Yallah Beibe is rich in narratives of community and empowerment. "We create an army," she raps in Luganda on the title track, declaring that "joy don't segregate." Chief among these narratives is her celebration of women. Again in Luganda on "Tuli Mukintu," she pledgess solidarity with "Baby mamas and mother-in-laws," while "Sunday" ("again" in Luganda) encourages women to seek independence through work: "pave your way so you can find your pass."
A brash, electrifying album, Yallah Beibe is a showcase of MC Yallah's absolute mastery of her craft. But she's not exactly peaking here—instead, it feels like the next step in a long and shapeshifting career. Experimenting with different genres, textures and languages, MC Yallah points to new, far-ranging paths her future recordings might take. As she raps in Luganda on "Tuli Mukintu": "we still learning."
Tracklist01. MC Yallah X Debmaster - Sikwebela
02. MC Yallah X Debmaster - Miniboss
03. MC Yallah X Debmaster - Tuli Mukintu
04. MC Yallah X Chrisman - Sunday
05. MC Yallah X Chrisman - Big Bung (feat. Ratigan Era)
06. MC Yallah X Shigge - Baliwa
07. MC Yallah X Shigge - Yallah Beibe
08. MC Yallah X Debmaster - Mbakebere
09. MC Yallah X Debmaster - No One Seems To Bother (feat. Lord Spikeheart)
10. MC Yallah X Shigge - Moss
11. MC Yallah X Debmaster - Ukweli
12. MC Yallah X Shigge - Hera